On the Road: Bask Day Spa & Salon (Las Vegas)

We just happened to get an invitation from the owners of Bask Day Spa & Salon right when we were planning our trip for the Las Vegas Hair & Nail Convention this spring.

We made morning appointments and arrived straight from the airport. Bask is one of the first shops to open its doors in a brand new strip mall in the southwest part of Las Vegas. We’re not talking about casinos and nightclubs over here. We’re talking about new housing developments, shopping centers, and plenty of land. And according to owners Shelly Andrade and Bonnie Brown, it’s the perfect place for their new salon, which is intended to cater more to locals then tourists. With mid-level salon prices, they aren’t really worried about competing with spas on the strip or with discount salons. And the owners, who both relocated to Las Vegas from California to fulfill their dreams of entrepreneurship, have some interesting advertising techniques. They are running radio spots late at night targeting casino workers who are on their way home from work.

The salon, open for only two weeks when we visited, is relaxing and calming with soft green walls, feng shui touches, and other Asian influences. There are several spa rooms off the main hallway that leads to the back where the salon is located. Hair, nail, and pedicure services are performed in this nice open room. Since Andrade and Brown picked the space before the building began, they really got to help design the space and choose where they wanted everything to go. For manicure services — no enhancements here, it’s all natural — clients sit up at the nail bar. In addition to manicures, clients can also choose from several hand treatments. Bask uses a combination of professional nail care products, skin care products, and their own private label brand.

Knowing I was going to be showing off my hands and feet at the show for the next several days, I got a manicure and a pedicure. Nail tech Aly Alford gave me my manicure at the nail bar while we chatted about how much she loved nail school — she went to Euphoria in Vegas. It wasn’t until after my service that she mentioned it was her first day on the job. After my manicure, I moved over to one of the two pedicure thrones for my service with cosmetologist Bobbie Allred. It was my first hot stone pedicure, and it was great. (I only wished I could come back after walking the vast trade show floor for three days.)