Special Events & Looking Your Best! A Day By Day Guide

Spring and summer are filled with so many memorable, special occasions from weddings to reunions. These special occasions can be the perfect time to pamper yourself or just to find new and fun ways to look your best!

Jon ‘Ric Express Spa and Salon at Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton is a “beauty boutique” with trained experts to help you with a special occasion transformation by just enhancing your day to day look or help you achieve a full head to toe makeover! Our services include nails, hair, skin and body treatments in a convenient location across from Blossom’s… and we are open 7 days a week!

Whether you are counting down to your wedding day, are part of the wedding party or just going to a special event, it’s best to be thoughtful about when to schedule your services. To remove the mystery of a great makeover and help you get the most of your time, here is a schedule to follow for treatments…

One Week Before

1.       Facial – Help your skin shine on your special day! A great facial can help with large pores, oily skin and pimples.

2.       Hair / Makeup – Start with a consultation with a licensed professional. Bring in photos of the look that you would like! Now is also the perfect time to get your hair colored and cut. Most experts recommend not completely changing your look for a special occasion, but go with what you want!

3.       Waxing – If you are trying either facial or body waxing for the first time, you may want your first time to be more than 1 week before the event, but most people do well waxing a week before.

Two or Three Days Before

1.       Body Wrap – This is a fun and relaxing way to lose inches before a special event. Customers that tried Jon Ric’s all natural Body Wraps have lost 8 – 12”, which can help you feel extra slender in that special occasion dress / outfit. The treatment uses an Aloe Vera solution, so it leaves your skin feeling soft and smooth.

2.       Spray Tanning – Spray tanning is an easy way to achieve a healthy, sun kissed look!

3.       Teeth Whitening – Have your brightest smile remembered in pictures with a one-time teeth whitening treatment.

4.       Facial Mask at home

The Day Before

1.       Manicure and Pedicure – Don’t forget completing your look with a manicure and pedicure, so you are polishe4d from head to toe

2.       Don’t forget to get lots of rest!

The Day Of

1.       Hair & Makeup – Here is where the consultation pays off. Sit back, relax and have your expert create the final look that you already planned for! 

The most important thing to remember is to have fun and use this day to look and feel your best!

A Not So Pretty Wet T-Shirt Contest

In spite of my better judgment, I unwillingly participated in a Wet T-Shirt contest at Stoneridge Mall. Didn't know the mall did Wet T-Shirt contests? Well, it wasn't so much a contest as a complete catastrophe. It all happened last Wednesday night, with the best intentions...

Okay, rewind to me getting up at 4:45AM to get some stuff done, work on a meeting agenda, check email, the normal "mommy morning boogy". By 9AM I had my morning routine finished, kids fed, dressed, lunches made, dropped off at school and the sitters, me dressed and ready to take on the world. Note that by 9AM it occurred to me that I may not had remembered to brush my teeth, possibly due to a last minute realization that I hadn't produced my sons perfect "nut free" lunch, as his school is a nut free zone... can't believe that they let me in! I usually feel very nutty by the time I deliver him, usually 15 minutes late, to Pre-K!

Anyway, the day ran like this...morning routine as described above, 9AM meeting, 10 AM hanging out at stores, 2PM pick up kids, 5:30PM meet sister to watch boys, 6:30 Kindergarten meeting, 7:45 meet sister at Superfrank's to pick up kids... I mean dig them out of the "foam" undersea / pretend that you are in a pool jumpy thing, back at the store to help out for closing.... it was at this point, I should have gone to bed but...

... I didn't. I decided it would be a good idea at 8:30PM to show some of the girls how to spray tan. Of course, I was dressed for any potential business opportunities in my button down, white shirt, but I'm a trooper and wanted to show the girls that this beautiful, organic line did not stain clothes. So I got tanned, redressed and looked like a tan, slightly hot mess.... okay maybe just a tired messy mom! Still very presentable though... After the tan, again feeling like a trouper, I thought I could help some of the girls clean up the place. I gathered hair bowls and combs that needed to be cleaned out and proceeded to the shampoo bowl, keep in mind I am no expert... actually not trained to operate anything much in a spa / salon. So, as I leaned down into the bowl to knock the handle to turn the water on, I forgot that a shampoo bowl has a 2" round fountain staring straight at you, kind of like looking right into the eyes of a shower head... YIKES!

