A lot of times my best beauty discoveries are those I stumble upon by accident.

My main objective one day was to find a yoga studio in Makati that was clean, with great teachers, preferably new but reasonably priced.  The flyer said drop ins are P350/session, packages of 10 sessions valid for two months are  P2,500, and unlimited classes for one month P3,500. It was located at an old building at Legaspi Village and the studio was pretty clean and new but I never made it to class. I was sidetracked by Nailsanity. I read the service menu, sat down, and got up after an hour and a half.

At  Tantra Yoga, there are four plush purple chairs and shelves of coveted nail polish brands I never thought I would find here: Spa Ritual and Misa.  These are two vegan nail lacquers that are free of DBP, toulene, formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin so they are safe for use on pregnant women, children and, for some people, even their pampered pets.

Chip-resistant polish

I was also introduced to TruGel Nail Polish (not to be confused with Gel Nail extensions) that is so chip resistant you can wash plates and do chores for a full week or two.

The prices are unbelievably reasonable—the basic manicure using imported polish such as Orly and Misa plus hand massage is P185 and pedicure is P215. Nailsanity’s special manicure and pedicure includes removal of ingrown nails, which other salons refuse to do, costs P200 and P235, respectively.

Owner Karen Shane Talata is a clean freak and so immersed in the healthy lifestyle so she makes sure personal wellness does not stop after yoga classes.  Aside from the vegan polish, the wax she uses  for hair removal and eyebrow tint are all organic. Eyelash extensions come in three different looks priced from P800 to P1,300. Retouch is P300.

Well-trained staff

Talata’s  staff are all well trained and personally chosen by her and her partners.  My eyebrows and full face were threaded by Gie who was very thorough and light handed, I barely felt the sting.  They offer Brazilian waxing for only P750 when most establishments charge in the thousands.

I left smooth all over with waxed arms, threaded face and brows in perfect flattering arches, Misa’s Love Bite (deep burgundy plum) on hands and Spa Ritual’s Down to Earth (deep wine red) on toes.

Downsides: They do not accept credit cards and there is an extra charge when you use Spa Ritual (but not Misa and other brands) nail polish. There is also a different charge for Tru Gel Nail Polish.  There is no mall or shop beside the building.

Call Nailsanity at 0933- 5230592 or Tantra Yoga at 0917-8621804, 5518964.