Polish Beauty Bar, the baby of Meredith Kelly Oake and Matthew Onion celebrated its first birthday today.

What a year it has been! Since the very beginning, this spa has had much lauded praise heaped upon its young shoulders. However, the praise is not without merit. Sparking a mini revolution in an area that is vast becoming the newest "Spa-ville" in Toronto (you will notice since the last year that many other spas have been opening in the area), Polish immediately sets itself apart from its competition.

The space is located in the basement of a building and is nothing like the preconceived notions that are associated with such spaces. Airy, light and spacious come into mind instantaneously. The decor is fresh, feminine, so effortlessly sophisticated and yet the atmosphere is warm and inviting. It's as if you've stepped into a living space of that incredibly chic couple that everyone wishes they had as friends. Meeting both Meredith and Matt, it is clear that Polish is very much a reflection of their personal style.

The room is "open concept" but has defined spaces to chill out when you're not getting a treatment or waiting for a friend. There is a "dining room area" and a "lounge". The bookshelf is filled with all the newest magazines and cool reads about style. It's the type of spa that makes you want to have a tea party with your girlfriends. According to Matt, they host girl parties almost every week. The dining room table can be opened up to double it's size as a buffet table and the side table in the lounge does double duty as a wet bar.

The spa treatments offered have already been mentioned on this site so I won't bore you with extolling the same details. I did want to mention that I was pleasantly surprised that one of the nail polish brands offered is Essie, my personal favourite. I find the colour choices so much more interesting than other popular brands and the line is limited to very few spas in Toronto.

Another alluring new addition to the line-up introduced this September, is the Constitutional Facial Acupuncture. It's priced at $110 per session and administered by Audrey Leung, who studied and trained extensively in the field for four years. As we all know, acupuncture is a practice that has been around for thousands of years. It has recently gained wider acceptance and popularity due to endorsements by notable organizations such as the World Health Organization. When administered correctly, it can help cure or ease anything from acute allergies to back problems.

Likewise, this facial acupuncture treatment claims to help revitalize the entire body and can help with signs of aging. It can also act as a preventative to those pesky little lines that do eventually besiege us all. It's a healthy alternative to botox. The effect of the treatment varies on a person's prior physical condition and lifestyle and this is all this information covered during your initial consultation with Audrey.

I'm intrigued.

Happy Birthday, Polish Beauty Bar and may you have many more.

Polish Beauty Bar is located at 20 Camden St. 416-203-0014