Narcissism Central

Seems there is, or was, a business in London, Ontario calling itself Lily of the Valley Spa & Hair Services. Please be aware that we (of Lily of the Valley Salon & Spa Inc. located at 496 College St. in Toronto) have no affiliation whatsoever with this Exeter St. operation of a similar name in London, ON, nor were we familiar with it until people began to call and email us about Groupon-type deals they’d purchased that were not being honoured by that salon.

Seems the other LOTV may even have ‘borrowed’  our website URL and email address. Very strange and quite baffling. We’re still trying to get to the bottom of it.

If you do have a Groupon-type discount coupon from Lily of the Valley of London ON, please contact the issuer and not us, because it’s got nothing to do with us.

Evidently, they are out of business now.

We, on the other hand, are still very much in business!

Ombre colour is now available at Lily of the Valley.

The gorgeous-sounding word, Ombre, is French for ‘shadow’ and when done just right, as only we can, it lives up to that very definition.

The look is natural, beachy, with a touch of ‘who the hell cares?’

Prices start from $125.

Book your Ombre appointment now

Call 416-913-3854 or email it to us lily@lilyofthevalley.ca.

Say Hello to Peggy Su, newest addition to the esthetics side of our shop.

Expert in Waxing, Manis, Pedis & Threading

Peggy comes to us with impressive training and work credentials from her time at high-end Toronto salons and spas. She happens to live close to Lily of the Valley, and told us she walked past one day, took one look, and knew she had to work here.

As a top-notch practitioner in her field, Peggy has Nail Technician, Advanced Esthetics and Medical Esthetician Certificates from the renowned Yorkville School of Makeup and Esthetics, George Brown College.

She rocks it in:

• Brazilian Wax Very thorough, leaving not a wisp, and expert at keeping it as painless as humanly possible (a recent client slept through much of hers)
• Manicures A steady and able hand at cuticle and nail beautification, with an artist’s touch in applying polish
• Pedicures She makes it a sweet journey into toe-worship and deepest relaxation; at the completion of each pedi comes a foot massage with delectable overtones of reflexology. If you like yours a bit deeper, just ask her to turn up the volume
• Threading She really likes it, and is very good at it. Be careful — she could turn you into a toddler

Her finest quality?

She’s a riot. We’ve always gone for a playful, laid-back — though professional and respectful — vibe at LOV, and Peggy brings all of those qualities. If you like chatter during your treatments, you’ll not be disappointed. If you like silence, she’ll pick up on that in a pinch.

Book your esthetics appointment with Peggy Su

Call 416-913-3854 or email lily@lilyofthe valley.ca

Men from $25, Women from $35

Lily of the Valley is delighted to introduce junior hairstylist cuts, by the talented Yanni.

You get the works — shampoo, a full cut, and blowdry (if desired). Longer hair is priced a bit higher, but normally doesn’t go above $35.

Every junior cut is overseen by Lily herself

Lily is right there all the time to make sure you get a great cut and walk out happy and looking brilliant.

Call 416-913-3854 to book now. Remember to specify “Junior Cut”.

Lily of the Valley’s entire team served as official hair crew doing up (and up doing) the hair on much of the female contingent of Indonesian Night, last Saturday Nov 19 in Oakville, ON. Along with our frequent associate, makeup genius Ana Laksmono of Jakarta fame, we worked through the afternoon into the early evening in a mass beautification initiative.

This annual fund-raiser gala is a cultural gado-gado of music, food and laughs, and is the big event for GTA Indonesians. Jaipong dancers, singers, Eastern and Western bands put their roots (not the hair kind) and musical influences on stage.

Skansa Look rocks Toronto

After the opening music acts came the runway show (Lily, Ana and the salon girls did all 13 girls’ hair and makeup), featuring Jakarta-based designer Priska Nutiansari’s Skansa Look, a stunning line of women’s apparel inspired by and crafted using silks, woven fabrics and batiks of Southeast Asia.

Massive Indo food attack

The top wife-chefs were out in best form, serving back-home classics you cannot find in any restaurant here — crazy-spicy and ultra-exotic flavours ranging from rendang, martabak and ayam goreng pedas, to sambal this and baso that, plus desserts and wicked snacks.

Rita Nasution sings up a storm

Then came Indonesian torch singer-performer and super-sensation Rita Nasution, who flew in to town from Jakarta, just to perform for us. What a complete entertainer… she got it all in there — funny, passionate, fearless, sexy and chatty.

Lily and her staff thank all the organizers and performers of Indonesian Night 2011 for offering her this opportunity to help out and show show off our stuff. We had a brilliant night.

