TQ SPA

37 West 26th Street, Suite 0332

New York, NY 10001

Having your trusted waxer suddenly disappear from your spa can be decidedly unblissful. That’s what happened when Stella Akilova, perhaps Bliss Spa’s most deft depilator (she’s waxed the likes of Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Chelsea Clinton), recently left to start Turquoise Spa. She’d hoped to pluck her clients, too. But Bliss wasn’t letting go of Akilova’s devotees so easily.

“When Stella was in the process of leaving, Bliss gave me the runaround—I would book an appointment with her, and she wouldn’t be there when I arrived, and they’d try to switch me to someone else,” says Melissa Corbo, a five-year Akilova waxee. Bliss denies using wily tactics to rebook clients with other waxers. “We’re now telling customers that Stella isn’t working here anymore,” says a Bliss spokesperson.

“But people didn’t come here just for Stella—they come here for our special technique and waxes.” Not so, says Jennifer Armstrong, who followed Akilova to Turquoise. “The relationship one has with a bikini waxer, well, it’s pretty intimate. This is waxing—you don’t mess around.”

“Ingrown Tumult Among the Waxoholics”

Not so blissed out.

September 15, 2006 - New York Magazine

by Emma Rosenblum

Call Us 212-460-2563

“New spa owner waxes poetic”

By Farnoosh Torabi

Special to amNewYork

February 26, 2007

It's been the survival tool for Stella Akilova, owner of the six-month-old full-service salon called TQ Spa (formerly Turquoise Spa) on 112 E. 23rd St. Previously, Akilova was a top-requested bikini waxist at Bliss Spa, one of the city's hottest places to pamper.

Before Akilova left Bliss last summer, she had whispered her plans to open her own spa to clients and many eagerly followed. How many, exactly? "A lot. A lot," Akilova said sheepishly.

At the moment, she lacks a computer to store her customer data, but judging from Akilova's stack of client index cards, "a lot" measures roughly 6-inches tall. What's more, said the 39-year-old, "Each of my old clients has referred at least five more people to the spa."

Akilova's loyal followers include 23-year-old Laura Merino, who, on a recent Thursday night, arrived for her regular wax treatment. "I feel comfortable with [Stella] because obviously [waxing] is a very intimate thing." Merino, her mother and several of their friends are Stella-regulars. "The pedicures last for such a long time!" Merino gushed.

The ambience at TQ Spa is not as chic as the multi-million-dollar Bliss spas. It's a small, 1,200-square-foot space situated on the fourth floor of a narrow building. But Merino, who says she has "experienced the finer things in life," would rather venture to TQ.

"Even though you walk in and it's not fancy-shmancy, it's quality," she said. Part of the spa's lure is its Lycon wax, a low-temperature lavender wax known for reduced pain. It's similar to the wax used at Bliss.

Akilova sees about 10 to 15 customers a day, double from the first month of business. She said she hopes to enhance the atmosphere to "match the level of [her] clients," like fashion designer Nanette Lepore, Wilhelmina models, and Broadway talent. Having a street-level presence and promoting her Web site, tqspa.com, would also help boost sales, she said. In the meantime, she is working to pay off her bank loans.

Akilova is no novice to hardship. A Soviet emigrant from Uzbekistan, she moved to Forest Hills with her family in 1992. Her first job was at a Korean-run nail salon. "When you need money and you don¹t speak English -- what easier way to communicate to Americans than to do a service?" she asks. From there, Akilova learned English and simultaneously earned her aesthetic and cosmetology licenses. She worked at a few other salons before Bliss.
"I got big experience at Bliss. I'm very appreciative," said the single mom of two. "I left not because I was unhappy, but I needed to paint my future."