REVIEW: SEASONAL PEDICURE
THERE’S something very lovely about a wintry, Christmassy pedicure. It’s cold outside, you’ve got a flush in your cheeks and your hands are full of goody bags. What could be nicer than ducking out of the shopping mayhem and settling onto a warm bed in a delicious cavern of a spa in one of Mayfair’s most luxurious boutique hotels, sticking your feet into a warm wooden tub of hot milk with apple and cinnamon and getting your feet pampered while your read Vogue (or Morning Wire)?
Very little is the answer. And so it was with a deep sense of bliss that I settled in at the Spa at Brown’s last week for the seasonal Christmas pedicure, and with a sense of wellbeing that I departed in flipflops to preserve the immaculate French pedicure my therapist had applied.
Like the signature seasonal and milk and honey pedicures at Brown’s, this one begins with a drink of your choice (champagne is suggested – hot chocolate is the alternative, though I had a cappuccino since your wish is their command at these prices) as your therapist scrubs your feet. Next, my tootsies were scrubbed with Demerara sugar – more hydrating than salt – and rubbed with sticky treacle before being settled into that gorgeous warm broth of apple, cinnamon and milk. My nostrils were full of Christmas and my feet were softening by the second. Next comes a hot paraffin wrap on both feet to ensure total softness and finally, the shaping and painting of the nails.
I walked away feeling soothed and happy and – of course – full of both Christmas spirit and ready for open-toed party shoe season. Pedicure available from 1 Dec to 31 Jan 2011. To book, call 020 7518 4009, www. brownshotel.com. 33 Albemarle Street, W1S 4BP.