A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

If you’ve been assuming that the most magical thing about train stations is Platform 9 3/4, you’ve been looking in the wrong place.  Head around the corner to St Pancras International and feast your eyes upon a thing of real beauty, the station’s new pop-up spa: Ainhoa City Spa.

A spa?  In a train station?

Let’s face it, any kind of transit hub has the potential to be the most stressful part of our day, especially at this time of year.  Whether you’re mid-journey, putting the finishing touches to your Christmas shopping, or just out on the razz with some friends – you won’t be far from some dedicated pampering to keep your wheels firmly on the rails.

Ainhoa City Spa will be open throughout the festive season until the end of January, offering free express treatments to customers every day and selling Ainhoa luxury skincare products and other spa services, the first time the award-winning Spanish skincare has been available to directly purchase in the UK.

Treatment Menu

Women

NAME: Hydrating
SKIN TYPE: Dry/Dehydrated
DESCRIPTION: Luxurious Caviar & Gold combine with gentle Hyaluronic Acid to leave your skin feeling perfectly hydrated, renewed and lifted.

NAME: Hydrating
SKIN TYPE: Mixed/Combination
DESCRIPTION: The hydrating & nourishing properties of Caviar combine with Hyaluronic Acid to gently refresh & replenish your skin, leaving it hydrated & rejuvenated.

NAME: Repairing
SKIN TYPE: Ageing
DESCRIPTION: Plant Stem Cells and Hyaluronic acid will gently hydrate, regenerate and repair your complexion. A wonderfully luxurious and rejuvenating treatment.

NAME: Lifting
SKIN TYPE: Mixed/Combination
DESCRIPTION: A luxurious mineral treatment that will drape your skin in diamonds, designed to combat premature ageing by helping to lift and smooth fine expression lines.

NAME: Relaxing
SKIN TYPE: Tired
DESCRIPTION: Ease away life’s stresses and strains with this balancing and hydrating anti-oxidant facial. A perfect winter treat.

NAME: Regulating
SKIN TYPE: Oily
DESCRIPTION: Gently cleansing and antiseptic treatment to address excess oil production. Wonderfully balancing, leaving your skin feeling decongested yet hydrated.

Men

NAME: Refresh
SKIN TYPE: Mixed/Combination
DESCRIPTION: Cleanse, rebalance, rehydrate. A decongesting, cleansing treatment to leave your skin feeling smooth, revitalised and protected.

NAME: Repair
SKIN TYPE: Ageing
DESCRIPTION: Rehydrate, invigorate, protect. Reclaim your skin’s natural elasticity and ease the appearance of fine lines with this firming, anti-ageing treatment.

I’d advise phoning ahead (020 7843 7683) to reserve your free express treatment, I foresee the offer becoming a little bit popular.

Just the ticket to stop you running out of steam this Christmas

Luxury spa and skincare brand ESPA are launching into House of Fraser, Westfield with the unveiling of their new counter on the 1st November.

To celebrate the launch, ESPA will be offering their first 100 customers a complimentary on-counter 15 minute HomeSpa facial from one of ESPA’s Skin Therapists as well as an introductory ESPA gift, worth £56!

The gift includes ESPA’s best-selling products: Lift & Firm Intensive Serum (8ml), Pink Hair & Scalp Mud (100ml) and Hydrating Cleansing Milk (60ml), so you can experience the wonders of ESPA at home.  The introductory offer is available until the 30th November, subject to availability.

It’s nearly Friday afternoon, which means that I’m in the mood for relaxing.  Let’s just gloss over the fact that I’ve been on holiday all week ok?

Dove Spa are currently offering a Dove Spa Drift Away Package, combining four treatments for just £39.00.

The package includes an exfoliating back scrub, a soothing back massage, a replenishing facial and your choice from either a head, foot or hand massage, all of which promises to leave you feeling completely calm and stress-free.

