Carmel Valley: Beauty Bundles SpaTique opens in Piazza Carmel

By Karen Billing
Staff Writer

Beauty Bundles SpaTique in Piazza Carmel may be a new business but the woman behind it is a familiar face in Carmel Valley. Owner Marlene Gadinis opened and operated the Ecotique in Del Mar Highlands for nine years before selling it in 2006. She is returning with her Beauty Bundles retail boutique and salon that offers hair services, facials and waxing with massage and nails still to come.

“It just feels so great to be back in the community,” said Gadinis.

Beauty Bundles had a soft opening in mid-March and they are currently running a grand opening special offering 50 percent off all services through May 7. On Sunday, May 15, from 1-5 p.m., Gadinis will host a grand opening with complimentary treatments such as hand massages and mini-facials, as well as music and food.

Gadinis completed a “hefty remodel” on the Piazza Carmel location, brightening it up in “Beauty Bundles blue” and chocolate brown paired with tile floors and white stylist chairs. The shampoo area has a unique shampoo couch were clients can relax on while getting their hair washed.

The retail section is full of Aveda products and gift items such as cozy polka dot bath robes and fuzzy spa blankets and booties.
Gadinis has been a stylist for 30 years. Originally from Wisconsin, she moved to Los Angeles in 1984 and down to San Diego in 1994.

When she bought Ecotique, it was a small, 700-square-foot space and she was pregnant with her second child. She expanded Ecotique and kept growing the business. Things changed when she looked at her youngest, who was by then 9 years old—she realized she was missing out on too much and decided to sell.

The last four years she has been cultivating Beauty Bundles as an online boutique. The idea of the bundle was getting more for a person than just a gift certificate. A certificate for a spa could be paired with a candle and a couple other items just to make the recipient feel that much more special, given together in a cute bundle bag.

The concept went over well but Gadinis missed her customers.

“I missed taking care of people,” Gadinis said. “Online is not experiential, it’s not person to person.”

The Piazza Carmel space became available and it gave her a chance to interact with customers face to face again. It also gave customers the opportunity to experience the products, not just in front of a computer screen.

Beauty Bundles offers the full line of Aveda products — the plant and flowerbased line is used in all the services they provide, such as facials and hair. Aveda hair color is 97 percent natural, which is “huge” for women who are pregnant, Gadinis said.

“Aveda facials are glorious,” Gadinis said. “Aveda offers an alternative to microdermabrasion: A botanical skin resurfacing which offers the same results without the redness and irritation.”

To learn more about Beauty Bundles or make an appointment, call (858) 777-9575. The SpaTique is located just a few doors down from Vons in Piazza Carmel at 3840 Valley Centre Drive, suite 606.

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