London Beauty Editor Kate Zadah has Gifts for Every Mum

Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, as it is known in the UK) is almost upon us again! This year it seems to have crept-up behind us as quickly and stealthily as Spring! For the less organised among us, we at BITB have done the hard work for you, scouring the stores for the best in gifts so you can easily pick-out the perfect present for your mum in time for Sunday and there’s something for all budgets.

For Mother Earth:

Photo Credit: NEOM

Natural beauty products, free from nasties, gentle on her skin, yet luxurious. Mother Earth will love the indulgent Mummy Pamper Kit from NEOM organics. There’s a body oil, bath oil and mini candle all in their best selling scent, Real Luxury, and there are no synthetics, petrochemicals or parabens – just pure essential oils & the finest organic ingredients. The NEOM candle is perfect for bath time mood lighting and is made of 100% vegetable wax candles, so there’s no unsightly black soot or toxins.

NEOM Luxury Organics Mummy Pamper Kit, special offer of £60 (usually £72) from www.neomorganics.com

For the Yummy Mummy:

Photo Credit: Lush

A colourful collection of fun, pamper treats selected for deserving mums and boxed in a gorgeous floral hatbox. There’s a generous selection of both bath and body treats including sumptuous Vanilla Deelite hand and body lotion, strawberry and cream scented Yummy Yummy Yummy shower gel, fruity Miranda soap, best-selling Porridge soap and the new Dorothy bubble bar. If you know and love Lush for its fab-fizzy ballistics and bath melts, you’ll be pleased to know mum’s set comes with a cherry blossom scented Sakura bath ballistic and the new Happy Blooming bath melt. This set will certainly brighten up mum’s bathroom.

Mum hatbox, £25.95 from www.lush.co.uk

For the Time-Poor Mum:

Surprise mum with a treat at home at a time to fit  her hectic schedule. Imagine if you could get a beauty therapist to visit mum for a surprise treat. Mobile beauticians and massage therapists from The Simply Fab Company (SFC) do just that! Based in London award-winning SFC certified therapists travel throughout the UK to bring massage and beauty treatments direct to you. Turn mum’s front room into a sanctuary of well-being and all you have to do is book online. There’s a perfect Mother’s Day package, Feeling Fabulous Deluxe, which consists of a one hour massage and one hour beauty treatment of mum’s choice. The therapist arrives at her door with a massage couch, soothing music and fluffy towels. She’ll love it!

Mother’s Day Feeling Fabulous Package Deluxe package priced £99. Book online at www.thefabcompany.co.uk

For the Aromama:

Photo Credit: Aromatherapy Associates

Surround mum in the most potent and luxurious of aromatherapy scents to lift her mood and cater to her mind and body needs. Aromatherapy Associates has cleverly created a perfect set of aromatherapy oil blends so that mum can become an aromatherapy expert at home. Award-winning natural oil blends in the set of miniatures will help mum to Relax and De-Stress the mind and body and Support and Revive her after a busy day. Each of the nine oils comes in a handy 3ml serving – the perfect measure for a bath or to massage on the torso pre-shower.

Aromatherapy Associates Miniature Set, £26.50 for 9 x 3mls, from www.aromatherapyassociates.com

For the Beloved Ma (And aren’t they all?):

Photo Credit: Molton Brown

With indulgent exotic treats with ingredients from Tahiti, this Molton Brown limited edition gift set, created especially for Mother’s Day, pairs two best-selling feminine fragrances for the most luxurious shower experience. Beloved includes heavenly gingerlilly and ultrasmooth coco de mer moisture bath and shower washes and matching body lotions. A little pampering will go a long way, and help to say thank you.

Molton Brown ‘Beloved’ Gift Set, £42 from www.moltonbrown.co.uk

Gotta get ‘em!

Happy Mother’s Day, everyone.

Love from London,

x

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Your Pre- and Post-V-Day Guide to Full Body Decadence

Women love nothing more than being pampered  — aside from chocolate, of course — and now we can combine the two! There are some fantastic, non-gimmicky treatments available all year round, not just for Valentine’s or Easter. You’ll need no excuse to try these beauty treats out because chocolate is actually great for the skin.

