Oil-la-la!

By Terry Or De Rose

Darlings, as always I am on the run for best kept beauty secrets around the world. These nourishing and indulgent oils for face, hair and body are very special and will make your skin return to its baby times. 

ESPA Soothing Body Oil

Soothing Sandalwood, Rose Geranium and Frankincense help to gently ease tired, stressed bodies towards sleep, while Sweet Almond Oil deeply nourishes for beautifully soft, supple skin. 

ESPA

By Terry Or De Rose Huile Absolute

Combining the quintessence of lifting-firming rose cells, ultra-powerful extracts and precious rose oil, this exceptional skincare replenishes and enhances even the dullest, most devitalized skin, yearning for radiance.

Diptyque

Diptyque Precious Oils for Bath & Body

Radiant Florentine Iris merges with oils of Sweet Almond, Argan and Macadamia Nut. On the skin, the are like a silky whisper, nourshing and embellishing it. In the bath, they act as a protective emollient. 

Aromatherapy Associates Facial

It is difficult to describe the utter comfort and super-human results that come as standard with an Aromatherapy Associates treatment - you'd need the tactile equivalent of smelly telly just to get started. But I'll do my best… 

So, the nice thing about an AA treatment is that you're not backed into a corner when you book weeks in advance by having to specify your chosen ritual. Instead, you talk through exactly how your skin has been feeling and behaving over the past few days on arrival, highlighting areas of concern for your therapist to focus on. It means the treatment is totally bespoke and you don't waste time having a mask, massage or melt (tenuous, I know) that frankly your skin doesn't need. 

Obviously, the whole experience is simply divine. But what really tickled my fancy, darlings, is the magical bed. With its sumptuous duvet and squiggly mattress, it feels more like you might be going for a nap than a treatment. And it just keeps getting better. Inexplicably, the bed forms the perfect wiggle underneath you in the exact shape your body secretly craved without even telling you. You begin to wonder how you've ever before been comfortable without this robbo-bed. This is a see (or feel)-it-to-believe-it jobby. 

Aside from the genuinely results-driven treatment (my blemishes have literally packed their bags and left since my deep-clean facial yesterday), the whole experience is all about the details. You're treated to any number of upper-body massages, from head and shoulders to hands and arms, maximising your time as a treatment mask sets. And once in the post-treatment vanity room, there are ghds, hairdryers, and massive mirrors - it'd be rude not to preen! 

We tried out our technical expertise and booked through wahanda.com, which is an online interactive directory for where to go and what to do. Kind of like Facebook for beauty. Fabulous.

T: 020 7838 1117, www.wahanda.com.

Anne Semonin joins Michaeljohn Medispa

Parisian beauty brand Anne Sémonin has announced a partnership with brand new London medispa, Michaeljohn Beauty & Medispa.

The uber-luxe day spa, nestled right in the heart of our very own Knightsbridge, has been designed as a retreat from hustle and bustle of everyday city life. 

The super-indulgent Anne Sémonin treatment collection combines a blend of aromatic essential oils, trace elements and marine ingredients. The brand's classic French touch and holistic approach to treating the individual needs of a client’s body and skin delivers bespoke treatments, designed to create an atmosphere of maximum comfort, absolute luxury and outstanding results. 

The spa follows the brand’s renowned ‘tailor made’ ethos with individually designed treatment room, each of which has been given a character of its own - spa owner Katie Noble; says they have set out to bring "life and character to the spa”. 

Choose from super-charged facials, or mega-relaxing body treatments, or pick them all. Well, they don’t call it a day spa for nothing… 

Lady C talks to the pros

A vibrant pop of lip / cheek / eye colour may look like hard graft to perfect, but according to the NARS backstage stying team, statement make-up is a doddle compared to nailing the no-make-up make-up trend. A flawless face will never betray a high maintenance regime – your best compliment should be “who is your facialist”, not “who did your make-up”.

A look that screams au natural even if you’re wearing more slap than ever before? How on earth does one achieve that fabled “dewy” skin without straying into the dreaded “shine” territory?

Trust in your Lady C, darlings, for I have done my homework.

Backstage at Christopher Kane, the models had their face massaged to increase blood circulation for a natural glow. But if you don’t have a masseuse to hand (and why-ever not?) NARS’ International Lead Stylist, Jane Richardson, suggests a mega-hydrating over-night mask the before a big event. Or get the pros in and indulge in Crème de la Mer’s The Facial at Urban Retreat, £120 for 60mins.

Next, choose your cosmetics wisely. Opting for brand continuity is a good idea, since varying proportions of oil and water can cause make-up to slip or “fall off” as you layer-up, which does not a natural look create.

Burberry’s latest cosmetic collection references the effortless elegant of the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2012 ready-to-wear, with colour limited to wearable English countryside hues, and an emphasis on matte, velvety textures. Think lightweight foundation, rich velvety eye shades, gently contoured cheeks, and natural dusky pink lips. They’ve done it all for you, really.

