The lengths New Yorkers will go to for beauty. Shizuka New York, a high-end Japanese spa in midtown, has just introduced a new “Geisha Facial,” which promises to cleanse, brighten, and exfoliate a patron’s face—thanks to a secret ingredient: bird poop. For centuries in Japan, both Kabuki actors and geishas used uguisu no fun, or nightingale droppings, to clean off their thick white makeup and soothe their faces; apparently, guanine, found in the droppings, helped their complexions. Shizuka’s poop has been sanitized through exposure to ultraviolet light, then finely milled and mixed with rice bran. It’s applied as a mask and costs $180 for a 50-minute treatment. “The smell is neutralized,” maintains a spokesperson for the spa.

Have good intel? Send tips to intel@nymag.com.

Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Beth Landman
• Table of Contents: Apr 7, 2008 issue of New York | Subscribe!