Find a superstar facialist
LONDON is overwhelming at the best of times. When it comes to locating the best therapists in a sea of spas and salons, you may well end up overpaying for the privelage of an inferior, unsatisying treatment and a surly, standardised therapist.
Facials are among the most intimate treatments and are the easiest to get wrong. So we went on a valiant mission to bring you four of London’s super-facialists: women (and a man) who will never let you down, and who really deliver the promises of their products. More to the point, each has phenomenal skill and a knack for flourishes: Shareen is a dab hand at the facial tuning fork, while?Una has innovated with hot wax to open your pores. Vanda has her own devices, including a brush, to make your face beautiful – and a touch like no other.?Well, none other than Roberto, whose massage technique is second to none in London. Hope it helps.
VANDA SERRADOR, URBAN SKIN
Serrador has a loyal following among city-dwelling celebrities wanting to look fresh as daisies. Since I spend most of my time either on the Tube or in the office,?I simply had to visit. She has a lovely, intelligent manner – she can tell you all you want about lymphatic drainage and the chemical composition of the fabulous Yon-Ka products she uses, or you can just lie back and relax as she performs a deliriously pleasant (and vigorous) lymphatic drainage massage all over your face, neck and arms. You’ll think her touch is heaven-sent as she swipes off the dead cells on your face with a big brush; other special feature is a hot stone oil application. A?truly euphoric sensual experience, and my skin looked baby-like for days. £100 for an hour. www.urban-skin.com
SHAREEN ANANDALE, THE SPA AT BROWN’S HOTEL
South African-born Shareen is not famous in her own right (yet). Yet from the first moment I met her (for a pedicure, as it happens), I felt instantly happy and relaxed, bathed in an amazing sweetness that was entirely free of industry-speak. Within three minutes I felt I was with an old friend. But this being one of London’s best spas,, you’re in for a highly skilled treatment too and Shareen’s touch is as assured and focused as her personality is bubbly. Book her for the Natura Bisse Diamante facial, a 90 minute orgy of wellbeing involving a thorough lymphatic massage, a tuning fork’s vibrations on facial pressure points, and a diamond dust-filled face mask. £150 for 90 minutes. www.brownshotel.com
UNA BRENNAN
Brennan has such a cult following from celebrities, beauty editors and those deeply in the know that I was almost afraid to meet her. But it’s hard not to feel at home with her, since you are, literally, in her front room at her home in Notting Hill. Then there’s her boho look and her Irish lilt: she’s both cool and friendly. Her facial, though, is astonishing. A double cleanse with her range of choice, Skinceuticals, is followed by a dynamite massage (she trained at a body-building gym in?Belfast), extraction, then the kicker: a hot wax mask that is in both agonising and extraordinary. Then, pores wide open and vulnerable, she slams them shut with a cold compress so you’re ready to face the world, glowing. £110 for 90 mins. Tel: 020 7313 9835
ROBERTO GRAZIANO, CITYPOINT CLUB
It’s not every day that you encounter a male beauty therapist. It’s even rarer that you encounter one that is equal parts beefcake and sensitive beautician. Graziano trained as a masseur (after studying chemistry in his native Italy), and his strengths like in his touch, at times supernaturally sensitive; at others, so firm you yelp. A big believer in Elemis, Graziano brings the brand’s range to life with a quickfire progression through its host of creams, oil capsules, massage and a mask. If you like soft facials – free of the pain of extractions of vigorous exfoliations – Graziano is your man, and the head massage he performs while your mask dries is second to none. The glow I left with after the SOS Purifying Facial with is proof. £65 for an hour. www.thecitypointclub.co.uk
FACE FORWARDS | TREATMENT WATCH
The four facialists featured here are personalities and/or experts in themselves. But there are a range of absolutely brilliant treatments at other spas around London that are worth trying out if your skin needs a boost, or you need a treat.
Top of that list is the Oxygen Plasma & Ultrasound facial at Beauty Works West. Developed by New York A-list facialist Ling Chang, it involves a triple exfoliation, parraffin wax mits for the hands, an ultrasound lymphatic massage, heavy steaming, extraction and a lip and eye plumping treatment. It actually changed my skin for good. www.beautyworkswest.com
Don’t miss the range at Glow Urban Spa either: my favourite are the Raw Glow facials, which use superfoods, sea algae, organic cold pressed oils, fruits and vegetables on your face, resulting in an incredible, err, glow and sense of wellbeing. The Omorovicza re-mineralising facial is also richly rejuvenating, using Hungarian oats and wheat. www. glowurbanspa.co.uk.
Up in Camden, Reikha at Alchemy dishes up a superb COMO Shambhala Purify Holistic facial, using hot compresses full of ginger, lemongrass and kaolin to soothe, along with grapefruit and fennel oils on your face and neck. Relaxation is extreme, and your skin will thank you. www.alchemythecentre.co.uk