* There’s nothing more infuriating than snobby Central hair salons, where you pay through the nose for some black-clad a-hole with a mullet to come up behind you and start insulting your split ends like you’re not even there. Desperately in need of a trim last Saturday, but thoroughly unwilling to go put myself through yet another such ordeal, I dropped into Tala’s on Shelley Street. It’s a cozy salon with a chilled-out, neighborhood vibe, where I was made to feel right at home and not at all guilty about the state of my dry, stressed-out hair. Stylist Billy understood right away that I just wanted a trim—and didn’t try to talk me into an asymmetric fringe (thank god—I’m worryingly suggestible when it comes to my hair). After 90 minutes of TLC, I walked out with a spring in my step and a bounce in my flounce. Thanks, stylist Billy and the Tala team! Cut and blow-dry at Tala’s starts at $350 for a junior stylist, or $490 for a regular stylist. M/F, 4 Shelley St., Central, 2521-9333,
www.talashairandbeautycentre.com.
* Buoyed by my new ’do, I lined up a “hair spa” botanical hair/scalp therapy treatment at the Aveda Lifestyle salon on Wellington Street. It was one o’clock and the queue to get into The Loop was massive, so I huffed up the stairs instead (oh, and by the way, real smart move, The Loop, writing out the floor numbers in some mega-trendy, barely readable font in the freaking FIRE ESCAPE). Anyway, I somehow managed to find myself at the salon’s back entrance, and had to wait for someone to come rescue me. The slightly sweaty and embarrassing ordeal was worth it in the end though, and for now at least, I have the soft and healthy locks that have hitherto evaded me. The black-clad, mulleted, but actually lovely hair spa specialist tackled my not-so-sexy combo of oily scalp and dry ends with a medley of refreshing scalp serum (plus an awesome head and shoulder massage), damage remedy shampoo and a gently heated moisturizing treatment to balance my hair and leave it in the best condition of its life. If you’re sick and tired of bad hair days that you can’t remedy at home, I suggest you give Aveda a whirl. The scalp therapy costs $380, hair therapy $450. 2/F, The Loop, 33 Wellington St., Central, 2868-9859.
Full disclosure: I barely cook. I do my best on my single induction hob, but my repertoire is sadly limited to whatever I can pour out of a jar and heat through in less than 10 minutes. But this new Blanc ceramic cookware is seriously making me consider getting back in the kitchen. According to Blanc, traditional non-stick cookware is made with PTFE, a type of plastic that is carcinogenic when heated to excess. These lovely new pans are easy to clean (dirt is easily visible on the all-white surfaces, which is apparently better news for cooking appliances than it is for bedsheets) and cooking time is reduced by a third, giving dishes a richer, juicier flavor. The pans are available at all Towngas outlets including Towngas Avenue, G/F, Riviera Mansion, 56-65 Paterson St., Causeway Bay. For more info call 3679-3670 or visit
www.blancwok.com.
* About a year ago, I was at a post-Pilates dinner with some friends (yes, yes, very bourgeois) and they were all raving about Clarisonic face cleansers, and how to buy them online. Developed by the same people behind Sonicare toothbrushes, these facial cleansing devices (originally used in spas) work by offering a battery-powered micro massage that unclogs pores and removes grime and makeup six times more efficiently than regular washing—and it only takes a minute to wash your face. Up until now, the cleansers haven’t been available in Hong Kong (hence the 20-minute discussion about which US sites offer the best shipping), but they’re now available at Joyce Beauty. Be prepared to flex the plastic if you want one: a Clarisonic device costs $2,100, with replacement brush heads coming in at $230. G/F, New World Tower, 18 Queen’s Rd. Central, 2869-5816. Find more info at
www.clarisonic.com.
