SPA WATCH | Ayurvedic Massage at Blink Brow Bar

IF GIVEN my choice of treatments from a spa menu, massage is never a top choice. Massages get a bum wrap in my book because although I can feel the good they do, I can't see it (illogical I know, but true).

But running around central London the other day, a massage sounded like an amazing idea thanks to miles walked in heels and a few long-haul flights.

Blink Brow Bar Fenwick's New Bond Street location is one of the newer outposts offering full-on body treatments. Blink (mwhahaha) and you might miss the new treatment room, tucked just behind the women braving the threading chair on their lunch breaks. Because of the room's proximity to the beauty hall, no conversation goes unheard and you'll be in the beauty hall's line of sight when that door swings open so be forewarned if you're a slow dresser.

That said, once you're under the hands of the capable Blink therapists, it's surprisingly easy to tune out the noise.

Ancient Ayurvedic principles are used to tailor your massage, making it as bespoke a treatment as you'll find in a department store beauty hall. The products and technique used are specified for your dosha type. How do they know your dosha type? From the extensive questionnaire you complete before submitting to the surprisingly strong hands of your diminutive therapist. From diet to stress levels, personality traits and sleep patterns, all is noted to decode your dosha type - vata (space and air), pitta (fire and water) or kapha (water and earth).

What are doshas? The three metabolic types/humours/physiological principles of the human constitution. Each of us has a bit of all three but we're all predominantly one type. The aim is to keep them balanced. Most of us are out of balance, thanks to a pretty stressful modern lifestyle.

I'm Vata-Pitta according to my Blink questionnaire. (Take this dosha quiz and figure out which ones you are right now.)

During the treatment, the therapist spends at least 45 of the 60 minutes on my back, neck and legs with a lightly spicy rose-scented oil. It's so relaxing -- even with the pressure (which was perfect) she uses -- that I doze off for a minute. She works in a way that feels more organic than many massages but no less effective. In fact, I would argue the opposite.

Does tailoring the treatment to your dosha type really make a difference? It's hard to tell. But my relaxed, knot-free back is a telling sign that, Ayurvedic or not, the massage is a thoroughly good one.

THE DETAILS

Blink Ayurvedic Massage is £75 for 60 minutes at Fenwick, New Bond Street, Blink Brow Bar

SPA WATCH | Verta Spa London to Paris

 

THE NEWLY opened Hotel Verta in London’s Battersea, right next to the Heliport, by luxury hotel chain von Essen, boasts a brand new sparkly spa (rain showers, heated loungers, atmospheric hydrotherapy pool) and is open to the public – so if you’re in that part of town, it’s worth a visit. The staff is extremely friendly and willing to help. The spa is partnered with French beauty brand Anne Sémonin, and this is where I went to experience the Verta spa’s signature and tailor-made treatment, the two-hour London To Paris with Anne Sémonin (£200).

THE TREATMENT

My therapist Wendy, a former beauty school teacher, was extremely experienced and knowledgeable in all things beauty, and I was full of questions to begin with (What to do with ingrown hairs from waxing? Exfoliate, exfoliate, exfoliate. What can I do about the small milia below my eyes? Use a quality eye make-up remover.) But I soon wound down as she got started on the black sea salt all-over-body scrub. This involved donning the little black paper panties, lying face down and turning over for application and then showering off. My skin felt extremely soft after the scrub.

Then a hot bubbling seaweed back treatment – Wendy dolloped the seaweed mix onto a sheet of foil, which I lay back onto; the sensation was warm and the bubbles like a mild massage. In the meantime, Wendy massaged both my feet and scalp. Next up was the facial, which, after cleansing, consisted of a mineral mask and a fantastic lymphatic drainage facial massage – Wendy gently pressed points on my face, neck and scalp with her fingers.

Finally some Oligoanne Serum for my dehydrated skin and Wendy’s hero product, which she uses night and day instead of a moisturiser, the 100% Active Serum to finish off.

THE RESULT

Two hours is a fantastic length of time to really slip into a relaxed, slumberous state. I loved the bubbling seaweed back treatment, the heat was so soothing and the lymphatic drainage facial massage was a real pleasure. My skin was soft from the body scrub and my face, with the freshly applied 100% Active Serum, was deliciously dewy and stayed that way all evening. This is definitely a product I would welcome into my life!

London To Paris with Anne Sémonin (£200)

Check out Spa Verta and Anne Sémonin for more information.

