If you follow Kristina Rodulfo on Instagram, you’ll know that she loves a good #lipsticklipsync and is extremely candid about the struggles and realities of her upward career trajectory, which she’s shared using the hashtag, #hustleandglowup.
As the Beauty Director of Women’s Health, she oversees the beauty coverage across print and digital, taking care of all things beauty, wellness and culture. Prior to that, she was at ELLE.com where she hosted the video series, “Beauty Haul” and co-produced the Webby Award-nominated documentary, Beat: How Drag Queens Shaped the Beauty Industry. Throughout her career, she’s consistently championed diversity and inclusivity, whether enlisting fellow Filipina creatives for a nail shoot or moderating speaking panels on Asian culture and representation.
Kristina is also born and bred New Yorker, having grown up in Jamaica, Queens, and attended NYU for college. So of course, 100 ML asked her about her favourite beauty spots in the city.
Coolest new beauty spots: The Chanel Beauty Atelier opened early 2019 is the most gorgeous beauty boutique you could ever dream of. It’s not your average retail experience—everything feels elevated. You check in your belongings at a locker, sign in on the site, then as you walk through the store add things to your virtual cart to be handed to you at a window when you exit (like a fancy drive-thru). It is the ultimate playground: You’re encouraged to touch and play with all of the products, and you could even book services with artists-in-residence for makeup, brow shaping, manicures, and more.
I’m a really big fan of Glowbar, which opened earlier in 2019 down in the Financial District. It’s the perfect place to go monthly for maintenance with things like extractions/deep cleansing, laser treatments, LED light treatments, and more. They customize it based on your needs and it’s only 30 minutes. No time is wasted—there’s even a station for you to wash your face (something we all know how to do) so your esthetician can really focus their time on treatment.
FaceGym just opened a flagship in Noho. I get the “Party Face” before a big event, which also includes deep facial massage as well as other tools like microcurrent, cryotherapy, and vitamin shots to get your facial features looking visibly contoured and lifted.
Paintbox opened its second location on the Upper East Side (it was previously only in Soho). I’ve been a longtime fan of Paintbox for the minimalist approach to nail art and genius seasonal “lookbook” of offerings to pick from. The mani cam and overall social vibe of the place makes getting a manicure so much more of a fun experience.
Favourite spas: Savor Spa is a favourite because I adore the founder, Angela Jia Kim, who combines natural and organic beauty products with Korean beauty-inspired methods.
Aire Ancient Baths is a luxurious treat if you’ve got a half day. The gorgeous, candle-lit oasis has a flotation pool, whirlpools, heated pools, steam room, sauna, and treatments. You’ll leave feeling melted into relaxation.
The Spa de La Mer (that’s right, LA MER) at the Baccarat hotel is as fancy as it gets. Don’t miss out on the chicest pool you’ll ever see.
La Prairie Spa at the Ritz Carlton is another equally indulgent experience. It’s the little details like fluffy bathrobes, or getting to pick your own music for your treatment.
I love the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa for the ambiance—it looks like a beautifully decorated apartment on the Upper East Side.
Haven Spa is where I had one of the best massages of my life (The Geek Massage using T Spheres). I love the vibe here and really enjoy how they’re constantly creating fun theme treatments based on the seasons or whatever is trending at the moment (i.e. the Fire and Ice Experience inspired by Game of Thrones when it was on air).
Rescue Spa is where all the Biologique Recherche devotees go, with good reason: the dreamy space is so beautiful and calming! Plus, it’s stocked with only the best of the best brands.
Bliss Spa is a tried and true staple for a weekday after-hours retreat and to stack services like a mani-pedi, massage, and wax all in one spot.
The one beauty treatment you need to try in NYC: This is so hard to pick! I’m a sucker for facials, so going to recommend a couple.
Stefanie DiLibero of Gotham Wellness is amazing—she incorporates acupuncture into your facial for a total mind-body soothing experience that combines all the best skincare technology (microcurrent, LED light) with eastern medicine. Go ahead, take a selfie with all the needles in your face.
FaceLove, available at the Stretch*d studio, is a facial massage-focused treatment that doesn’t use any products—just hands. I am obsessed with facial massage and carry a ton of tension in my jaw and neck, especially, so it feels like the most heavenly thing to have strong hands expertly undo the knots in my face. during the 45-minute “PureLove” service. I walk away feeling utterly relaxed and my face looks awake and chiseled from all the lymphatic drainage.
