Located in Pacific Heights, this serene yet trendy nail spa uses natural ingredients including fresh flowers, herbs and essential oils to promote natural beauty. One of their signature treatments "La Bonne Vie", available as both a manicure or pedicure, starts with a soothing milk soak of rose petals and lavender essential oil, follows with an exfoliating lavender salt scrub and culminates in a relaxing massage.

So put your feet up, settle into one of the cozy overstuffed treatment chairs and enjoy a wonderful departure from the acrylic and artificially scented masses. Prices range from $10 - $60

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Start with Viva Terra's luxuriously soft organic cotton and bamboo bathrobe. Tuck a gift certificate to her favorite sustainable spa like Nusta in the pocket and to finish... dress with a few decadent, high quality skin care treats from Dr. Hauschka or Eminence Organics. Everyone will benefit from the joy and relaxation it brings her.

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While visiting a spa may be an obvious travel choice, the spa lifestyle is a natural fit for sustainable business and design practices. With many spas embracing natural wellness, spa consultants and designers are increasingly turning to sustainable design solutions to give shape to underlying values.

Nusta Spa, is the world’s first spa to be accepted into the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) pilot program for commercial interiors. With a philosophy that spans from client to environment, Nusta, meaning "royalty" in the South American indigenous Quechua language, has a chic urban sustainability. Featuring energy efficient lighting and appliances, low or no VOC paints and adhesives, bamboo as well as reclaimed materials, and a sophisticated air filtration system, Nusta did not stop at the built environment. The spa recycles extensively, choses products and supplies consciously and purchases its power from sustainable sources.

Located in the Dupont Circle area of Washington DC, Nusta offers a full range of spa treatments as well as their own skin care line containing botanical ingredients harvested in an eco-friendly way from South American rainforests.

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