Top tip? Wendy Rowe, Burberry Beauty Artistic Consultant suggests applying foundation from the centre of the face, blending outwards, for truly natural coverage. Lady C fully endorses getting your fingers dirty for this – the skin on skin contact warms foundation, allowing it to blend more seamlessly. 

The Burberry collection isn’t available til August, so bide your time and brush up on application skills. And woe betide the unprepared come Autumn - this look is going to be huge!

ONCA beauty supplement trial

 This week, Lady C will be trying out the latest craze in beauty supplements: Onca. The “beauty & energy” mix is designed to be taken twice a day – in the morning to cleanse and detoxify, and in the evening to support the body’s nightly recovery ritual. Boasting no fewer than 21 all-natural ingredients from the exotic to staple heroes like Acai, Onca is has a fair few benefits up it’s glossy sleeve. 

Here goes… boosts collagen, increases skin elasticity, improves hair, teeth, bone and nail health, speed metabolism, supports the immune system, increases energy and concentration, regulates digestion, protects cardiovascular health… phew. Is there anything it doesn’t do?!

More to the point, this super-exclusive supp (it will only be sold to 3,000 people, to maintain production ethics) is apparently mega-tasty – we’ve heard mutterings of “chocolate replacement” being bandied about…

Well. We shall leave that accolade to yours truly to deliver.

Watch this space, darlings – the proof will be in the (healthy alternative to) pudding!

Biodroga launches new Golden Caviar Mask

If we may be so bold, the down-side of a fabulous facial (and yes, there truly is one), is that one must watch the inevitable decline of said fabulous results with every moment that goes by.

But all is not bleak, facial fans. Lady C was excited to learn that German skin-whizz brand Biodroga are launching a new Golden Cavier Mask, £34.80, to rival the results delivered at The May Fair’s treatment by the same name, £99 for 60 mins.

The rich cream mask contains precious caviar extract and vitamins that penetrate deep into the dermis to intensely nourish skin, boosting moisture levels and balancing skin’s lipids to fortify its barrier function. Fine lines and wrinkles are smoothed, and the subtlest deposits of shimmering pigments deflect light for a thoroughly flawless finish.

It’s not a facial, but it’ll tide you over until you can see you therapist. And who doesn’t love a bit of DIY?!

Harrods to host Caudalie pop-up spa

Sod the English “summer”, Lady C has a little treat for those planning a July Staycation..

From Monday 25th June to Monday 23rd July, Harrods’ aptly named Urban Retreat is bringing a tranquil slice of the French countryside to central London.

Since it’s debut in 2008, the Urban Retreat Pop-up Spa Festival has brought world-wide spas to the world’s largest super salon, from The Forte Village in Sardinia to The Pangkor Laut in Malaysia. Simply: if you can’t get to a spa, UR will bring it to you..

Caudalíe’s pop-up is an indulgent treat inspired by the Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard in Bordeaux where the brand was born and with all their signature anti-oxidant prowess. A world apart from the drizzly sky outside, Caudalíe’s pop-up is a temporary haven of French bucolic paradise, and a breath of fresh country air in the heart of London. Sigh.

Choose from five uber-luxe signature Caudalíe treatments for face or body, or the exclusive Urban Retreat Combo Express package. Lady C was treated to the super-speedy Express D-Vine Facial, £50 for 30mins, which whipped our tired, lack-lustre skin into luminous, radiant shape with the perfect cleanse-mask-massage combo. We hear this is one for Mr Chartwell, too..

Visit www.urbanretreat.co.uk/harrods to book.

The May Fair's Moroccan Steam Cleansing Ritual

There is a reason why the May Fair Hotel is routinely chosen to house the international glam pack each season throughout London Fashion Week. And it’s not the inclusion of the largest private theatre in London, nor the rooftop penthouse with 360˚ views of London, or even the banquet facilities that house the largest Baccarat chandelier in Europe.

We have one word for you: Spa.

Offering bespoke treatments and treatment packages from traditional Swedish massage to the jet-setter’s BFF Jetlag Reviver (£330 for 3hr40), the spa is a haven from the hustle of city life, and an exercise in elegance and luxury.

Lady C was treated to the iconic Moroccan Steam Cleansing Ritual, (or the May Fair Mud Bath to those in the know). The toning muds and natural salts seep deep within the skin thanks to cleaning steam that is continuously jetted out of a crystal ball. And to calm your mind while you’re at it, tiny optic fibre lights imitate the feeling of a warm summer night.

The experience is enjoyed from the privacy of an individual steam chamber (or chamber pour deux if you fancy some fun-in-the-mud with a special someone).

Our skin was left wonderfully softened, and our mind perfectly at ease. It is the perfect remedy for busy city life (if you have the time, that is..).