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This is beauty hazing: Racked sent our newest recruit Tiffany Yannetta to get her skin exfoliated, moisturized, and buffed by the folks at Omorovicza. Over-the-top indulgence ensured. Check out Tiffany's firsthand account, here.
Product images via Omorovicza
This afternoon, Racked asked me to schlep over to Bergdorf Goodman in the heat to get a complimentary 60-minute facial from Hungarian beauty line Omorovicza. (What a rough job, right?) Funny thing is, I've never even had a facial before, let alone a Hungarian one, and rarely do I troll the beauty department at Bergdorf. But of course, I obliged.
My aesthetician Tatiana couldn't believe I was a facial noob, and walked me into the treatment room while saying, "Welcome to Ladies' World." First things first, I was instructed to pull my shirt down like a tube top (should have just worn one of those) and lie down on something that looked like a cot but much fancier. At the head of it, there was a rubbery pillow filled with hot water for where your shoulders go. Let's not forget that it's hot as hell outside and this definitely added to all of the back sweat I brought in with me. But of course, after five minutes, it was heaven.
When I think facial, I think picking, poking, and prodding. I also think of my mother, who had instilled in me the fear of beauty products, convincing me that anything I put on my face that wasn't water would make me break out like a pizza. But when Tatiana put on that Pure Moods soundtrack or that ocean sounds CD or whatever she uses, I forgot about it.
Facials, as I learned, involve a lot of rubbing. I got my arms rubbed, my shoulders rubbed, my legs rubbed, and of course, my face rubbed. Something else I learned was that if you don't like the smell of a particular product that they're going to put right under your nose, you're shit out of luck. But that wasn't the case. Everything smelled the way I would imagine a pretty, rich woman's bathroom to smell like, and when the room filled up with lavender, I just about fell asleep. What's the official policy here on dozing off?
Tatiana applied one thing after another and gently schooled me on the line: It originated at a spa in Budapest in 2006, and the products are all a part of the brand's Mineral Cosmetology. Basically, they take the things that are beneficial from soaking in a Hungarian thermal bath, which is everything, and bottle it up.
On a normal day, the Cleansing Foam would be perfect to remove my drag queen eye makeup, and the Deep Cleansing Mask that's made from Hungarian Moor mud is the first thing to convince me I've finally washed all of New York City's crap off my face. I'd also buy the Illuminating Moisturizer and the Queen of Hungary Mist because they made me feel fancy. They also make a Dimple Vanisher (not a part of the facial, it's for other dimples), and had I known that, I would have asked her to flip me over.
60 minutes goes by pretty quick during a facial, and after the treatment was done Tatiana walked me back to the counter so I could see my skin in Bergdorf's ridiculously bright lighting. Not for nothin, it did look nice. I'd say illuminated, even. All in all, Omorovicza may have turned a skeptic into someone who might get a facial again if they all of a sudden came into some money. The handful of samples that I took with me should tide me over for a bit, but my first trip into "Ladies' World" may have convinced me to splurge a little on skincare. Though I didn't try it, my first purchase will probably be that Dimple Vanisher.
· Omorovicza [Official Site]