Get Christmas party ready in one place
Womankind at Charlie Miller offers a one stop shop for a facial, manicure and style, finds Gaby Soutar
The treatment
A 45 minute Alumiermd Advanced Skincare Glow Peel, £85, and an Express Manicure, £29 at the new Womankind clinic at Charlie Miller, 118 Raeburn Place (0131-343 6262, www.womankindbeauty.co.uk), as well as a Blow Dry, £37 at the salon (0131-332 4040, www.charliemiller.com).
Why go?
To get everything done in one place, from waxing to tanning, lashes and up-dos. Although unisex beauty salon, Womankind, has a 16-year old venue along the road at 58 Raeburn Place, it’s now moved into the new Charlie Miller salon, which is part of the new Raeburn Place development.
Our spy says
It’s pretty swanky inside this box fresh venue – all open plan, with pink orchids, and lots of space for the salon bit, the nail bar and waiting areas, with the treatment rooms at the back.
I’m lying on a treatment bed here while therapist and salon owner, Lauren, quizzes me, so she can tailor my facial. I share my bugbears – dullness and sagging – and she suggests the Glow facial from the medical grade skincare brand, Alumiermd. Then she’s off, sloughing off my make-up with a foamy mixture, then prepping my skin with a Retexturizing Treatment, which is rubbed across my epidermis with gauze. Next, a gel-like mask, which contains lactic acid, goes on. Lauren asks me to say, from one10, how uncomfortable this peeling treatment feels, but it never goes over one.
You need not suffer to be beautiful, and I’m distracted by the gorgeous shoulder and décolleté rub.
When it comes to round two, the mask goes on again, and Lauren rubs my scalp. I’m still at one, with just some vague prickly warmth around my nose. After a few minutes, she sprays some Neutralizing Solution over the top, and it subtly crackles and pops on my face.
There’s an application of calming balm, and an SPF42 to protect me from the elements.
Apparently, the best results will be seen about 10 days afterwards, when my skin will look refreshed. I mark it in my calendar.
Next, I’m up to the nail bar, where Neiva will be revamping my talons with their The Gelbottle Inc lacquer. I ignore the reds, nudes and blues, and choose a mossy dark green called Avant Garde. After my nails have been shaped and buffed into perfect ovals, it’s painted on with three layers, so shiny that it looks like malachite. I’m going to take care of these and hope they’ll make it until Christmas.
Finally, I get to experience Charlie Miller, round the other side of the partition. There’s a thorough wash, using Kerastase’s most moisturizing products, then I’m blow-dried, with a curve and bounce added to my otherwise listless wig. My hair is as shiny as my nails, once a tiny drop of Charlie Miller’s Gloss Oil has been smoothed across the top.
The results
If you’re looking for somewhere to get prepped for Christmas parties, I've found your one stop shop.