In 1999, Lena Makushina left Bliss, after seven years, to launch her own skin care business. She wanted to provide a friendly, relaxing environment where clients would be treated with personal attention a place where time would be taken to properly assess each client's skin and develop an effective long-term treatment. Makushina wanted women with problem complexions to feel like they were being listened to, and being offered real solutions. "Most big salons treat you like a statue, and I hate that," she says, "I'm a human being, treat me like one."

Makushina, a Russian who emigrated to Manhattan in 1989, achieved all those goals and more when she opened Maksim Spa on January 10, 2000. At first she worked on her own, but soon became overwhelmed by the demand for her services. She enlisted the help of her esthetician sister, Olya, the person who had encouraged Makushina to come to America in the first place. In little over a year, the sisters have built a list of more than 900 regular clients who come to Maksim for a variety of services, including facials, peels, microdermabrasion, massage, reflexology, reiki, seaweed body wraps, salt scrubs, and full waxing treatments. All are performed in the spa's cheerful, sunlit space at 80 Fifth Avenue, steps away from Union Square.

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