Best dermatologist: There are a TON of incredible derms in this city, but the genius Dr. Melissa K. Levin, who has her own practice Entière Dermatology, completely changed my skin when I was dealing with terrible cystic acne. I’ve been seeing her for two years. I sent several friends/family her way, too, who don’t work in the beauty industry at all and they’ve all miraculously cleared up as well. I trust her because she is super knowledgeable but breaks it down in a way you can easily understand. She really cares about you and approaches treatment from a holistic perspective on your lifestyle.
Favourite nail salon and/or manicurist: Believe it or not, I do my own nails most of the time! I find it a really meditative act. But, when I’m looking for a great basic manicure I go to any of the Jin Soon locations, where the polish collection is unmatched, the ambiance is cozy, and the hot citrus tea is so delicious that I think about it for days after.
For special occasions when I want nail art or gel nail extensions, I’ll see Sataya Stone at Art Nail NYC in the West Village. She’s extremely talented and really on top of all the latest nail trends and innovations. Plus, she’s really invested in the health of nails so everything is done with extra care.
Best places to shop for beauty: CAP Beauty in the West Village is a playground of clean, green, natural beauty and wellness products. It carries some of my favourite brands like Kjaer Weiss and RMS.
The Glossier flagship is also a joy of an interactive, ever ‘grammable space. There’s always a line formed outside.
If you’re going to NYC it’s worth hitting up the souped-up department store beauty floors as seen at Saks, Bloomingdales, Bergdorf Goodman, and now Nordstrom—they’ve all upped the ante for offerings to include treatment rooms for facials. They’re basically one stop shops for luxury beauty goods and very, very fun to spend an afternoon in.
Go-to hair salon for a blowout: I tend to trust my DIY skills with my Dyson Airwrap. However, one of the best blowouts I’ve had was from the Rob Peetoom’s salon, which opened its first US salon late 2018 in Williamsburg. It is one of my favourite salons, hands-down. Not only is the massive space gorgeous and looks like the interior of an Instagrammable dream living room (cushy couches, giant mirrors, all the natural light) but it also offers so much more than hair services (though those are stellar, too). There are curtained-off areas where you can get a Biologique Recherche facial, head spa, your brows done, or makeup done.
Best salon for cut and colour: I let no one touch my hair colour by Lucille Javier at Sally Hershberger, who I’ve been seeing for several years now! She is incredibly talented at both simple changes like seasonal highlights and glosses as well as dramatic changes like taking someone with black hair to a pastel rainbow mixture. I get countless compliments on my hair and it’s all because she is such an artist that even when I’ve gone too long between appointments, my colour fades, and my hair has grown out, it still looks good.
Teddi Cranford, founder of White Rose Collective in the East Village is one of the very few people I’d trust to cut my hair. My hair is long, so I don’t go nearly as frequently as I should but I adore easy, sexy, effortless finish all of her cuts give. It’s the Cool Girl hair I always want.
One interesting category I’ve seen in New York for haircare is the headspa. At Masa Kanai in the Upper West Side, expect a microscope to be taken to your scalp for evaluation before indulging in an hour-long headspa to cleanse and treat your scalp (an often ignored part of haircare). Hair by Gioje in the West Village is another spot dedicated to scalp and hair health where you’ll get a microscopic assessment before getting a “facial” for your scalp.
Go-to brow person: Jimena Garcia at the Chanel Beauty Atelier! She makes my brows look full by expertly, artistically tweezing them to perfection.
Taryn Clarke at Taryn Brows is also amazing for eyebrow tinting and if you’re going for more of a bold brow look.
I’ve yet to try Joey Healy but all my beauty editor friends swear by him!
Best place for lash extensions: I’m addicted to lash extensions since my natural lashes are so straight and downcast. I go to either Envious Lashes or Courtney Akai—both give me voluminous, fluffy lash extensions that last for at least three weeks.
Favourite place to shop for fragrance: My signature scent is Gucci Bloom, which I could just restock on via Sephora. But, one cool spot for fragrance here is the reservation-only Perfumarie: part-showroom, part-lab, part-exhibition space all for fragrance. You can basically do a “tasting” of cool perfume brands you might not have heard of. Aedes de Venustas is another spot loved for its opulent store decked out in flower arrangements.