Have some more pics…

Australians are known to manufacture the world’s finest shampoos, hair products and movie stars. It’s completely understandable that they would, given all the sun and wave play down there requiring one to look one’s best, mainly in order to be discovered in Hollywood and later learn to speak flawless American.

Lily of the Valley and KEVIN.MURPHY are now bubbling

The company approached us, told us they liked our place and its vibe, then showed us their goods. And those goods are beyond good. So we Lilyites are stoked to the gills to carry KEVIN.MURPHY products, effective several days back.

The packaging alone makes it worth owning, if only to make your other hair products feel dull, inferior and frumpy.

Before we spout further, have this little read, borrowed and shortened from the KM site:

KEVIN.MURPHY is a fashion-focused range of salon-only, professional, haircare products created by Kevin to meet his needs. 
Kevin recognized the need for weightless products that provided performance, strength and longevity to support today’s ever changing looks. 
The KEVIN.MURPHY range of shampoos, conditioners, treatments and styling aids is an indulgence of runway looks and natural aromatherapy for every hair type. The products are made from renewable and sustainable resources whenever possible, using pure essential oils, plant extracts and natural antioxidants.  All KEVIN.MURPHY hair products are sulphate and paraben-free.

No kangaroos in it either.

Show your Aussie attitudinals

Our shelves are stocked, the water’s running warm and wild, and we’re ready to make you look even more lovely and hair-controlled than you ever thought possible. Be ready to be mistaken for an Australian superstar.

Attention Students: Your Discount is Waiting Impatiently

By popular demand, we’re extending our 15% student discount for all beauty services. Bring your student card, get more gorgeous and let us know if it helps you score higher marks, or handsomer dudes in school.

In a modest effort to urge spring to hurry the bloody hell up, and to make life a touch sweeter for the beautiful people of Toronto, we present ‘March Beautiful’.

And what is March Beautiful?

It's vegan. But eat it not.

It’s the full package: A haircut, a manicure and a pedicure at 20% off our normal price. So you get the full treatment at your most beautifyable spots — hair, hands and feet.

Polish without anguish

Our featured nail polish for the mani/pedi portion of the package is our widely beloved SpaRitual, which is actually classed as vegan and lacks the usual highly toxic compounds found in lesser nail polishes.

So, three top notch Lily services with us eating, in effect, the hated stupid tax (HST) and leaving you a bit of pocket moolah for whatevah.

Call us at 416-913-3854 to book your March Beautiful appointment — and help bring on the darling buds and warmth by looking so extra fine that you seduce spring into being.

March Beautiful runs on till March 2010 runs out

We’ve made Valentine’s Day mistake-proof.

Show the women you love that you love them more than all the others this Valentine’s Day, without making them feel obligated to eat a pound of chocolate.

Lily of the Valley introduces the Softer Her Valentine’s gift package.

After our Valentine's mani, she'll love to let her fingers do the walking... up your spine

It’s the ultimate gesture on this international day for lovers: A chill-out trifecta consisting of manicure, pedicure and our legendarily soft and luxurious deep hair conditioning treatment with wash and style — all for the respectably admirable price of $88 (+HST). Our menu cost for all these services purchased on their own would be $110.

To maximize the simplicity of giving this gift, you may order it over the phone by calling us at 416-913-3854, between 10am-6pm, or by dropping in to 496 College St. and asking for the Softer Her gift certificate.

This is the gift that not only lasts for weeks, but keeps on giving back — and believe us, there are few females who object getting a touch softer for someone as thoughtful as one who gives her this gift.

(Offer valid till Feb 21, 2011 — in case you miss Valentine’s Day, God forbid)

Been following the fascinations of the Brazilian hair straightening farrago in recent times? The one where people pay stupid money for a formaldehyde-rich solution to perma-straighten their curls, but the stuff is so toxic the hairdressers and clients risk early death from exposure?

She was once wild and curly, but has since straightened out

Well, we’d been asked about it by a few clients and decided nothankyouverymuch, not really our style.

We much prefer products that work really well, while not requiring gas masks and bio-hazard suits.

So imagine how happy we were when Brocato’s Curl Interrupted keratin smoothing system arrived at the salon. We’ve been using it regularly with our curliest clients and all are thrilled with the smooth, silky, frizz-free hair they walk out our door with.

Smoother than any woman has the right to be

It makes wild morning hair easy to control when self-styling at home, and lasts for 10-12 weeks.

The cost depends on the length and condition of your hair.

And it’s got no formaldehyde, a nasty ingredient indeed — even just to type.

Call for your appointment to see Lily for a consultation and quotation — 416-913-3854.