The usual price of the package is valued at £52.00

The offer is available to purchase online now and is redeemable at Dove Spas nationwide thoughout September and October 2011

Far, far away in a land renowned for pampering treats and coveted skincare, there is a treatment room and in this treatment room sits the bed of dreams.  With the push of a button, it warms your bum, lifts your legs and reclines your shoulders, cocooning you in a world of comfort.

After a long, hot day in early July, I was more than ready to sample this comfort courtesy of the brand new Healthy Beautiful Skin Facial at Liz Earle’s flagship store just off Sloane Square.  The treatment rooms are situated downstairs in the softly-lit basement away from the hustle and bustle of the retail floor.

The Healthy Beautiful Skin Facial has been designed to pamper both body and spirit and in true Liz Earle style achieves this with a holistic approach involving no machinery or external apparatus.  Beginning with a mini-consultation, we discussed my skin concerns (not many at the moment thankfully) and decided that I’d be suited to some general TLC and uber relaxation.  I’m always up for some uber relaxation, any time, any place.

I climbed into the treatment bed in just my knickers and because it is literally a bed (with blankies and everything) it does feel like you’re waiting for your kindly therapist to come along and tuck you in.  Which actually, she did, thanks to me not knowing where to put my hands.  Once comfortably relaxed (and waiting for my bedtime story), it was ready to begin the facial.

Of course, no Liz Earle facial would be complete without a Cleanse & Polish, it would be like eating chips without egg or watching Crimewatch without recognising a family member.  So with that in mind (and my eyes firmly shut), I pinpointed the telltale earthy aroma of the iconic product and let my shoulders loosen as the daily grime was massaged from my face and decolletage.

Cleansed, toned and gently exfoliated… I felt myself drifting off, infact I fell asleep more than once but was re-assured by my therapist that not only was this perfectly normal (after I let out an embarrassed giggle) but that it was most definitely a sign that she was doing her job well.  I had to agree with this the next time I woke myself up with what I wished at the time had been a much more ladylike snort.  Snooze aside, the best was yet to come…

Massage.  Oh Em Gee and all that shiz… it was like a troop of fairies alternating the waltz, frogmarch and cha cha cha across my face, neck and shoulders.  And just when you got to the point where you knew you NEVER wanted this to stop…. it didn’t!!  30 full minutes of gloriously choreographed face sculpting was mine.

Alas, all good things have to come to an eventual end and after 60 minutes, it was time to return upstairs to the real world.  I was given plenty of time to gather my clothes, thoughts and memories of how my leg muscles had previously operated before listening to a quick ‘de-brief’ from my therapist who had rightly deduced that I do not drink enough water.  Busted.

I have never considered Liz Earle facials to be particularly hard-working.  Relaxing?  Yes.  Great-smelling?  Naturally.  But peeking in the mirror displayed a pair of eyes that had been completely de-puffed and a jawline that looked positively defined.  Sure, I had the post-facial glow that ensured my makeup-less face still looked human but I wasn’t expecting to see such a tangible difference in something I hadn’t even previously considered.  I guess that’s what a good lymphatic drainage massage will do for you and the ‘sculpting’ effects from this one lasted at least a week.

The Liz Earle Healthy Beautiful Skin Facial* is priced at £65 for 60 minutes and is a thoroughly lovely way to wind down after a long day.

* I was invited for a complimentary facial as a guest of the brand.

Situated on the edge of the Cotswolds and with just as much chocolate-box charm, stands Ellenborough Park, once a school for girls and now boasting 62 lavishly-decorated bedrooms within its 15th Century walls.

I was invited along last week to discover the newly opened Spa, heavily influenced by the hotel’s historical connections with Lord Ellenborough, Governor General of India.  The Spa is a haven of Eastern design with careful attention to detail and flourishes that bring the 19th Century colonial rule to a gentler age!

Ellenborough Park

Spread over two levels, The Spa at Ellenborough Park boasts a hydrotherapy pool, sauna, steam room, sensation showers, seven individual treatment rooms and a couples treatment suite for the use of those who prefer to experience a bit of pampering a deux!

