It seems like the Geisha facial that Zara wrote about way back in 2008 is having a surge of popularity in New York right now.
"Though turning to animal ingredients isn't the newest concept, it categorically popped out of nowhere," Jeanine Recckio, of Mirror Mirror Imagination Group which forecasts beauty trends told the New York Times. "Consumers are gravitating toward their exotic or shock appeal."
One popular "animal ingredient" treatment is the bee venom mask, favored for it's Botox-like effects by celebrities like the Duchess of Cornwall and Gwyneth Paltrow.
But the Geisha Facial has a much weirder ingredient than bee venom. Bird poop! The Shizuka New York Day Spa describes it thusly:
"Beautiful, educated and skilled in the arts of music and dance, Geisha were the true renaissance women of ancient Japanese society. Refined in movement and appearance, Geisha were known for their iconic porcelain complexion-clear, unblemished and pale as a camellia blossom. However, their beautiful appearance came at a price as the lead and zinc in their face powder caused chronic skin care problems until the discovery of a unique remedy. Geishas found that regular nightingale droppings facials could be used not only to remove makeup but to brighten, heal and retexturize the skin due to their natural enzymes and guanine, which imparts a pearly luster to the skin.
At NYC's Shizuka New York Day Spa this ancient and prized Geisha beauty secret is artfully revived through the Geisha Facial. Uguisu no Fun is perfectly safe to use on the facial skin, sanitized through exposure to ultraviolet light before being milled to a fine powder. During the facial, Shizuka mixes the nightingale droppings with delicate Japanese rice bran to enhance its inherent exfoliating and facial lightening properties."
Reviewers have said the treatment does seem gross, but that their skin really does glow afterwards. I know natural is best, but this might be a case where I prefer artificial ingredients.
