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The NYC Insiders Guide
for women who aren't kids
Tomato Picks
From beauty products to grocery products, to restaurants and vacation spots, and everything inbetween,  this is the place where tomatoes tell it like it is. Tomatoes up, or tomatoes down?
Bird Poop Facials and Live Fish Pedicures
Those New Spa Treatments
Review Archives
The Geisha Facial
They say if a bird poops on you, you should consider it good luck.  Well, I was walking to a meeting in midtown one day and one of the pigeons perched on the ledges above me decided to make my day. I did not feel lucky!  It was disgusting and I just wanted to take a shower.  But alas, the secret ingredient to the Geisha Facial at NYC’s Shizuka New York Day Spa (7 W 51st Street) is:  powdered bird droppings.

When Shizuka was a young girl in Japan her mother told her of a centuries old tradition of how the Geishas, who wore heavy makeup often made from lead, used an ingredient that would gently remove all the makeup without being harsh to their skin. Shizuka wanted to bring the secret of natural exfoliation to the United States for her clients to try. Now these aren’t NYC pigeon droppings, but Nightingale droppings. Rather than foraging through a forest in search of the Nightingale Poop or raising them herself on some rooftop in Brooklyn, she orders it in a powder form directly from Japan, which is sterilized with UV light to kill bacteria.

Contrary to what you may think, I didn’t smell anything as she put it on my face and all I felt were small granules exfoliating my skin (it is a natural ingredient recommended for facials during pregnancy). After the exfoliation she hydrated my skin with oil from the Camilla flower (another Japanese key ingredient) and Lavender oil.  It’s a wonderful facial and my skin was glowing like Times Square at night so I guess I may be lucky after all.

And I loved the entire ambience of Shizuka. Very Zen, very mellow. A great retreat in the middle of Manhattan and they have lots of other treatments and a great line of skin care products too..

Now, I already know a few people who are full of crap and they’re not Geisha’s, but this is worth a try. And, it’s not pigeon poop, it’s Nightingale poop. I can hear it now as the envious NYC pigeon says about the Nightingale “She thinks her poop doesn’t stink.” 

P.S.  When you book, tell them The Three Tomatoes sent you.



The lovely Shizuka applies the Nightingale droppings to PTA Mom's face.
The Fish Pedicure
OK, so as women we go often go to extremes to make ourselves look and feel good. Pointy-toe high heeled shoes, hycolonics, botox injections, and here’s one I might actually be willing to try:  the Fish Pedicure.

In what seems to be a bizarre new beauty trend, women emerge their toosties in a tank of hungry fish ready to eat your dead skin off. The spa owners offering this say it’s an alternative to scraping razors.  Texas, Washington, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and just recently Florida, have outlawed the practice.  The Florida ban came before it was even known to be offered in the state. And since New York isn’t on that list yet, we’ll bet some crazy NYC spa owner may offer this.

If you are interested in trying it—and kids, don’t try this at home—make sure the salon is using fish without teeth.  You’d hate to have a toe chomped off. And let us know if you find a NYC spa offering it—we’re still looking and might be willing to take the dare.