Hydrotherapy Pool – image courtesy of Ellenborough Park

Having spent the journey to Ellenborough Park bickering with Mr. L about the best way to get there, I arrived bad-tempered and weary before throwing myself into the arms of Tessa who’d been charged with the task of introducing me to my first Aromatherapy Massage.

For the first 5 minutes, I was tense and resistant to Tessa’s hands but a few reassuring strokes and a couple of deep breaths later, I’d turned to putty.  She kneaded and unwound the knots across my shoulder blades without a pummel in sight!  I’d chosen the Babor Energising blend of oils which scented my skin (and the room) with a tangy mix of grapefruit and petitgrain, leaving me feeling revitalised and clear-headed.

An exclusive range of Babor products available in the Spa

My massage struck the perfect balance with firm but gentle pressure and thankfully no blathering from my therapist or elevator music to interrupt my bliss.  Whilst the pressure was consistent enough to stop me from nodding off, I may have very nearly dribbled on my towel.  But I won’t confirm that.

If you go, I recommend spending the additional £25 to extend your experience to a full 55 minutes because it’ll take a pair of wild horses to drag you from that bed.  If there are no wild stallions at hand, there’s always the temptation of The Juice Bar where you can sit and quench your thirst or the enticing hydrotherapy pool downstairs.

The Spa blends seamlessly into the tranquil surroundings of the hotel

If massages aren’t your cup of Darjeeling, the Ellenborough Spa also offers signature treatments that include the summery-sounding Maritime Salt Body Exfoliation (£45) and decadent Sea Creation Facial Ritual (£115) along with various manicure/pedicure treatments that make use of the Leighton Denny range.

Leighton Denny at Ellenborough Spa

I’ll leave you with some more images from my visit to Ellenborough Park.  As you can see, I took advantage of the good weather to have a proper nosey around the Cheltenham hotel!

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to enjoy their hospitality so soon after the 18-month restoration which has revealed a luxury country retreat that achieves an admirable balance between the traditional and the modern, the formal and the informal… business, pleasure and everything inbetween.

For more information on Ellenborough Park and Spa visit www.ellenboroughpark.com or call 01242 807528

.

Disclosure: I was invited to experience Ellenborough Spa as a guest of the hotel and the treatment reviewed was complimentary.

The Background

I have been looking forward to this for months!

I booked my fish pedicure from Wahanda because they were offering a great mobdeal on a 25 minute pedicure.  Infact, I booked 2… one for myself and one for my husband who instantly announced that he’d rather sit through a game of cricket than go for a fish pedicure.  I took that as a hint and invited my cousin to come with me instead.

The night before I made sure to exfoliate my feet with a sugar scrub in preparation… I didn’t want those little suckers to get an easy ride!

The Salon

Aqua Sheko is fairly easy to find, just off Kensington Church St in London.  The interior didn’t seem quite as plush and swanky as the website photos would have you believe.  It’s quite a cramped and utilitarian space… and the decor just kept making me think of the Tron Light Cycle scene!

The Washing

First things first… a very softly-spoken and gentle male therapist washed my feet… I would have become quite caught up in the moment if it weren’t for the fact that the water felt practically sub-zero!  He apologised for this, but my goodness – must it be that cold?  You can see the reaction on my cousin’s face as her feet are washed (mind, she is a total wimp!)

Once my feet were clean and dried, the therapist carefully inspected them for cuts and sores.  I had two insect bites on my ankle which were covered with a plaster before I was shown to the tank.

The Fish

I was brave.  I didn’t even flinch!  I did giggle though.  Lots.

What I didn’t realise was that you’re supposed to put both feet in the tank together at the same time… it makes sense right?  Idiot.  I plunged one foot in and they all rushed to greet it!  Realising the error of my ways sharpish, it wasn’t long before I had both feet dangling into the water.

It tickles.  It feels like a jacuzzi but with a bit of gentle suction in places – especially if you get a couple of big ‘uns in your tank!  It’s not unbearable… but if you are VERY ticklish, you may not enjoy it.

Me?  I kinda loved it… I giggled A LOT and made little to no verbal sense.  I found it an uplifting experience and became quite fond of my little tank dwellers by the end of the session!

