Don’t want to leave your hotel room? Want something special in your office? Can’t be bothered to get your pedicure done in the nail bar down the road? Like to do a his and hers spa chez vous?
Welcome to the mobile spa, Blow Ltd, bringing a spa to your door. They offer everything from a blow dry to make-up, nails, lashes, waxing, deep tissue massage, yoga and Pilates. Over 2000 stylists to nail technicians, and all screened, tested and mystery shopped before they can join the squad. You can use them for weddings, corporate or….cue for drum roll…for an 18-year-old girl going to prom. That’s me.
Eileen is the first person who arrives to put me in the relaxed mood for the big evening. She’s a top masseur. After filling in a health questionnaire, I pop onto her couch and she sets to work with her wondrous fingers. She turns everything upside down (in the nicest possible way) and begins the treatment by massaging my front (with me lying on my back, obviously) and by doing my legs first. (Most therapists do shoulders first.) She also pays special attention to my tummy, the epicenter of all my stress.
She offers a mixture of aromatherapy, Swedish, and Manual Lympathic Drainage (which is particularly useful for inflammation and post-operative fluid retention). She also massages my acupressure points. (She wants to become an aesthetic acupuncturist one day.)
She uses homemade organic oils, a blend of chamomile, Manuka honey, geranium and lavender. The chamomile induces relaxation, zzzzz. To say that she’s good would be like saying that the Pope is a nice bloke. She’s supercalafragalisticexpialadoshusly good. Slow, steady and soothing. She once travelled with a film crew, and proved as essential as the camera.
After this treatment, I have a light lunch and then prepare myself for further pampering. On the afternoon of the prom, makeup man, Czar Ventura, arrives punctually – to the second. Prom is a one-time thing. I want it to be memorable. Indeed, thanks to Czar’s magic, getting ready is a breeze. Day look, cocktail look, evening, party face…he can do it all. As for hair, well he’s happy to create something simple…in my case, America’s Dream prom hair….think beauty pageant, and lots of blonde curls.
For me, hair and makeup for an event normally consists of long-haul travel (I think that’s an appropriate term for the sweaty rush from the humble Borough of Kensal Rise to the salons of Chelsea); or the stress and drama in having bad hair days, disastrous attempts at sticking on falsies (that’s eyelashes to you), and same-ish eyeshadow looks. The result? I’m always late. And the look ain’t great either.
Today is different. Whipping my hair up with curling tongs, the ebullient and clever Czar chats to me about his Classics degree, the editorial work he’s done, and how he came to be working for the company. He tongs my hair until it bounces with joy, then pushes it back to get started on my foundation.
As Czar works on my makeup, he talks to me with passion about the variety of brands he uses – Guerlain, Tom Ford, Laura Mercier to name a few – and the trending fashions, and I feel totally confident in him. (After all, this is a man who was trained by Glauca Rossi, who’s renowned in the industry for producing exceptional talent such as Charlotte Tilbury.) Plus he adds enough sparkle here and there to please the perfectionist in me. By the time he’s finished my face, I’m happy as happy with the results. It’s a look that makes me want never to use makeup remover again.
And then it’s time for prom….
The Details:
Bespoke makeup 60 minutes £60. Bespoke blow dry 60 minutes £60. Aromatherapy 60 minutes £60.
If you want to contact Eileen McKoy, her email is ellabundance@hotmail.co.uk or telephone her on 07795 350822.
If you want to contact Czar Joshua Ventura his email is czarjoshua_ventura@hotmail.com or telephone him on 07817 773071.
Blowltd.com can be reached on 01256 952 100. You can book an appointment from 7:00am to 10:00pm, via an app or online. They’re available in London Zones 1-6, Surrey, Essex, Kent and Middlesex.
Author Bio:
Ella Braimer Jones is a student, model and daughter of one of our travel writers.
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