With a long bank holiday weekend ahead, festival season almost upon us and the promise of an April heatwave, spring is the perfect time to switch up your beauty regime and give yourself that just-out-of-the-salon boost.
From the trending hair colour of the season to the body whisperers to have on speed dial and the facialists to spring clean your complexion, let us be your guide.
Start from the top
Red hair is officially trending for spring, thanks to the likes of Barbie Ferreira and Kendall Jenner. Last month, the model revealed she had ditched her signature raven tresses for a softer, copper hue and the likes of Zendaya, Kaia Gerber and Sydney Sweeney are all on board. “For the last 18 months we’ve seen a lot more coppers, reds and really warm tones,” says Spitalfields-based celebrity stylist Adam Reed. “This trend really works for everyone as there are so many variations of the colour. We’re seeing everything from cooler coppers to really bright, vibrant fake coppers.”
He warns if you’re going for something completely new, it’s best to go in-salon first. “It isn’t as easy as it looks and reds tend to fade quicker.” To maintain your locks, arm yourself with the right colour-maintenance products. Try a rich mask twice a week to maintain moisture and prevent any stripping, like The Future Youth treatment mask (£9.33) from Reed’s new haircare brand Arkive, or Oway’s colour protection hair mask (£26.50). Prefer something a little lighter? Try “buttery apricot,” suggests Antonia Cometa, senior colourist at Larry King. “Blondes this spring are bright and warm, it’s that time of year again when everyone wants brightening up and warm tones always make us feel brighter. Don’t be scared of warm, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be brassy.”
Meanwhile, if you want to give your hairstyle a minimal-effort refresh, it’s all about a modern take on Sixties-inspired flicky and flippy ends, according to salon owner Larry King. “This works brilliantly on a jaw-length bob. Add a centre parting and just a little lift at the crown, then use a round brush to flick the ends upwards.” Smooth down any flyaways with his new Hair Care flyaway with me kit (£19).
Spring clean skin
Want to really give yourself a complexion deep clean? HydraFacial has opened a shiny new flagship salon on Portman Square just in time for the season change, and it’s the brand’s first permanent home in the UK. The Hydra-hype is real — everyone from Beyoncé to Kate Winslet is addicted to these glow-inducing facials. It’s a six-step process which incorporates the use of patented suction hydradermabrasion technology to essentially suck up gunk, dirt and debris from your pores and then flood the skin with cosmetic-grade antioxidants and peptides that leaves you with an instantly radiant complexion. The best bit? Hydrafacial is offering customers their first treatment completely free if you sign up at hydrafacial.co.uk (usually £130 for 45-minutes).
Over on the King’s Road, Cali-born laser facials specialist Skin Laundry has just opened the doors of its second London location (it’s first is off Carnaby Street), where treatments with medical-grade Yag lasers penetrate deep into the dermis of the skin to rejuvenate cells and boost collagen production, whilst helping to minimise issues like pigmentation, discolouration and acne. Every first signature facial is £75 for new clients. For something more targeted try the Carbon Laser facial, involving a deep pore clean and peel, or Thermo Fractional facial, which uses microchannels to treat fine lines, wrinkles and scarring on the skin’s surface (both £300).
The body sculptors
Still feeling crumpled from all that time hunched over your laptop? It could be time for a posture check. At the Mandarin Oriental, new wellness brand Movementum has launched a posture and massage package that will have you walking an inch taller in no time. Begin with a guided movement session, which involves breathwork, stretching and a lesson in the principles of posture, next comes an intense and hyper-effective EMS (Enter Electro Muscle) training followed by either a 60-minute Prime to Perform or Movementum Regenerate essential oil massage in the spa to release tension, rebalance and aid recovery (from £165). Need a spring energy reset? Banish winter lethargy with the help of London-based lymphatic drainage specialist Dimple Amani. Her highly personalised Ayurvedic-inspired body sculpting treatments are designed to help clear energy blockages, trapped emotions and flush out water retention, promoting better digestion.
Complexion looking a little dull? We hear you. Celebrity tanning artist Amanda Harrington, who counts Sienna Miller and Dakota Johnson among her clients, has introduced a new 90-minute luxe body treatment at The Ned’s Club Spa, (£120) which first includes an all-over glycolic body scrub to exfoliate and slough off dead skin cells to make way for a streak-free application of her tanning products with signature artisanal brushes. The perfect start to that Easter city break. Keep things topped up on the go with Harrington’s new Tonal Tan Drops for face & body (£26), or James Read’s new Click + Glow body tanning drops (£40).
Smile brighter
The Zoom boom continues — turns out staring back at your own reflection for too long has left us dissatisfied with our gnashers. Tooth tweakments are on the rise. Whether you’re ready to start your Invisalign journey, are looking into composite bonding, gum contouring or simply want a thorough whitening session, you’re in safe hands at Dr Rhona Eskander’s Chelsea Dental Clinic (chelseadentalclinic.co.uk). Resident dental hygienist Anna Middleton, aka London Hygienist, offers Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT), an oral hygiene technique which uses AirFlow technology to target the invisible film of bacteria, or biofilm, in the mouth that contributes to tooth decay (£150 for one hour). Combine it with the clinic’s Philips Zoom whitening for a pearly-white smile that’ll see you well into autumn.
Find your fresh new season scent
In pursuit of the perfect spring scent? ES writer Melanie McDonagh found hers via Fortnum & Mason’s new Future of Fragrance experience. What seems fabulous when you’re in your twenties may not suit you when you’re fifty; what’s more, some of us flit between fragrances depending on the season or the time of day. And given the dazzling variety of scent out there, it’s often easier to stick to what you know. Which brings us to Fiole. It’s the brainchild of two bright young men, Samuel and Josh, who worked in the fragrance department of Fortnum and Mason where they honed a technique to clarify what people want by asking a series of simple questions. Between now and May, they’ve returned to Fortnum’s to do the exercise in person. Once your result emerges, they produce six scents to try there and then from nine small independent houses — from the traditional UK brand Grossmith, to hip Arquiste to Gallivant from Dalston, with 84 scent possibilities between them.
The object of the exercise is to cut out the distracting element of marketing; most of us are beguiled by things like packaging and names. Here the initial testing, two at a time, is done blind; it’s only at the last three that you are allowed to see the fragrances. And it’s surprising what a difference that makes. The Future of Fragrance is now taking bookings at £25 a person (redeemable against the cost of a full-sized fragrance on the day), which entitles you to a 45-minute experience.