My cousin?  Not so much… she’s very pleased that she did it and wants to take a friend back as a birthday treat, but it’s more for the unusual experience than any therapeutic benefit.  It was just too ticklish for her – she said she probably wouldn’t do it again.

The Massage

Not included in the Wahanda deal, we paid extra on the day to get a 15 minute foot massage after our 25 minute dip.  It was a great way to finish off and having never had a foot massage before – I was amazed by just how good it made me feel!

My therapist spent a few minutes working on my big toes (she said that she could feel I had stiffness in my neck!) and oddly enough a few days earlier, I had woken up with a terrible crick in my neck!  It was only when we left the salon that we were able to really appreciate the benefits, both of us commenting that it felt as though we were walking on air.

The Conclusion

Post pedicure, my feet are much softer and smoother though I don’t think it’s as effective as a professionally-performed pedicure.

There’s a bizarre sense of camaraderie at Aqua Sheko.  The staff are well-used to people who are reluctant to take the plunge (har har!), they even keep an iPad on site to distract nervous fish botherers!  Patrons were happily chatting amongst one another, keen to reassure any newcomers that it wasn’t as scary as it may seem.

Would I do it again though?  You bet!  What a fun way to spend an hour.

The Video

It’s a terrible video… but I’m no You Tube Guru and it’s the best I’ve got – sorry!

Here fishy fishy from lipglossiping on Vimeo.

.

If you know what the heck that title refers to, you get extra marshmallows on your hot chocolate.  If not, move along please… nothing to see here!

Candles are something that often get ‘lumped in’ with the beauty category… is it because they’re considered a bit of a pampering indulgence?  Buying an expensive candle is a bit like striking a match and setting fire to a couple of £20 notes after all… no?

With the rampaging toddler, I don’t get the opportunity to burn as many candles as I’d like.  I have my Annick Goutal treasure that I stroke lovingly and sniff wistfully, but if anyone were to put flame to wick, I’d do them some serious damage.

Here’s four candles that are on my radar at the moment:

Elemis, Daisy-Spa Candle (£25) – Daisy, Banana and Freesia.  Good grief, I actually can’t think of a more enticing combination right now.  Fresh and energising but with that fruity, tropical hit from the banana. Yum!  Available to buy online from TimeToSpa here.

Malin + Goetz, Neroli Scented Candle (£29) – I adore the spicy, bitter notes of Neroli… it’s far more complex than just plain citrus.  Neroli is one of the greatest scents for relaxation, this looks like a prime candidate for the bathroom!

Malin + Goetz candles can be purchased online at Liberty.

The Body Shop, Sandalwood & Ginger Scented Candle (£10) – Mmmmm Ginger… Are you noticing a recurring theme here?  I have a bit of a thing for foodie smells!  Bananas, Oranges… Ginger.  Sandalwood seems to smell different to me depending on the product, it’s quite variable… but the warm smell of ginger is an eternal favourite of mine.

Competitively priced at only £10, The Body Shop have a new selection of boxed candles to tempt you.  The Green Tea & Lemon one also sounds like a winner!

The Make Up Store, Your Valentine Scented Candle (£35) – Having had a good old sniff of the candles on display at The Make Up Store’s Carnaby Street shopfront, I can confirm that most of the scents are indeed, delicious!  A little pricey though at £35 each.

Your Valentine offers intoxicating notes such as Bergamot, Cyclamen, Vanilla and Praline… I’ve got the munchies again!  Available instore only.

.

What do you think of such frivolities?  Do you have any favourite candles that you return to time and time again?

Remember this post?  I hinted at today’s Wahanda Mob Deal.

How cool (and completely freaky) is this?

Aqua Sheko are offering a 30 minute fish pedicure treatment for a pretty amazing price of £12.  Saving 60% off the usual price of £30.  I’m in London and away from home today and tonight, but if I can get my iPhone working on the Wahanda site, I’m totally in!

From the Wahanda site:

The Garra Rufa, a native Turkish fish are also known as doctor fish, the tiny toothless carp thrive in warm water and live off anything available – including dead, flaking skin.

