From the opulent new spa escape and at-home laser that will change your life (or at least your skin) to the hottest healers in town and the futuristic new tools to rev up your routine, we’ve got the new season of beauty and health covered.
THE SUSTAINABILITY HEROES
Herbar
Adaptogenic beauty is the hottest term on everyone’s lips, and groovy new brand Herbar has got those fungi at the ready for seriously restorative lotions and potions. Its Barrier Cream is a silky smooth, five-ceramide complex packed with medicinal mushrooms and adaptogens in a beautifully toadstool-esque tube. A mush have.
Fussy
Think being sustainable is the pits? Natural deodorant brand Fussy bucks the crusty image of old, offering compostable refills of scents as wild as Parma Violets and vetiver-infused Cloud Nine, all encased in its curvy, bright, plastic-free holders.
Neighbourhood Botanicals
Leyton’s own carbon-negative small pharma gives us all-natural beauty you’ll want to show off. Formulated from cold-pressed oils and all-natural ingredients, cult heroes such as Simmer Down calming botanical serum come direct from the mind and hands of founder Micaela Nisbet.
Haeckels
Margate’s sustainable beauty doyenne Haeckels has brought its special blend of ocean-inspired beauty to Hackney with treatments including its Seaweed and Walnut Shell Body Scrub. Its newest product, Beetroot Probiotic, promises digestive harmony. Try the value subscription box for a monthly dose of eco-product heaven.
THE TECH
LASER FOCUS with Lyma Pro
Lyma changed the beauty game with its Lyma Laser: the medical grade, 500mW infra-red beam transformed our perception of what at-home tech could do, addressing skin concerns from pigmentation to rosacea. For those looking to work on larger areas, it’s just launched the 1,450mW Lyma Pro. Treatment time is down to three minutes, turbocharging results. LYMA Laser £1999 and LYMA Laser PRO £4995
THE TRAVEL CREW
Baesianz Adventure Club
Niche clubs are flourishing all over the capital. From the inner-city Swim Dem Crew to birdwatchers Flock Together, there’s a renewed energy behind finding community and spaces for traditionally under-represented groups — most notably people of colour. Our favourite? The rather brilliantly named Baesianz Adventure Club, created specifically for women, trans and non-binary people of colour, and Nike approved. Time to embrace the great outdoors?
THE TREATMENT
Scaling NEW HEIGHTS with Hypoxia training
Longevity is the wellness buzzword of the year, with the goal being that as a population we live longer, healthier lives. While so many protocols out there are actually common sense (less processed food, good sleep hygiene, immersing yourself in nature), there is also a growing market for cutting-edge treatments to supplement your journey. One such is intermittent hypoxia training. WTF is that, you ask? Think of it as high-altitude training, proven to increase stress resistance while soothing the nervous system. So far, so good. But how exactly does it work? At Marylebone’s Galen Clinic, clients are given a respiratory mask, where air with low oxygen content and oxygen-rich air alternate, for 45 minutes, while it simulates a range of altitudes ranging from 2,000m to 6,700m. A course of 10 sessions is recommended for optimal results, but expect to see results in better sleep, digestion and immunity — all with zero downtime.
9 Queen Anne Street
Buy now £300.00, Galen Clinic
THE SKINCARE REVOLUTION
Whenever it comes to which costly skincare products really are worth it, Augustinus Bader’s name is on most lips. The secret is 30 years expertise in stem cell science and experience treating burn victims. The result? Forward thinking creams that really do something. Their latest, The Skin Infusion, is a four-week program promoting skin cell turnover to correct complexion and rejuvenate the skin. Start now and be set for summer…
THE SCENT OF ETERNAL YOUTH
Sylph-like heroines of the Sixties and reckless teens — Celine creative director Hedi Slimane has attempted to bottle up Parisian party girls into his new perfume, Zouzou, a French nickname for young women with cropped hair. Amber and musk give way to caramel overtones. ‘I wished to create a perfume about utopian adolescence, capturing an ideal of eternal youth,’ says Slimane. ‘The ingénue boyishness of Jean Seberg filmed by Jean-Luc Godard.’ Now, dance until you drop. Available June.
