Glama Gal Tween Spa and Party Studio

I am a single mother of two girls. They had heard about Glama Gal Tween spa from a child at school. They wanted to check it out so i did what moms do and read up on this place. I came across the negative review provided on this site and because of it I was sceptical of taking my children there. I am a bit of a clean freak and the reviewer made it sound like a bit of a dump. I went with my gut and decided to call anyhow. Am I happy i did. The «host» on the phone was really kind and patient with me. She went through all the steps, explained their products and how they are «nut aware». I was pleasently surprised.
I booked an appointment for me and my two girls. When we showed up I was amazed. Yes, there are a few things they need to do for upgrading, however, I was told this was their first location and they do have plans to update it. Being a neat freak myself i have to admit that there were so many amazing things to look at that really the small paint chips or dent in a wall weren’t even on my mind. My kids never noticed and so the reality is, it made no difference. What did make a difference was the way the host dealt with us. She was in the front to greet us and not only did she know my name (being the one to pay for the service) but she knew the names of both my girls. It was a small gesture but one that right away made my girls feel amazing.
We had the mani’s and pedi’s which I felt were great. Their bowls fit my size 10 feet just fine and the entire time the host was engaging my kids in conversation. She even got my shy daughter to sing «Let it go» which to be honest melted my heart.
I’m starting to rant and so I will wrap this up. I just thought it was necessary to share my experience because I was so turned off before and now I am a true believer.
From start to finish this spa for girls is amazing. I don’t think anyone can do what they do. The owners have really paid so much attention to detail. My kids had a fantastic time and we left there having booked both their birthday parties.
I recommend this place to anyone and i am soooooo excited to find out they now have a location in markham.

My daughter chose the Lil’ Miss Positive Package. It’s supposed to be for 3 – 5 year olds, but that’s what the birthday girl wanted and the spa didn’t try to up sell me on the package. We went for a straight package and didn’t add loot bags or bath bombs or the candy bar. At $ 299 for six girls, plus $ 29 for each girl the price is very reasonable for what is included. It was a two hour party.
After arriving and putting on flip flops, the girls were taken to the back where tables were set up for eating. They started with pizza (which was delivered by Pizza-​Pizza at our scheduled start time). Pizza was followed by a «pink toast» which had everyone saying something nice about the birthday girl and then the birthday girl said something nice about her friends, then they toasted. After they were done eating everyone got a cupcake and they sang a special Happy Birthday song, Glama Gals style.
After eating each girl put on a plush spa robe to get their mini-​pedicures done. This involved spraying their feet with glitter water and then a mini-​foot massage with «birthday cake» scented lotion. After the massage they had their toe nails filed and painted with colours of their choice. They all read teen magazines and chatted while getting their toes done, it was so funny to see them. Even my big girl’s little sister who is 3 was able to completely take part.
After the mini-​pedicure the girls moved to the nail bar for a mini-​manicure. They had their hands sprayed with glitter water and massaged with the same lotion used on their feet. Their nails were filed and painted with colours of their choice.
After the mini-​manicure the girls put on pink too-​toos and had glitter eye shadow and lip gloss put on. This was followed by a fashion show, with posing, to a song they chose.
The fashion show was followed by a Glam Wish Ceremony in which they recited an oath basically promising to be nice to their friends and obey their parents. To seal the promise they were sprinkled with glitter. After this the girls got to sign their names on the signature wall.
To wind everything down the girls sat down, the lights were turned down low, and relaxing music was put on while a cucumber mist was sprayed on their face. They let that soak in for a minute and they they got up and stretched. They made a sort of conga line and everyone gave each other a little massage.
VIP cards were given out to each girl so they can keep track of how many times they’ve been to the spa; every five stamps entitles you to a free mini-​mani and swag treat.
They gave me the leftover pizza, which may sound like a given but I’ve been to other party places where they don’t give you the leftovers, and they give you a really hard time if you eat an extra slice. Meaning they keep the pizza all day for the following parties. Pizza that has been on the table and touched by other people, yuck! Not so with Glama Gals, you get a fresh pizza for your party. Our party was six girls and the pizza would have fed each girl two slices and we still would have had leftovers. As it was the slices were quite large so no one had more than one slice, only one girl ate a whole slice.
As we were leaving I was handed a Thank-​You card that entitles my daughter to a free mini manicure. That was a really nice touch.
Not only did the girls have a great time but the ladies working there obviously enjoy their job. They were so friendly and patient, especially when the girls kept changing their minds about which colour polishes they wanted.
The place is small so when they say it’s a drop off party, they mean it. Party start times are the same as end times so when we got there, there was a party leaving and it was a little crowded at the entrance. But, it was ok, I understand that time is money and having time where the place is empty isn’t efficient. That being said, they only have one party at a time so you aren’t sharing the space with anyone else, which makes it much easier to keep track of everyone.
I would absolutely go back and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Glama Gals to friends and family. They have event nights too, so check out their website.
The next morning I received another thank you email from Glama Gals inviting me back to the spa to receive 10% off retail products.