I’m having an “OMG that’s gross but I wanna try it anyway” moment.  I’m guessing that if you’re REALLY ticklish, you may want to give this one a miss… but I kinda like it *blush*.

Mr. L hates anything touching his feet, so I think I’d be going on my own… which doesn’t sound half as much fun – spoilsport!

Anyone else up for a nibble?  I mean bite?  I mean… um…. anyone else fancy it?

Incase you live under a rock and haven’t heard about Wahanda‘s mob deals, listen up!

Every night at midnight, when the clock rolls over to a fresh new day… something exciting happens at Wahanda HQ.  The elves get busy and the mailing list fires up, shooting news of a new Wahanda Mob Deal directly to your inbox.

What is a Wahanda Mob Deal?  I hear you ask…

In a nutshell, it’s a pretty nifty health/beauty related deal at a crazily discounted price.

In April, I paid £2 for £20 worth of Spa and Beauty Treatments at HQhair and Beautystore, which enabled me to get a £45 haircut for the grand sum of £27!

As if that wasn’t good enough… I’ve just snapped up another Mob Deal, paying £20 for a Haircut & Blow Dry, plus Hair Treatment & a glass of wine at Lisa Shepherd.  Value? £88.  That’s a saving of 77%.  OMG!

Anyway, this post isn’t just to gloat about my bargains… much…

I wanna alert you to a new Mob Deal going up on Thursday that has been very much the talk of the town in recent months.  I don’t want to spoil the surprise too much, but let’s just say… “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”.

If you do sign up, I would be extremely happy if you used my link: http://www.wahanda.com/love/lipglossiping

I get £5 off any purchases I make on their site if you buy anything after signing up through that link.  To make this a bit fairer though… please feel free to post your own personal Wahanda invite link in the comment below and we can all keep our fingers crossed that we get some extra money off what are some fab pampering deals!

Last week while I was up in London, I was invited along to the Liz Earle store just off Sloane Square to experience one of their Skincare Tutorials.

Despite being completely addicted to all things beauty, I was genuinely surprised when I found myself struggling to answer the first question that Jo (the Treatments Manager) posed me.

“What do you like least about your skin?”

It’s not that I don’t have problems with my skin… it’s just that after 28 years, I’ve made peace with them.  Or so I thought…

She waited patiently as I desperately scoured the confines of my psyche searching for a string of nouns and adjectives that I could string together in a suitable response.  When suddenly, something shifted and before I knew it, I couldn’t stop myself as issue after issue spilled from my lips and damn near flooded the treatment room.

“Redness!  Uneveness!  Dry Bits!  Oily Bits!  Dullness!”

Woah there Nelly!  Jo looked slightly bemused but remained completely composed as I leaned in to show off the redness across my cheeks and nose.

“Ilooklikeadrunk, isitrosacea? OMGamIgonnagetrosacea?” I gasped, suddenly panicked at the thought of replacing all my lovely creamy concealers with industrial tattoo coverup.

By this point, I was probably flaring at the nostrils like some over-tried, sweaty race horse.  To her credit, Jo remained ever-relaxed and soothing as she examined my skin closely.

I was ‘diagnosed’ with ‘diffused redness’ and was assured that this was NOT the same as Rosacea and nor was it necessarily a sign that I was gonna develop the common skin problem, especially as I have no family history of the condition.  It did, however, mean that my skin is in a state of sensitivity, irritation and inflammation.

“OMGLIKE… WHATCANIDO?” I wanted to exclaim… though I think I retained a teeny bit more street cred that that would imply.

Jo gave me a 1 month action plan to kickstart some serious healing… and I was all ears:

1) Drink plenty of water and Green Tea (anti-oxidants)

2). Include some anti-inflammatory foods in my diet (Salmon, Turmeric, Papaya, Brocolli, Sweet Potato) and perhaps even supplement with something like garlic tablets (a well known anti-inflammatory).

3). Aim to use skincare that contains vitamin E, which she described as the best anti-oxidant available.

