When you’re feeling down and weary, sometimes a little pick-me-up is all you need. It could be a glass of wine or a weekend trip abroad – whatever floats your boat.
For actress Angelu de Leon, one of the simple things that has significant impact on her state of mind is having her nails done. “I love to do my nails. It’s one of my things,” she begins.
Whenever she gets a manicure and pedicure “at least every two weeks,” she says she feels like she’s losing weight. “I can only go as long as one month, but that feels dreadful already. I feel like my hands and feet are so heavy” shares Angelu.
Thus, it was as if somebody made one of Angelu’s dreams come true when one of her friends offered her a nail spa and salon business partnership. “It’s what I have always wanted. I guess it’s every girl’s dream to have a salon, if not a dress shop.”
About three months ago, Angelu, along with 13 of her friends and business partners – that include Chef Rosebud Benitez-Velasco, Phoemela Baranda, Fitz Pabalan, Vivien Cabrera Ramirez, Tin Soriano-Corpus and Jonnah Nubla – opened the ultra-chic The Makeover Lounge located on the ground floor of 81 Xavier Residences in Greenhills, San Juan.
TML offers a basic range of nail services, foot spa and hand spa, body massage, waxing and threading, eyelash extension/retouch/removal, facial, blow dry, and makeup for girls of all ages, and couples, too.
“For now, we want to focus on the basic services for women who go to salons,” says Chef Rosebud, adding that they are always on the lookout for new trends and innovations in the services they offer.
“We want all our services to be perfected first instead of offering a lot but they’re badly done,” Angelu seconds.
The modestly sized salon exudes a laid back, feminine feel with its all white with touches of blue and pink interiors. The partners wanted their first branch to look chic, girly and fun. “The moment they (clients) enter, we want them to say, ‘Wow, I would feel beautiful and be beautiful here!’,” shares Chef Rosebud.
But besides attracting customer in the area, the TML partners in beauty want a steady stream of clients who would always come back.
And what would make first time guests return for a second or more session? “Aside from our services and our trained aestheticians, one of our best come-ons is our massage chairs,” enthuses Angelu.
TML currently has six fully-automated massage chairs imported abroad that clients can operate. While they’re having Express Manicure (P120) plus Upgrade Polish (P100) or getting a Signature Foot Spa (P550), guests can sit back and truly relax while the massage rollers ease their back aches.
The nail spa and salon also has two private rooms, one for waxing (prices range from P150 to P550), eyebrow threading (P110) and massage (P220 to P500); and the other one for hair and makeup (starts at P2,000).
The Makeover Lounge is located at 81 Xavier Residences, Xavier St., Greenhills, San Juan. It’s open Monday to Thursday (11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) and Friday to Sunday (11 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.). Visit its Facebook page The Makeover Lounge or its Instagram account @themakeoverloungeph for more information and promo deals.