Clients are invited to sit back and relax on the Edelman leather cowhide-covered bench while waiting for their hair to dry.

Clients receive specialized treatments in the salon's Kérastase Treatment Institute; Wine, fruit, and refreshments are available in the spa lobby

Never mind movie premieres or red carpets, the place to see and be seen in sunny Santa Monica is Fred Segal Beauty, perched on the corner of Broadway and Fifth Street, just a stone's throw from the Pacific Ocean. "Our local clientele is accustomed to the best spas and services in the world," says CEO Michael Baruch. "They're well-traveled, affluent, sophisticated, and educated. They don't care if rose petals float in the pedicure bowl or if the caviar in a facial is imported from Russia. At the end of the day, all they care about are results-real results." Fred Segal Beauty launched in 1992 with an eight-chair hair salon, and business boomed instantaneously. "First we added a manicure station, then a waxing room, and little by little we've expanded and tried to keep it real, evolving with an ever-changing marketplace," says Baruch. "On a business level, we follow the demands of our clients. What we aimed for [with the expansion] is the quintessential LA experience, which is California casual but still kind of glitzy." The salon itself will continue its tradition of providing quality service and cutting-edge styling techniques but in a completely revised setting. (Regular customers such as Uma Thurman, Pamela Anderson, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Ray Liotta are thrilled, says Baruch.) The salon has inaugurated three new global innovations for L'Oréal: the debut of L'Oréal Professionnel Color Bar, the Kérastase Treatment Institute, and the first-ever Kérastase Retail Luxury Boutique.

Guests can relax on the oversized cowhide-covered bench in the salon's waiting area; A hanging curtain separates the shampoo area from the styling stations.

Designed by Todd Erlandson of (M)Arch Strategic Architectures and Craig Rizzo, in conjunction with Fred Segal Beauty's co-founder and creative director Paul DeArmas, the overall color scheme is primarily sand, bone, beige, cream, white, and dark brown with occasional bursts of bolder tones such as butterscotch and red. In contrast, the reception desk is topped with a glowing underlit amber resin. "We wanted to create a classic modern look without being too austere so we introduced quirky elements like a graffiti pole, sky lights, and an oversized cowhide-covered bench in the waiting area," says DeArmas. When the creative team, which includes Baruch and DeArmas, decided to move forward with the expansion, they did a 10-city spa tour to glean ideas about what they loved and what they didn't. "Surprisingly, I discovered that most relaxation rooms in spas look like dungeons designed with an overload of wicker," laughs Baruch. "So we created this quiet room behind a sandblasted glass wall that resembles a sleek hotel lobby. After all, the sexiest Los Angeles hangouts are still hotel lobbies like the ones at The Standard and The Mondrian."

FRED SEGAL BEAUTY

The spa features a tiled water-wall, five treatment rooms (including one medical spa room), two private spa manicure rooms, a wet treatment room with Vichy shower, a steam room, private showers, and changing rooms. Two treatment rooms have sliding doors so that friends and couples can enjoy treatments simultaneously. "The salon and spa share an entry, but we see them as two distinct planets-the salon as an energy source and the spa as a refuge of peace and intimacy," says Baruch. "With that in mind, however, we want guests to consider Fred Segal Beauty a place that's part of their everyday life, a place to get away, be relaxed, and, of course, get gorgeous."