4). Make sure the water I use isn’t too warm, be gentle and use as little water as possible in my cleansing routine.

Ok, I need to interject here….  Ahem.  A proposition nightmares are made of for me!

5). Be GENTLE with my skin when cleansing and don’t over stimulate the areas affected by redness

I’m gonna give her advice a go and see if I can get my skin happy with me again.

She also highlighted a few Liz Earle products that she believes will be beneficial to my particular concerns and demonstrated exactly how best to make them work for me.  There was no hard sell, and infact… Jo focused upon my lifestyle choices that may be triggering my skin sensitivity more than anything else.

I really enjoyed the skincare tutorial, a personal service that allowed me to discuss my concerns was a truly welcome experience.  It’s priced at £45 for 45 minutes and I think it would make a fantastic birthday gift for a sister, daughter or other close relative.  Infact, how much would I have loved this as a teenager?

I still have the Nokia 5110 that my parent’s gave me for my birthday back in 1998.  I wonder if they’d mind exchanging it for another session with Jo… I could have chatted for hours!  You can read some of Jo’s skincare tips here.

Follow the Elemis Spa Bus on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date with it’s whereabouts during Elemis’ 20th Anniversary nationwide tour.

Always fancied an Elemis treatment?  Well for a budget-friendly £10 you can enjoy one of 5 unique and luxurious 15 minute facial or body spa therapies performed by a professional “Elemis Angel”.  Instant relaxation and rejuvenation is promised with a maximum results in minimum time ethos.

Ensuring that it’s not only you who benefits from a bit of TLC, Elemis will be donating £1 from each treatment and skincare kit sold to charity Mothers4Children and they hope to raise well over £50,000 for the charity during the campaign.

I’m keeping my eye on the @elemisspabus updates and am trying to decide between a Skin Booster Facial, Chill-Out Shoulder and Scalp Massage, Sole Rescue Foot Treatment or Re-Charge Power Back Massage.

I think it’d have to be the facial.  What d’ya reckon ladies?

I’ve already declared my preference for shopping solo before… it’s a control thing.

My tastes are probably different to yours and I don’t wanna spend 20 minutes pretending to like that green eyeshadow you’ve gone all misty-eyed for.

I mean… “Hey!  Why don’t you come over here instead and examine these 7 different taupes with me whilst I delve into miniscule detail noting all the subtle differences between them”.

See the problem?  I’m not a very compatible or companionable person whilst shopping.  Just leave. me. alone.

So, it’s with interest that I saw Elemis’ latest launch!

By the way… this is supposed to be a graphical representation of Debenhams on Oxford St… I wanna know why there’s only two women in the picture?  There should be at least 50… all foaming at the mouth… pushing, snarling and invading one another’s personal space whilst clutching their little yellow Selfies bags from down the road.

Anyway, where was I?

Oh yeah… Elemis… Well, they’ve introduced this thing called a Double SpaPod and it goes something like this…

Launching this May is the world’s first Double Elemis SpaPod.  Now there are two treatment rooms available so you can book in alone or if with a friend you can both stop for advanced facial therapy and total body revival before you continue to shop!

I’m really not sold on this whole “go with a mate” thing but it got more interesting when I read this…

Each treatment is carried out whilst you relax on an Intelligent Massage Chair that measures the length of the spine,  takes your body weight, warms the body and is then  programmed to deliver a customised massage using a variety of techniques, working specifically on any problem areas.

Getting warmer…

And check out the new innovative Smart Glass Technology.  At the flick of a switch, this advanced glass instantly frosts over locking out the hustle and bustle of the beauty hall and cocoons you in its relaxing retreat-like ambiance…

Sold to the lady who wants to play with the switch! *flick, flick, flick*

.

I guess I can see the point with going to a spa-type thing with a mate… but I dunno, if it involves shopping too… I think I’d rather be forced to buy nothing but Constance Carroll for a year than buddy up…

Are you a sociable shopper?  Do you take your girlfriend’s to the loo with you?  Do you want one of those Elemis massage chairs for your front room too?