Stellar beauty treatments in SW London

(Bellissima Beauty Boutique in Wimbledon Village)

Rummaging around in my wallet last week I found a “£25 off” voucher for use in January at my local beauty salon, Bellissima Beauty boutique.

I don’t know if you are like me, because whilst I love a voucher or a special offer I tend to put them in my wallet or handbag and then rediscover them after the expiry date. Very frustrating…Anyway, I found this voucher in good time and booked an appointment for yesterday afternoon and took a sneaky hour and a half off and went to have a massage and a facial.

Bellissima Beauty Boutique is the salon I featured on my blog in the post, “Do you want low maintenance lovely lashes? Try this...” owned by 29 year-old Simona Masso.

Simona as I have said before, is pretty damn impressive in my opinion. Her first salon in Wimbledon Village is coming up to five years old and she has now opened a second salon in Raynes Park (right opposite Raynes Park station if you are worried about getting there).

“Bellissima Beauty & Relax” or Bellissima Raynes Park as I have it filed in my head is bigger than its Wimbledon Village sister. The idea, I think, is it is more of a spa-like environment where you are likely to go for more relaxing, longer treatments.

Having said this, both salons do everything – whether you need a manicure express, wax or a more luxurious treatment like a facial.

Anyway, back to me, and yesterday’s treatments. I had my massage and facial with Victoria Gratrick, one of the lovely therapists at Raynes Park.

A working mother, Victoria’s CV is ridiculously impressive and the places she has been headhunted to work at read like the “who’s who” of the beauty world.

From the moment I lay down on the heated bed I prayed for time to go as slowly as possible. I momentarily forgot that I would have to get back to my working day - it was unadulterated bliss.

Every treatment is tailor made for your needs and the salons use Murad and Mio products. In fact, I believe Victoria is the only trainer for Mio in the country and has designed a lot of the massage techniques used in the treatments.

I have been suffering with neck and shoulder pain over the last few weeks and came out feeling more mobile and my face was glowing after the facial.

All the therapists at both salons are trained meticulously but the most obvious thing is they clearly love what they do.

A quick word about the voucher I had. Simona and her team excel at keeping their clients happy. There are always discounts and deals galore.

You can buy courses of treatments where you pay for a certain number and get a certain number free, you get a loyalty card - which gets stamped each time you spend £50. Depending on how many stamps you have you could get a free file and paint, back massage or an hour’s facial.

So using my voucher and a loyalty stamp my visit cost £32.50, yep, you read that correctly…and it was top notch.

I’m an only child, so normally sharing is hard for me. But the care, treatments, expertise and wonderful vibe in the Bellissima salons are worth sharing. If you fancy A-list treatments, with wonderfully qualified therapists at really competitive prices – you should really check it out…

(http://www.bellissimawimbledon.co.uk)       

Random thoughts from a London Fashion Week (LFW) event

So here I am - getting back into my blogging routine. The last few weeks have been a little erratic, but life has been pretty full – just the way I like it!

Whilst I can’t quite believe I am sitting down to write about an event I went to a week and a half ago, I am quite glad that I have had to wait to collect my thoughts. Otherwise you may have just read a mildly prosecco-fuelled account of how I enjoyed looking at pretty things.

So here are some random thoughts:

The first thing that springs to mind is whenever I go to anything creative – a fashion event, a museum exhibition or an art gallery – I tell myself I should go more often. London, like so many locations is brimming with talent and creativity.

I knew the LFW event was going to be slick – stylish people milling around a chic backdrop. There were talks and a catwalk show highlighting the season’s trends. The trends show we watched showcased pieces from VeryExclusive.com. Here are some of my faves, all available on their website:

But the best bit for me was wandering around the pop up shops chatting to the designers. Their passion for their vision was something I loved and just highlighted to me how much music and fashion are aligned - in fact there are parallels in any art form, although sometimes I don’t see them, when the art form is visual. But by chatting to some of the designers I realised how similar our creative processes can be.

Among the designers I chatted to, was the lovely Helene Berman. I was so taken by her designs; I ended up with one of her beautiful faux fur coat – although at one point I was holding onto three of her coats!!

(Helene Berman and me, I'm wearing my new coat...)

One thing I struggle to get my head around though is catwalk modelling – I find it a little confusing.

All the models looked lovely and extremely professional and without doubt there is huge skill involved in being a chameleon, showcasing many different styles of clothes. And having recently done a video shoot, working the camera is very “hit and miss” for me – these girls have "know how" I do not possess.

But, they were all so serious and sombre. And however attractive they were, their looks and walks were pretty identical. I suppose this is the point?

Also, without exception, they were all very slim and very tall. Height is something I am quite envious of – as I will never be tall, not without the help of my stilettos which let’s be honest only bring me up to the national average. And whilst some were really very slim, I’m not going to get into the size debate here…maybe a post for another day…The other thing that occurred to me was blatantly obvious - sharing experiences with great company. I went to the event with a friend whom I have known for about 16 years. Our sons share the same birthday. I am learning to never undervalue time with good friends – chatting, listening, and supporting each other and lots of laughter. Sometimes I get so focussed with work and my kids that I forget how good company is great for my soul.

(My mate, Rachel and me - a pre-catwalk selfie)

So in conclusion, it was a really lovely event to go to and I hope to do these types of events more often…and I’ll try not to be so tardy with the posting next time!!