The glorious moment my lines actually disappeared
LING OXYGEN PLASMA FACIAL AT BEAUTY WORKS WEST, WESTBOURNE GROVE
*****
WHEN a facialist is the go-to person for American celebrities, the rich and elite, you know you’re dealing with someone able to satisfy the most demanding customers. But you’re usually also dealing with a ridiculous price tag too. Well, now the administrations of New York therapist du jour Michelle Ling are available in the London, at brilliant beauty sanctuary Beauty Works West, in the form of the Ling Oxygen Plasma Lip and Eye Facial, for the reasonable price of £115. If this sounds steep, it’s not – the facial takes two hours and is one of the most thorough I have ever had.
But “thorough” does not come close to explaining its genius. The results, though, do – three weeks later random shop assistants are saying I look 20, and colleagues are commenting on how well I look. I am blessed with decent skin at the worst of times; so to be receiving such comments is new for me. I confess I do look in the mirror with far greater satisfaction since the Ling treatment.
The main reason I have been singing the praises of this facial to anyone who will listen is that it actually lessened my forehead lines – it’s the first facial I’ve had that has done so.
The treatment starts with lips, eye, face, neck and chest cleansing. Then the therapist peers very closely at your skin with a magnifying glass, analysing its needs. Next up: steaming, serious massage not just of the face but of the eyes and lips too (lips are left very pouty and plump), with special eye and lip “repare” cream, then a plumping collagen cream. Two fruit peels, extraction (if you want it), triple exfoliation, two masks, and a moisturisation later, your skin looks like a million bucks.
Throughout, your hands are encased in paraffin wax mitts leaving them just as soft as your face, chest, eyes and lips. No stone (pore) is left unturned in this facial – and I am still reaping the benefits with profoundly soft skin and fewer lines. 110 minutes: £115, www.beautyworkswest.com