Within a split second, what seemed like 25 gallons of water started pouring over me as the hose jetted out of the hole like a python spitting venom all of the store, my head, my fresh spray tan and yes... my white business shirt. The girls working screamed out in horror as I took a shower in the middle of Jon 'Ric Express Spa and Salon.  The only more horrible thing was getting the water turned off and hearing one beautiful, trendy hairstylist telling me that I looked like I could be in a wet t-shirt contest... the horror...

As I look back, this wouldn't have been my preferred photo op, but envision a 38 year old mother of 2 boys under 5 years old, half drenched in water with streaks of brown stripes down her face that continued down her see through white shirt... well, white and brown striped... at this time, my spray tan was everywhere.

As a testimonial to Fake Bake spray tanning, my white, button down shirt did not stain! Thank you organic products... although the memory of what happened on this lonely Wednesday night will haunt me long enough to curse this shirt forever, never to be worn again. So, life lesson? Supermom I am not, but having a sense of humor when you're a tired, hot, wet, striped mess in the middle of a mall... priceless! Did I mention there was a customer in a chair getting a service? She has been sworn to secrecy never to repeat this story again...

Any road will get you there...really?

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there."   

Lewis Carroll, Novelist most notably for Alice in Wonderland

As a small business owner, I have had some unusually trying times over the past year that put many of my beliefs / principles to the test. I am not a traditionally religious person, however I have a very strong faith. It's no wonder that during this new phase in my life, I started looking at my thoughts and what I could learn from these obstacles. Here are a few examples of my core principles...none should be a surprise!

• What goes around comes around
• Ask and you shall receive
• God doesn't give you any more than you can handle
• God doesn't close a door without opening a window

...and that is just a few. During this intense time of self-evaluation, I found some things that seemed a little odd. What do you do with principles that conflict? I mean... pretty clearly conflict. Here are a couple of examples...

1. ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE vs. RELEASE DESIRES, YOU HAVE ALL YOU NEED
2. WORK ON YOUR OWN SALVATION. DO NOT DEPEND ON OTHERS vs. LEAN ON ME  / YOU ARE NOT ALONE
3. WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND (especially when people do us wrong!) vs. WHAT WE DISLIKE IN OTHERS WE BELIEVE IN OUR-SELF 
4. FREE YOURSELF FROM ATTACHMENT vs. YOU MANIFEST WHAT YOU THINK

Am I not the only 21st century chick who gets confused? One day I just woke up to a blank Vision Board because focusing on what I wanted seemed too materialistic, too specific and not surrendering to God. You get what I'm saying, right? Are we supposed to repeat affirmations everyday or go with the flow and live in the present? It's a gift right... that's why they call it the present (barf)!

Unfortunately, this led to a time of really questioning whether even our modern processes of beliefs and self evaluation was something thought up in a board room filled with the scent of patchouli and executives in suits figuring out how to sell us more books and DVD's. If Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, then why has "Think and Grow Rich" sold 30 million copies and kept its relevance over the past 70 years? HELP! 

I don't have an answer and I guess I am just reaching out to the electronic abyss for insight. I feel like a dog chasing it's tail sometime, waiting for the next bit of inspiration. I've slowed down on purchasing books, now I surf the web for free information and traded in my Law of Attraction reading time for meditation. As Oprah says (yes, I'm a fan, but she's another source of my confusion), what I KNOW for SURE is that I believe in forgiveness, surrender, the love of friends and family and that we are here to learn lessons. I guess that will have to do for now.

