The Dirt:
Three spas in small East Coast states are building brand power by creating tailored offerings and their own skincare collections. Our favorite comes from a historic spot; enter Virginia’s The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg. The 20,000-square-foot spa is focused on wellness and offers treatments influenced by global cultures, from African healing treatments to Native American rituals. Still, it’s the spa’s own skincare collection that stopped us in our tracks. The exotic scent is subtle and worthy of the word unique. The main notes are lemongrass and lavender, which make for an irresistible combination. The body lotion contains algae extract and safflower and sweet almond oils for an excellent daily body moisturizer that doubles as a perfume. Swipe the excess on your mane on non-shampoo days and you’ll have your partner at hello, with your scent remaining on pillow. The collection also features a bath gel made with aloe, and bath salts made with Dead Sea salt, both featuring the same fabulous girly scent. Finally, the collection includes a mud hair mask that cleanses the scalp and follicles. We are praying the makers bottle this in a new way and create a body splash or an eau de toilette, with a high oil ratio.

Connecticut’s The Mayflower Spa accompanies a house hotel nestled in New England, with accommodations for 28 women and a diverse range of services. Offerings range from the PMS Treatment ($165) to chanting, sound therapy and meditation seminars. The property features meditation gardens and access to 3,000 acres of nature preserve. Among the options on the spa menu are Vegetable Quiche and Tuscan scan Kale Roulade with Curry Tofu and Petite Vegetables, which builds upon a healthy hotel restaurant menu that features many fish options and produce from local farmers. This healthy theme continues in hotel rooms, with a “green mini-bar” that includes organic juices, kombucha drinks, dark chocolate, soy yogurt, veggie chips and fruit bars, among others options. In addition to carrying skincare lines such as Red Flower and Buddha Nose, the spa’s own collection is a range of body products, including a scrub, that keeps with the theme of using essential oils and herbs with treatments.

Pennsylvania’s The Spa At The Hotel Hershey has been open since 2001 and is now a 30,000-square-foot space with chocolate treatments and some Cuban-inspired services thanks to Hershey’s ties to the island nation, as former plantation owners. The Chocolate Fondue Wrap ($115) involves a body brushing and then warm moor mud and cocoa, after which a blank wrap is applied to create heat. However, if you’re just in it for the chocolate, opt for the Whipped Cocoa Bath ($40), a bath of chocolate milk. To recreate the experience at home, the spa, which also offers Mojito Sugar Scrub and the Noche Azul Soak, suggests its personal care collection, specifically the body wash that comes in delicious flavors from cocoa latte to milk & honey. The body scrub is a great exfoliator and offers a variety of flavors, from mojito sugar to peppermint pattie, sure to wake up any bed head. For super moisturizing after a bath, choose one of the three body oils, in chamomile, noche azul or cocoa. For a basic moisturizing cream with a sweet scent that is not overpowering, choose one of the eight varieties that include strawberry parfait, rose petal and cocoa. The brand also features a skincare collection for the face that includes glacial clay, honey, oat bran, shea and cocoa butters, and cocoa fruit powder, among other ingredients. The product line, which does not include petroleum, includes a cleanser, an exfoliant, a mask, face and eye creams, and a lip product. The spa also has six nail polishes, from earth tones to Red Velvet Truffle to White Hot Chocolate.

Bonus:
The Mayflower Inn plans to repackage its skincare line with new branding, in 2009.

Where:
For more information on the spa at Colonial Williamsburg, visit the Colonial Williamsburg spa website, or call 1-800-688-6479. For more information on the Mayflower Inn spa, visit the Mayflower spa website. For more information on the Hershey spa, visit the Hershey spa website. Prices ranges from $17-$45.