Our Go-To Seattle Beauty & Fashion Destinations

Some of our readers have been asking for recommendations for the places we go to make sure we look our best. Thus, we’ve outlined our favorite Seattle destinations for beauty, fashion, and health.

Beauty & Grooming

Hair Salon: Vain (Ballard)
Confession: Adria is terrified of getting her haircut by new hair dressers. So when she needs a change, she makes sure to do a lot of research so her hair ends up in good hands. So far, her favorite is Vain in Ballard. She goes to Scott, who is really great at what he does. And, we’d like to note he does the perfect amount of talking. Sometimes we just don’t want to have our ear gabbed off, so Scott is a breath of fresh air.

Honorable Mention: Cowboys & Angels (Phinney/Greenwood)
This used to be our go-to hair salon. Douglas is an absolute hair genius. We’ve never met someone who knows as much about hair and we really, really like that he supports organic/vegan products. His technique is better than anyone we’ve ever gone to on both coasts. Despite having nothing but praise for Douglas’ salon and skill level, we decided to try a new hairdresser for a few reason, mainly punctuality and the talking-level. However, if you want your hair dresser to be your best friend and don’t mind appointments starting late, we highly recommend Douglas.

Hair Removal: Sugar Me (Magnolia)
First off, if you wax instead of getting sugared…stop. We highly support sugaring because its natural and less invasive. Sugar Me is a small one-room studio located in a quiet section of Magnolia. Adria goes to Valerie and really appreciates the individualized attention and her technique. Though she’s only ever gotten a Brazilian here, she can attest that the pain level is a lot less than she thought it would be, and really appreciates Valerie’s patience and know-how.

Spa: Vida Spa (South Lake Union)
We haven’t gotten through our list of spas we want to try here, but out of the ones we’ve frequented, Vida is our favorite. Located right above the Westlake Whole Foods, Vida takes an ayurvedic approach to treatments, which is a traditional form of meditative medicine in India. We really appreciate how the spa is quiet and offers the utmost relaxation. Plus, the facial products available are top-notch and have been worked into our daily routines.

Nail Salon: Mimisan (Queen Anne)
We love, love, love Mimisan. First, it’s organic. Second, the pedicures last forever and the paraffin wax soak leaves your skin silky smooth. Hands down the best nail salon we’ve been to in Seattle.


Fitness & Health

Fitness Center: Sound Mind & Body (Fremont)
We love supporting local gyms rather than the big box chains. We love SMB because it has great equipment and some of the latest class schedules we’ve seen. We also really like that it has a basketball court and the location, right on the Burke Gilman Trail, is superb.

Fitness Boot Camp: Mike Lawson’s Boot Camp (Green Lake)
We heard of Mike Lawson’s boot camp when he used to host his classes through SMB, but now it is sponsored by The RAC on the Eastside. However, he still has classes 6 PM Mondays & Wednesdays at Green Lake and 6 AM Tuesdays & Thursdays at Gasworks. The group is overall young, with a supportive, yet competitive, vibe. Mike is hilarious and his assistant, Okashi, will make you run, crunch, and sweat your way to a better body.


Fashion & Shopping

Boutiques
We do a lot of shopping and appreciate a lot of different shops and boutiques in Seattle. While we will always shop at big brand stores like J.Crew, Madewell, Club Monaco, and Nordstrom, there are a few local boutiques that we really like and feel deserve a mention.

Ketch and Jack Straw are some of our favorite boutiques. We also really like The Finerie and Blackbird, though their selections don’t always excite us as much as the previous two. Velouria also deserves an honorable mention, since it has some great local designer pieces that are drool worthy. If you’re looking for sustainable options, we really like SPUN, which offers organic clothing that actually looks high fashion.

For more affordable shopping options, we frequent second-hand shops like Crossroads Trading Co. or Le Frock in Capitol Hill and Buffalo Exchange in Ballard. Le Frock is one of our favorites because it offers designer items at realistic prices (oftentimes “second-hand” designer stores can still charge prices through the roof).