THE SUPER SPA
Estelle Manor
Loving London’s Maison Estelle, but need to get out of town? Welcome to Estelle Manor, a spin-off hotel and members’ club in Oxfordshire in a Grade II-listed manor house set within 3,000 acres of glorious Cotswold-ness. There are 108 rooms, all-day dining space The Brasserie, blingtastic Chinese restaurant The Billiards Room, a kids’ club, The Clubhouse with gym, yoga studio, working space, boutique and, imminently, a George Northwood salon. Coming soon: padel courts, family-style restaurant The Glasshouse set within a peaceful walled vegetable garden and the Eynsham Baths — an epic, Roman-inspired 3,000 sq m spa complete with marble colonnades, tepidarium and hammam. We’re told there will be a hidden pool and waterfall for late-night partying. It’s opulent, playful and spectacular.
Rooms from £450.
LONDON’S HEALERS
Sade Jackson – cosmic readings
Treat yourself to a personalised reading with ES’s resident astrologer. Expect a roadmap on how to circumnavigate dodgy days and when you’re due your cosmic bounty. You can also catch her at East London’s Fire + Alchemy.
Mia Kawada at the Kite Clinic – fertility support
If you’re one of the one in seven UK couples struggling to conceive, Gerad Kite’s unique spin on ancient Chinese Five Point acupuncture will harness and level your body’s energies. Part talking-therapy, part needlework, ES associate editor Emily Phillips credits practitioner Mia Kawada with both of her kids. High praise.
Dimple Amani – lymphatic spring clean
Are you as addicted to those hypnotic social videos of Dimple’s signature sculpting techniques as we are? Working muscles from inside and outside of your mouth — as well as promoting lymphatic drainage across your face and body — hers are magic hands.
THE ULTIMATE SCULPTING TOOL
Isamaya Ffrench x FACEGYM Sculpt 01
It might look like a torture instrument, but when make-up artist to the stars Isamaya Ffrench collabs with Facegym, you know there’s going to be some good looking take away. With a bit more bite than your average gua sha, this can be used on face, scalp and body. Stress relief was immediate with that ball tip nodule targeting reflexology points along the brow, while the comb stimulates lymphatic drainage and relieves scalp tension.
Buy now £50.00, FACEGYM
THE SCALP-CARE TREND
We hate to break it to you, but we’ve moved on from rosemary water and good old Head & Shoulders when it comes to looking after the skin on one’s scalp — which is the key to maintaining healthy, thick, luscious locks, by the way. Upgrade your haircare routine with these simple yet vital steps.
THE STEAM
To unclog pores, remove dead skin and get rid of any product build-up, go for a scalp steam. Part of the 45-minute Head Spa treatment at Hiro Miyoshi, Curzon Street, it also includes a head, neck and shoulder massage and moisturising tsubaki oil treatment.
Buy now £150.00, Hiro Miyoshi
THE EXFOLIANT
For a faster, more affordable treatment with similar results to steaming, try an at-home exfoliator, such as the Malin + Goetz Detox Scalp Mask, which uses salicylic acid and AHAs to slough away dead skin cells, excess oil, impurities and product build-up in five minutes flat.
Buy now £30.00, Liberty
THE SERUM
To prevent hair loss and excess shedding, the Champo Pitta Growth Serum targets the hair loss hormone, DHT, with caffeine and biochanin A from red clover extract, while also strengthening and nourishing with haritaki fruit extract, a favourite in Ayurvedic medicine.
Buy now £34.00, Selfridges
THE NEW SUPER INGREDIENT
Ever wondered what keeps certain creatures alive in the coldest, darkest corners of the earth? That’d be ectoin, an organic molecule that’s a type of extremolyte, designed to protect the cells of critters living in the deepest parts of the sea and the desert. Now, scientists are popping into skincare to help our faces navigate an equally treacherous environment: London.
In a nutshell? It does it all. By coating the skin with a protective ‘hydrofilm’, it acts as a bodyguard from external aggressors, while also preventing inflammation, locks in moisture, limits UVA sun damage, reduces redness, improves texture and reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Find it in…
Dr Jart + Ceramidin Ectoin-Infused Cream, £54 (cultbeauty.co.uk)
Susanne Kaufmann Rejuvenating Power Serum, £126 (libertylondon.com)
Shiseido Vital Perfection LiftDefine Radiance Night Concentrate, £145 (johnlewis.co.uk)
