A cool Disneyland for adults on King
With construction for the 2015 Pan-Am games under way, and the development fever of King West heading east, previously sleepy Corktown is on fire. And like the new condo buildings popping up along the once derelict stretch of King’s heritage storefronts, the new businesses seem to share a new, modern attitude.
A fine example is Prologue Lifestyle, which opened in January to little fanfare amid the construction mayhem yet has already attracted a following among downtowners looking for something different in their spa experience.
For Prologue’s co-founders, Elham AyoubZadeh and Raymond Luk, both of whom come from the world of business rather than a beauty and wellness background, this was both the motivation and the intention.
“The world doesn’t need another spa or another skin-care line,” says AyoubZadeh, who, one immediately notes, has terrific skin. “But I believe in empowering people to invest in themselves. I know from working in finance and in sales how important it is to feel good about yourself, to be confident. The idea is like a Starbucks coffee — little luxuries, rituals that are accessible. Everybody — men and women — needs a little more selflove.”
To that end, AyoubZadeh and Luk designed the glass-walled storefront space as a light-filled contemporary oasis warmed up with such touches as a sales counter of glowing maple custom-built by Mennonites from KitchenerWaterloo.
A refreshing sense of openness prevails: The all-glass sanitizing station for tools is on view like an open kitchen in a modern restaurant, while a light-filled manicure loft faces directly onto the bustle of King St. E. “Every other spa is this dark cave where you can’t see outside,” observes the similarly smooth-skinned Luk. “But we wanted our patrons to be able to enjoy the view.”
What’s more, Prologue is a pink, rhinestone and feather-free zone. “The idea with the design was to be as welcoming to our male clients as we were to our female ones,” says AyoubZadeh, who counts not just one but three exclusive men’s skin-care lines among Prologue’s collection of beauty and wellness offerings, many of which are sourced from Australia and New Zealand, where AyoubZadeh lived and worked for several years. The result is that Prologue boasts a clientele that is evenly split between men and women. The afternoon of my visit, one gentleman in a suit and tie, who works at King and Bay, popped in to pick up a supply of his favourite new moisturizer. “Men need their own cosmetics because their skin is totally different,” explained AyoubZadeh as she wrapped up his order (note to self: finally, a reason to stop letting husband steal my face cream). Another difference in the Prologue experience: no mess of dogeared tabloids strewn about. “You can read about Kim Kardashian if you want, but you can also read the latest business magazine on one of our iPads,” says AyoubZadeh. And while you do it, you can enjoy a lovely glass of Angel’s Gate wine. “It took a lot of jumping through legal hoops to get a licence from the LCBO. We probably have more fire doors in this building than anyone could ever use, but we thought it was worth it to enhance the experience,” says AyoubZadeh.
To that end, loungey jazz, rather than any New Agey mix of wind chimes or disturbing whale sounds plays softly in the background. Also of note are the little-known skin care lines on offer, from Nellie Tier, a hand-measured and poured artisanal brand made in small batches and infused with natural herbs and flowers from New Zealand, to the organically certified Plantae, also from Down Under, which Prologue uses for their supremely indulgent facial treatments. Little wonder that AyoubZadeh and Luk jokingly refer to their venture as “adult Disneyland.”
‘The number-one feedback we get from people who walk in is ‘Really, this is a spa?’ ” says Luk with a laugh. “But we didn’t want to do what everybody else was doing. To us, and to our clientele, who range from Bay St. professionals to budding young filmmakers and artists, there is surprise and delight in the unexpected.” Karen von Hahn is a Toronto-based writer, trend observer and style commentator. Contact her at kvh@karenvonhahn.com.