London College of Beauty Therapy, W1

As published on Times Online
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/good_spa_guide/article7016933.ece


USP

The largest beauty salon in London (by floor space) boasts 14 treatment ‘rooms’ just around the corner from the sights and delights of Oxford Circus.

AMBIENCE

The entrance shows the signs of student life - beauticians in their ‘whites’ milling about outside.
The receptionist was friendly to my sister and I on arrival and directed us swiftly from the modern red and white nail bar reception area (with ten tables ready for action) to the dark waiting area, a throughway to the ground floor treatment room.
What used to be the London College of Music before becoming a private family bank shows some signs of its previous grandeur – with huge chandeliers hanging from the ceilings of its vast spacious rooms.

It is a very busy salon with 28 students working at any one time and capacity to treat 20 clients in an hour. To say it's atmospheric is an understatement. It does not hold the stillness of a typical spa, but it does have a charming energy.

QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE

My therapist, Charlotte, went through the disclaimer and took a quick health check before my Full Body Massage including Face and Scalp (75 minutes for £25). The lotions used throughout the college salon are LCBT’s own. My desired result to be relaxed and de-stressed was met perfectly, Charlotte used great pressure, massaging evenly and thoroughly and I zoned out almost immediately.
My sister was positively glowing after her Deep Cleansing Facial (60 minutes for £20), a bride-to-be in April she is keen to find somewhere that she can come back to at affordable prices on the run up to her wedding, and she's found it. The dry skin around her mouth and hairline had almost gone post-treatment. The following day she commented on how blemish-free and better balanced the moisture of her skin was and how keen she was to book up again.
You can't choose a therapist when you book an appointment, which is a shame, but you can state whether you would prefer a male or female therapist.

FOOD

It was very tempting to go from salon to West End since you walk out into the heart of it, but we reined ourselves in and sensibly sipped hot chocolates in Starbucks opposite.

IN-CROWD

City professionals and Soho workers in the know fitting in a treatment during their lunch break or after work and the families and friends of the beauty therapy students.

WALLET WATCH

A good variety of face, body, hand and feet treatments to choose from and no matter how hard you try, you cannot spend more than £25 on any treatment.

NEED TO KNOW

London College of Beauty Therapy, 47 Great Marlborough Street, LONDON W1 7JP (0207 7208 1302; http://www.lcbt.co.uk/) email: salon@lcbt.co.uk

Reducing pain in a nice way

I broke my back many moons ago and still suffer from the ache in my lower back as well as my neck, as I'm sure most of you do given we're sitting at our desks for 8 hours a day.

I was introduced to the magic of TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) by my hospital physio and at first found it the strangest thing. But it works. And it still works for me, so many years on.

Here's the science bit...the machine delivers small painless electrical pulses to the body via electrodes placed on the skin. This blocks the way pain signals are sent to to the brain and stimulates the body enough to create endorphins - our own pain relieving chemical.

Great for sporting injuries, whiplash, backpain, menstrual pain, sciatica, and arthritis, to name just a few.

Small enough to put in your pocket, you can use this whilst you're on the go and no one would know. Often I take it to work and use it at my desk. Why put up with pain when you don't have to.

It hasn't changed my life, but it has let me find some relief to my problem areas and that in itself has made a big difference.

Youthfulness...

I've been asked to try this face cream by my colleague and feedback to him how I get on. I'm hoping for miracle results and to turn back my age by 10 years, I'm not sure how likely that is to happen, I'll keep you posted

They say: Building on Sirtuin technology, Clinique science uses youth-extending agents to create a nightly moisturizer that helps intensify the nightly cycle of natural repair. Plumped with natural collagen, lines and wrinkles appear to evaporate. Skin gains that energized “8-hour effect” come morning.

Watch this space!

Music to my ears...

I can't tell you how many people stop me in the pool to ask what I'm wearing. I swim in two locations three or four times a week and its very rare that I don't get asked once or twice on each occassion.

Simplistically, its a rubber case for my shuffle, so I can swim lap upon lap to my chosen swim playlist and 'drown' out the rest of the pool so I can concentrate on my work out.

I've never not worked out to music, so when I started swimming it was a must find for me, and I didn't have to look that hard. Do a Google search for 'waterproof shuffle' and there are plenty of suppliers.

Needless to say- given my shuffle was only £35 the device in its entirety costs more, £30 for the case and £20 for the earplugs but its been worth every penny.

If you swim regularly and want something to stimulate your mind whilst swimming lap upon lap, give this a go. I'm in the pool twice as long as I usually would be, working out to my favourite tracks and as a by product getting very fit indeed!

Try it.

Thai Royale Beauty Oil

I don't have particularly dry skin, but I do love to put this on my face before bed and wake up in the morning with super soft and well hydrated skin.

Its smells beautifully of ginger and lemongrass, applies easily as an oil would and you only need a small amount so it lasts forever.

By morning the oil has done its thing, nourished your skin from the outside in, leaving your face soft to touch and positively glowing with hydration.

For a keen swimmer like myself, its a must. And for my pregnant friend suffering from dry skin, its perfect.

Just the tonic to keep your skin beautiful and I promise you this, your skin will feel as though you had a facial at a fraction of the price.

Try it and let me know what you think. http://www.champneys.com/Collection/Bath_and_Body/Thai_Royale/Beauty_Oil