My 11 year old daughter had a Spa party with 10 of her friends. We chose the Mani– Pedi experience with a facial done in the Party Room. The girls all raved about their experience. Cool music and really fun and friendly workers there.
They all looked so cute with their Spa robes on getting their nails done. They all picked out their colours they wanted to use. Top coat used to finish. I did read the previous review and it would seem any issues Glama Gals had back in 2011 were taken care of now.
The girls enjoyed some pizza and fun games. I decided to make use of the Loot bags to send home with the girls and it made it so much easier and the kids loves them.
Thank you for the great party for my daughter. She was thrilled with her day and wants to go back !!
Money well spent.

See the end of the review for an update.
I just took my daughter to Glama Gal for her birthday. This was her first «spa» experience. When I called to set up the appointment I was told that they have a mommy & daughter package, and both would get a manicure and a pedicure, but that they don’t cut out the dead skin around the nail and that they use the OPI nail polish (which is generally good quality). We would also get a photo to take home. In addition to that I ordered a craft — my daughter would get to make her own lipgloss or lipstick to take home. The cost for the package was $ 45 for each person (didn’t matter whether adult or child), and the cost for the craft was $ 10.
When we showed up for the day we were greeted and got crocs for our feet and spa robes to put on over our clothes. The salon looks pretty nice if you don’t pay close attention to the paint job. Fairly pleasant overall. However, one thing that I noticed right away was that there were no manicure tables or pedicure chairs. I thought that it was odd, but figured that it would work somehow. We got to go into a small room and pick out some bath fizzies that would go into the soaking water. We also got vanilla ice cream to eat during out pedicures. This was the end of the good part.
The pedicures were received with us sitting on a couch. My daughter had to have a bunch of pillows behind her, as she wasn’t tall enough to sit comfortably. Our feet got to soak in 2 large bowls (definitely not large enough for adult feet). The nailpolish that I had on my feet was left on during the soak, and the soak itself took about 2 minutes. There was no nail cutting, no cuticle cutting (that I was aware of, from the phone conversation, but I did expect to have the rest of the pedicure/​manicure). A bit of filing with the cheapest, harshest nailfile you could find. The nailpolish was old (even though it was OPI brand), and I had to ask them to put thinner into it, so it would go on the nails in some acceptable manner. We had 1 person do everything, which meant a wait for one of us at all times.
When the pedicures were done we went over to a bar where they apparently do manicures (as opposed to regular tables). The chairs at the bar were regular, so again, my daughter couldn’t reach. I found this odd, as the place says that they serve children from the age of 6. She had to get a chair from the person who was doing the manicure, just so she could put her hands up on the bar.
The person doing the manicures/​pedicures had no clue what she was supposed to do beyond just painting nails. She said that she had 1 year of experience in this place, but didn’t study for this. She was unable to cover the whole nail or to make the nailpolish go on smoothly (this might have been just the crappy polish). The photo that was printed had two huge finger smudges on it, and had to be redone. Also, no nail dryers available at all, making it much harder for the polish to dry, especially on the hands of children.
I would definitely NOT recommend this place beyond a one time shot for a child, for the «general feeling». The manicures and pedicures were atrocious, and even though we spent 1.5 hours at the «spa», our nails were still getting smudged when we came home another hour later. This is too expensive for just the experience. If they got some real manicurists, this place would make sense, otherwise — don’t bother.
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Jan 5, 2012 UPDATE — I just received a phone call from the owner. She was very pleasant, and appologized profusely for what happened. Apparently, she was away due to a family emergency during the time of our appointment, and was not able to oversee her business. She seemed very interested in improving it, and offered me a refund and a chance to try them again.
She also explained some things — she said that the steel bowls are easier to disinfect due to not having jets, and that they have a smaller table for manicures that they should have used. Also, they should have put a quick drying coat on top of our nailpolish, which they didn’t do. Finally, she said that they have 3 esthetitians, but the one who was supposed to be working that day called in sick.
I believe that the owner truly cares about her business and is sincere about improving it. The fact that she is able to acknowledge mistakes and work on them is already more than what 99% of business owners are able to do. 5 stars for the owner, and her personal service.
I guess it may we worth a try if the owner is there, as well as an esthetitian.