In closing, the best thing I heard this week came from a friend who was talking to my two young boys. She said "Do you know why we have 2 ears and only 1 mouth?" ... flash to a 4 and 2 year old looking confused... she said "So we can do more listening than talking". I think that is wise advice, now I'll quiet down and ask my angels for a sign!! :)

Love and Light,

Marcey

owner, jon ric express

It's Saturday, It's Spring!

Did the rain this week get anyone else down, thinking that Spring was not really here and that we were in for more freezing cold weather and rain? It was a little difficult for our family because we seem to come out of our shell when spring arrives, spending more time playing outside with the neighbors, going to the park, riding bikes and barbecuing our favorite dinners, even eating lunch outside. We tend to take better care of ourselves, mentally and physically.

To kick off Spring and the coming warmer months, we are running a contest at Jon Ric to see how each of our girls can use a small amount of money to market themselves. We have so many services and each girl has their own specialty, so it will be fun to see at the end of the month how each person used their marketing dollars!

Tomorrow at Valley Fair, Jon Ric is partnering with the GUESS Store at Valley Fair for a special event. We will be supplying complimentary make-up and skin care services to Guess customers that stop by the store. It should be a great event, we are excited to work with such a beautiful store.

Spring Break is coming, so it means Manicures and Pedicures are becoming popular. This week, I even tried leg waxing for the first time, which is something that I had never tried before. This is just another example of things we pay more attention to when the weather changes.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, enjoys the spring weather and remember to use Sunscreen... and don't let a little rain get you down... the sun is coming!

Come by Jon Ric Express for a visit if you want to learn how to weatherize yourself for the Spring / Summer season! 

What are your luxuries...

As I sit with the boys this morning watching Cailou I can't help but think of the challenging times that many of us are experiencing right now, whether it is job related, financial, health challenges or relationship difficulties... or for some, it's a combination of many of the above. Does it seem like unusually difficult times for people or is just those whose path I have crossed? Is it the economy? Were we living in such bliss for so long that now the other shoe is finally dropping? It seems like it is difficult for many of us, but I recently was reminded that it's important to keep perspective.

There was an exercise that I did that challenged you to pay special attention to the luxuries in your life for the day. Wow, it was interesting! While health, my pocketbook and general life seems very, very unsteady right now it's easy to take our luxuries for granted...Here are some luxuries that I thought of ...

• Appliances in or at our house, such as a washer / dryer and dishwasher
• iPod's / Computers / electronics in general...
• Satellite Radio / Cable TV / On Demand
• High Speed Internet... remember dial up modem's?
• Health insurance
• Good schools for kids
• Central heat (and air) in the house
• Public services like parks and libraries
• Good recipes and dinners with those you love
• Finding exactly what you were looking for when shopping ... on clearance!
• eBay (more for selling than buying these days!)
• Manicures and Pedicures


And for some of the luxuries that we probably take for granted time to time...
• Convenient transportation
• Clean Water
• Indoor Plumbing
• Hot Water
• Food
• Access to emergency services
• Democracy
• Clean clothing
• Blankets when cold
• General good health
• Equal opportunity for women
• Building codes... while very difficult during construction, thankful when looking at places such as Haiti

And for the luxuries that you cannot replace
• Time with friends and family
• Feeling you get when listening to great music
• Laughing
• Doggy kisses
• Snuggling with those you love and that love you
• Success
• Support
• AHA! moments

Exercises like this keep my feet on the ground, a positive attitude and the courage to face another day during difficult times... To treat yourself more, contact us!

www.jonricexpress.com

Bumble and Bumble at Jon Ric Valley Fair and Stoneridge

Today was a very exciting day after I got the call that some of the Executives / Senior Management of Bumble and Bumble were in San Jose and wanted to come by to see the salon. We have only been open at Valley Fair since early December, so while we are still settling into our location, we are very proud of the salon and the spa experience in our little corner of this amazingly beautiful mall.

