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.

Earn your sea legs at home with Voya Lazy Days

As far as beauty treatments go, it's pretty hard to re-create the real deal at home... a few candles by the side of the tub (and that's if (if) you can stand taking a bath), maybe some oils or bubbles, a scrub and a mask. You can have virtually all the bits and bobs there needed to re-create a spa at home but it still feels like home, with just a bit lower lighting and maybe a touch more fragrant.

However, I have come across a mind-bogglingly crazy product that might make home feel that much more like the spa... or the sea. If you're one of those who absolutely cringes as the feel of seaweed against the leg while swimming (followed by a quick doggy paddle as high up in the water as possible in the opposite direction to avoid any further run-ins, sort of like a cartoon), then maybe this product's not for you. If you don't mind a little tussle with the green stuff, though, then immediately buy Voya Lazy Days dehydrated seaweed... it re-hydrates (duh) in your bath! Get right in for a proper seaweed bath.

The seaweed is cut by hand by the people at Voya and apparently they've been doing this stuff for donkeys... can you think of introducing anything more foreign (yet fun!?) to your bathtub? Never before have I even imagined filling my tube with anything seaweed related unless in powder form or as an ingredient listed on the back of a bottle (which would decidedly NOT be filled with whole pieces of seaweed). I'm game though... seaweed's meant to have fantastic effects on the skin. It's full of minerals, apparently has a smoothing and tightening affect on the skin (read about all the health benefits of seaweed here). Personally, I love to eat it stuff (stop cringing, I won't eat the seaweed out of my bath) in full-on sheets (Nori) from the Japanese deli...

Back to Voya, a company I just think is the bee's knees... even if I am in no need of new products, I'd buy from them all the same, simply because I'm such a big fan. I mean, they sell hand-harvested de-hydrated seaweed for the bath!? It doesn't get much cooler than that. And, yes, lest I forget, they have an entire slew of other seaweed-rific products and a spa (if you're in Ireland any time soon). 

Who's ready to bring a little slice of the Irish mer home?