One New Thing - My Facial at Viva Skin Care Center

Back in October, I went to Blogtoberfest, a local blogging event organized by blogger extraordinaire Jenny Frazier. At the event, local bloggers had a chance to mingle, and link names, faces, and blogs.

On the registration table sat a number of prizes to be given away during the free raffle later that evening.

Sure enough, I won a prize.

But not just any prize. Not a Dunkin' Donuts gift card. Not a CD from a local artist.

I won a free facial from Viva Skin Care Center in Burlington

Somehow, when they announced the free facial, I knew it was coming my way. And then it did.

Months went by. I got a dog, moved offices, and installed cabinets. The free facial was in the back of my mind, but I never acted upon it.

Until a few weeks ago, when I came up with the excellent idea of "One New Thing" as a way of combating the mundane and routine. Jamen also pledged to participate, and next thing you know he's been to two new restaurants and bought a dog.

Every week - at least one new thing. It could be a place to eat, an activity, a social group, or a new store. Just something new, something that I haven't tried before.

So I scheduled the appointment a few weeks ago, learning that my free facial had a value of $150. Wow! I figured that a facial was simply showing up at a salon, them slapping mud on my face, squeezing some pores, and off I went.

It turns out, it's a lot more.

There's the skin analysis (mine is more oily that I thought, but that's apparently good because it has contributed to the lack of laugh / forehead / crow's feet lines on my 33-year old face).

There's the astringent. Then the extraction (a fancier term for squeezing the crap out of the pores in my nose and cheeks). And the facial scrub. And the head and neck massage. Then the mask and hand massage. I'm sure I'm forgetting about some of it, but the process was interesting and relaxing.

Viva Skin Care seems to have a litany of services - laser hair removal, micro-invasive lipo, acne therapy, you name it! Perhaps I'll return a few years after I get my neck tattoo and have it removed.