So, at about 3:45PM today,Peter Lichtenthal, the President of Bumble and Bumble (parent company is Estee Lauder) stopped by with the West Coast sales manager and our local B&B rep to see our Jon Ric location and meet some of the staff. It was an amazing opportunity to meet this team with years of experience in the industry. We talked about how the current economy has changed the business at Bumble and for local spa / salon owners. Also, we talked about what is important to customers in these economic times, which goes back to basics... excellent customer service! This is something that sometimes owners take for granted, but as a consumer, I am definitely driven by high quality service.

We talked about various marketing approaches, then the team was off to the next appointment.  I will take the feedback from our time together to our staff and come up with various ways to off superior service to our customers and spread the news that Jon Ric Stoneridge and Jon Ric Valley Fair are here!  It was an exciting opportunity to this Spa Entrepreneur who is easing into this industry... feet first!

www.jonricexpress.com

Friday Night at the Spa

Well, it's been a fine networking week for Jon Ric Express Spa and Salons! Thursday morning was the monthly Go Small Biz breakfast with Fran Tarkenton at the Livermore Chamber of Commerce. They hosted an author on discussing the importance of networking, then later that night there was a 'TweetUp' with a group that meets monthly in Livermore to promote Tweeting and learn more about each other's businesses and interests. It was a great time and I highly recommend checking out "Swirl" (www.swirlonthesq.com) in Livermore, a really cool wine bar with a great wine list and ambiance! 

Then, of course, we had a great time at the Crossroads BNI (Business Networking International) meeting, even though a 7Am meeting is had to do after a night of Tweeting at a wine bar!

Anyway, in the interest of education (!) there is a great article about the trends that were seen at New York Fashion week related to the beauty industry. I still believe you should rock your own style, but it's fun to see what is going down the runway. Here are a few highlights and a link to the fantastic article! 

• Celestial Makeup
• Red Lips
• Fun, Chunky Streaks of Haircolor
• Glampire Beauty - more glamourous than vampire
• Blunt Bangs

Check out the article and have a great weekend!

http://ow.ly/19g9f

Saturday at the Spa

There is big news at Stoneridge mall for Jon Ric... Blossoms has officially moved in across the aisle where Todai used to be located! The store is the perfect compliment for our spa / salon because our clients often need formal wear and their clients can certainly use spa services. Who wouldn't want to safely lose a several inches before a special occasion with a natural, Aloe Vera body wrap or get that facial with microdermabrasion and waxing days before the special event. Women love to pamper themselves with a mani/pedi, look good with waxing and what about a little extra sparkle with a nice teeth whitening? Men can also try our "Amigo Manicure" to take care of their hands too! We can't wait to start working with Blossoms to support customers!

Also this week on Dr Oz, he talked about the hazards of 'extracting' your own blackheads and pimples. Who knew that the bacteria in a blackhead and pimple can leach into your system and cause health issues. Check out Dr Oz's site for more information or stop by Jon Ric at Stoneridge / Pleasanton or Valley / Fair in Santa Clara - San Jose for expert information or a complimentary consultation!

Hope everyone had a nice Saturday night!  

Ready for the weekend....

Happy Valentine's Day! Hopefully everyone is doing something they love with someone that they love on Sunday, even if it's just doing something special for yourself. The spa continues to roll out new programs, like the Platinum membership club that we are starting, where we offer (for free) enrollment in a membership that will celebrate special holidays like birthdays and anniversaries with you with special offers and automatic enrollment in our monthly product drawing. We are really excited, so come by to visit us in Stoneridge (925.924.0142) or Valley Fair (408.615.1860) or at www.jonricexpress.com.

Another Day at The Spa!

Today we started the day at Stoneridge with a fantastic team meeting. Our Stoneridge location has a team that is committed to supporting each other, providing top quality services, continuing education and excellent hair, nails and skin services. Karen Scott gave me my updated Egyptian manicure, complete with glitter tips. She is an expert on natural nails and my nails have never been stronger. Our estheticians are excited to provide waxing and makeup services at the Twisted Silver party tomorrow and we are getting ready for our season of Up-Do's. Jon Ric Express at Stoneridge and Valley Fair is getting off to a strong start!