Written by Julia Rebaudo for beautywoome.com. Check out Julia's blog at Planet707.

BEAUTY OP-ED | What I wish I knew when I was young #1

There's loads... isn't there? It's probably healthier not to constantly have one eye on the past and what you wish you knew then that you know now, so I try to keep both eyes in the same direction -- looking straight ahead (or at my husband's bum in those houndstooth trousers). But, Dove's Self-Esteem Movement features something called What Do You Wish You'd Known At 13, so it got me thinking. T

But let's not try to cover it all here. Let's get onto the beauty-related stuff (even if, yes, some of it seems loosely related) I wish I knew at 13. There are plenty of other people who can address the other areas of expertise that would have been handy in our younger years.

First up, personal style and bullies... shall we?

PERSONAL STYLE ("Fashion fades, only style remains the same." Coco Chanel)

1. No one wakes up looking amazing. That's a myth that America seems to loooove. The reason those gorgeous Italian exchange students in high school looked so amazing is because they knew how to apply makeup, dress, talk, walk, watch their diet and fitness and do their hair. They didn't just put in a scrunchie and throw on a sweatshirt and pajama bottoms, like you lot did.

2. Just because the clothes in the department store don't fit properly does not mean there's something wrong with the shape of your body. It's because the clothes are all cut from one generic pattern. You don't have a generic-shaped body.

3. Don't ever wear anything with a crew neck. Ever.

4. You'll never believe it, but those Hammer pants (or Harem pants as the fash pack call them) you own in 5th grade totally come back into style twenty years later.
5. Buy your clothes in solid colours instead of trendy patterns and you'll keep them and use them for longer.
6. Don't cut your hair off! You do it like 5 times. And every time you cry... and end up getting hit on by girls.

7. You can expose your legs or your arms/decolletage but never put both on show at the same time.

8. Never ever wear knee-high boots and bare legs. EVER. It's one of the worse fashion sins ever perpetrated by womankind.

9. Do not use any products that are labelled oil-free, for acne prone skin, etc. from the drugstore. Every single one of them will make your acne and overall complexion worse.

10. Have more confidence by simply thinking better things about yourself. There's no reason to do otherwise. You're the only person forcing you think those bad things about yourself!

11. Everyone will always have detractors. Generally they just don't like change. Or the fact that you're changing. Ignore them.

12. If you wear anything that stands out, some people will always say “why are you wearing that”? because you're not dressed in boot cut jeans and a Northface polar fleece. Ignore them too. Because...

13. You should make an effort. It really is just as easy to put on a dress as it is to pull on a pair of jeans.

14. Whether you like it or not, you're judged on your looks.

15. Learn the art of dressing to your silhouette and not the silhouette you wish you had. You'll feel comfortable and look better.

16. Learn how to sew and number 15 will be even easier.

17. Don't spend loads of cash on expendable, cheap clothes, makeup and skincare. Buy high quality on occasion and maintain it.

18. Never wear long acrylic nails unless you want people to think you're the type who wears long acrylic nails (and all the things they associate with such a fashion item). 

19. There is nothing that says you have to gain the Freshman 15 when you go to college. Eat less, drink less alcohol and walk more. Go in with good habits and you'll be fine. 

20. Learn how to take a flattering picture. You have a good side and a less-good side. Figure out which is which. You'll be happy you did.

BULLIES (because it effects everything, including all things beauty. And BULLIES ARE UGLY)

1. The older girls in high school will be mean, especially when 'their' boys talk to you. Ignore them too. Or just stand up for yourself if needs must. They'll back track and then back down (I'm talking to you, hefty haunches B. Davis and ewok look-a-like L. Smith).

2. That one time in 8^th grade when you're mean to that one girl (the first and last time you'll do such a thing (you were at the mercy of someone prodding you to do it, but still no excuses)), DON'T DO IT. It's not ever nice and you don't feel nice for doing it either. If you don't have anything nice to say...

3. Girls don't stop bullying as they get older... they just change their methods.
4. Give a wide berth to toxic people, needy people, narcissistic people, people who lie, people who do drugs, people who always make you feel bad and people who always leave you exhausted.
5. Not everyone will like you and it doesn't matter. Half the time it's due to their own insecurities.
6. The same people who always ask "why you're dressed like that" are bullies too.

What do you wish you had known when you were 13? How about 21? Or 27?

Coming next week... things I wish I had known about beauty and health!