VIVA

VIVA in University Place is a spendy little ladies clothing boutique catering to older upscale women of discerning taste. I was a bit out of my element surrounded by clothes my supremely fashionable and proper grandmother would have worn. I dipped in the shop only because I saw through the window they had Canadian-made Cucina soap, spray and lotion ($22-$28). I have to admit the soaps being made with extra virgin olive oil and having healing abilities is not what garners my adoration. The smell is where it’s at — coriander and olive oil — a divine combination. The scent, to me, is very masculine. We’re talking straight pheromone trigger here. And yes, the pots and pans get clean, my hands are soft and smooth and I have never minded doing my dishes so little.

[VIVA Import, Ltd. Women’s Clothing, 3816 Bridgeport Way W., University Place, 253.565.8225]

Olympus Women’s Spa

Every time a guy hears a woman mention she’s going to the Olympus Women’s Spa in Lakewood, he transforms right before the eyes into a drooling teenage boy with visions of naked women cavorting in waterfalls and splashing each other like a scene from a bad Russ Meyer film. (Aren’t they all bad?) The truth of the experience is less tantalizing and much more rewarding.

Olympus offers a mellow escape from hectic daily life. There is nowhere I’d rather go than a place without men, a place where I can stop holding my stomach in, quit wondering if there’s food in my teeth or how my hair looks, and just unwind. Yes, there’s a waterfall, but it flows into a chilly pool mostly used for taking a brisk dip after soaking in one of many pools of varying hot temperatures.

Yes, women must be naked.  After stripping down to nothing and putting on a cap and robe provided by pleasant and unobtrusive staff, I soaked to ease my muscles and open up skin pores. Then it’s off to an Asian-style body scrub ($50 for 40 minutes). An experience not for the faint of heart, but invigorating and relaxing at the same time, the body scrub treatment goes like this: lie on a table in a room full other naked women, get lathered with gritty sand and have it vigorously rubbed into the skin by a woman with powerful hands before being rinsed with gentle water spray. I was left with ferocious glowing pink skin from head to toe. All the dead, dull skin cells had been sloughed away to reveal my skin’s true potential. I felt ready to conquer the world and take a five-hour nap.  

[Olympus Women’s Spa, 8615 South Tacoma Way, Lakewood, 253.588.3355, www.olympuspa.com]