Whole Foods is all about finding the healthiest, most wholesome products for you and your family, but they're not limiting themselves to food -- after all, what you put ON your body is just as important as what you put IN it. That's why you'll find a Whole Body section in every Whole Foods store, with body care products that meet their high standards -- using as many natural ingredients as possible, minimizing chemicals and preservatives, with organic and fair trade options, never tested on animals.
Now Whole Foods in Campbell has gone one step further, opening the first separate Whole Body store in Northern California last month. It's right beside the Whole Foods Campbell store; right now the two stores have separate entrances, but they plan to add an opening so customers can walk directly from one store to another. Whole Foods Campbell invited me and a friend to tour their new store shortly after it opened; here's what it's like inside:
Whole Foods Body is like the Whole Body section in your local Whole Foods store, times ten. You'll find a great selection of organic and natural body products in all price ranges: face creams, body creams, toiletries, sun care products, cosmetics and more. It's like an all-natural drugstore! You'll also find vitamins, minerals, nutritional supplements and other products to help you take care of your body inside and out.
There's a whole section devoted to organic and fair trade clothing, shoes and accessories. A surprising amount of clothing is very reasonably priced -- $30 for tunics, $20 for leggings, what a steal! You'll also find cookbooks and magazines devoted to healthy living.
The children's section is amazing. You'll find clothing, toys, books, bibs, sippy cups, bottles and other baby gear (all BPA-free, of course), as well as baby care items like soaps, lotions, sun cream, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and more. Everything is as gentle and natural as it possibly can be, because who wants nasty chemicals on their baby's skin? It even has a couple of child-sized chairs and tables with crayons and coloring pages so your kids can amuse themselves while you browse.
Just because things are natural doesn't mean they're low tech. Customers at Whole Foods Body can get a complimentary skin analysis and consultation to find the right products for their skin. It's not for the faint of heart, though; be prepared to see your skin exposed in all it's wrinkly, sun-damaged glory! Their machine analyzed everything about my face, from the sunspots to brown spots to pore size, and compared my measurements with results from a database of women my age. I've always been coasting on the belief that Asians look younger than their Caucasian counterparts, but according to this machine, I'm like an old crone. I'd better start taking care of my skin! I'm definitely going back and having my face analyzed again in 3 or 4 months!
The best thing about Campbell's Whole Foods Body store is their mini spa. You can get a manicure, pedicure or massage in the back corner of the store, shielded by a wall of pretty screens and shutters.
As part of our tour, Whole Foods even treated us to a spa mani-pedi, and we spent an hour being pampered with hot towels, massages, relaxing foot baths with pretty flowers in them, and all the refreshing ice-cold water with lemon and cucumber slices we could drink. In keeping with the Whole Foods philosophy, the products used are organic, including the nail polish and nail polish remover. The polish remover worked so well, I promptly bought a bottle for The Pea (it's expensive, but she does her nails every week, and I'm afraid her nails will disintegrate with all that ammonia!). They even have a place where clients can sit and browse on iPads while waiting for their nails to dry (now if only they had those dryer fans right under the iPads, all would be perfect!). We left feeling relaxed and pampered -- and wishing this Whole Body store were nearer to home! It's definitely worth the drive, though, so I'll be back!
Disclosure: I was invited to tour the Whole Foods Body store in Campbell, CA and receive a free mani-pedi for myself and a friend. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
Tweet this!
No comments:
Post a Comment