Photo Credit: Karin Herzog Chocolate and Oxygen Treatment image – www.KarinHerzog.co.uk

Karin Herzog Swiss Skincare formulated the original chocolate facial, combining the benefits of oxygen and antioxidants from chocolate. We know that antioxidants are great for the skin, but believe it or not, the antioxidant concentration in cocoa is twice that of red wine, two to three times that of green tea, and four to five times that of black tea – and it tastes better! The Karin Herzog Chocolate and Oxygen Facial starts with a cocoa-kick in the shape of a divine-smelling chocolate cleanse followed by a gentle but very thorough scrub with the finest marble spheres. Next, there’s a phenomenal and lengthy lymphatic drainage massage with Monoi oil infused with cocoa beans to stimulate the removal of toxins. The face is then lavished with a deep penetrating Oxygen-rich mask and finally, in a layering action, vitamin-rich Choco Cream is mixed with pure Swiss cocoa powder and applied to the skin. Then, a warming layer of melted chocolate is added to insulate the skin. While the chcolate sets, your hands get a blissful massage treat and you get to enjoy the mouth-watering aroma. Leave looking totally refreshed and even-toned with your skin feeling superbly nourished, soft and smooth. In case the smell ignites your insatiable craving for the sweet-stuff, you’ll receive a yummy bar of Cadbury’s on the way out! Karin Herzog Chocolate and Oxygen Facial, £75 is available in salons nationwide and in London at West One Beauty, W1 (020 7486 1415) and The Grange Hotel’s new spa, St Paul’s (020 7074 1000). (Verdict: GGI)

Photo Credit: Karin Herzog Choco Trio – www.KarinHerzog.co.uk

At home, try the Karin Herzog Chocolate Trio, a potent and rewarding kit that both smells and feels heavenly. The regime encourages inter-cellular activity, collagen production, repair and healing, cellular-rejuvenation and helps fight free radical formation. All three products: Chocolate Cleanser, Choco2 Treatment Cream and Chocolate (moisturiser) combine cocoa with stabilised oxygen, water and multi vitamins, so you have a powerful and potent defence against the effects of ageing. For a limited time only it’s “three for two” on all Karin Herzog skincare at http://www.karinherzog.co.uk/ so get shopping!

Photo Credit: Chocolate Room, Strip, Chelsea +44 (0) 20 7590 0050 or www.2strip.com

On to the best waxing boutique in London, which has an exclusive chocolate Lycon wax. Renowned for its almost pain-free Brazilian wax treatment, Strip has a dedicated treatment room for de-fuzzing chocolate-lovers. Lay back and watch TV on the flat screen in the decadent velvet and silk-surround of the Chocolate Room, filled with the fragrance of cocoa. The Lycon chocolate wax looks and smells like melted Cadbury’s when it’s smoothed over the skin. It’s left to set for a few seconds, shrink-wrapping the hairs (even very short ones), before being peeled away from the skin and taking the follicles with it. To follow, Lycon So Yummy Double Action Oil is massaged into the treated area to comfort and soothe the skin – and it’s chocolate-scented! Strip’s Brazilian wax is £45. Booking number for Strip Chelsea: 020 7590 0050. Lycon So Yummy Double Action Oil available at Strip Chelsea, priced at £15. Call 020 7590 0050 (Verdict: GGI)

Photo Credit: Lip Gloss Truffles www.madbeauty.com

Finally, in honour of chocolate season, pop these sweet treats from beauty company Mad Beauty in your makeup bag. Lip Gloss Truffles come in a set of three flavours: White Chocolate, Praline Milk Chocolate and Caramel Chocolate.  Be careful, they look and smell so much like the real thing! £6.99 from www.madbeauty.com.

Love from London,

Kate

Photo credit: Dr.  Steven Dayan

INTRACEUTICALS OXYGEN FACIAL – Now that the holiday season is in full swing, there is not a second to lose.  Your skin needs to look its best 24/7.  The holidays come once a year, and with the onslaught of parties, get togethers, and family obligations, thank goodness it is only once a year.  Nevertheless, it can be difficult to attain glowing skin anytime of year.  Combine end of the year deadlines with the pressure of the holidays, throw in some wintry, dry weather, and you have a recipe for a skin disaster.  Is it possible to have luminous skin throughout these crazy times? The answer, thankfully, is yes, and comes in the form of the Intraceuticals Oxygen Facial.  This facial, unlike oxygen facials of past generations, gives you immediate and noticable results that beg for a night on the town.

First step, locate a spa in your area offering this incredible facial.  Make sure it is truly the Intraceuticals Oxygen Facial. It provides a cooling, calming, topical hyperbaric oxygen application that infuses moisture, vitamins, and antioxidants into the skin.  Don’t worry, the term “hyperbaric oxygen application” might sound scary, but in truth it is a very soothing, 50 min treatment, that leaves your skin, well, in a word glowing.  The esthetician uses a small wand in multiple passes over your face, and it feels like very (very) gentle suction. The woman who did my facial did half of my face first so I could compare the treated side to the non-treated side. It is true, mirrors don’t lie. When I looked in the mirror and saw how the fine lines were dramatically reduced, and my skin looked plump and rejeuvenated, I was very excited for her to do the other side of my face.

I have had plenty of facials in my time. I have sensitive skin and more times than I would like to recall, I have left a facial looking like I just had some sort of odd torture session done to my face.  Not with this facial.  After this facial, you and your gorgeous skin will need to hit the scene.  This facial, with its instant and visable results, requires a night out. You cannot go home and sit on the couch after this facial.  The payoff is truly incredible.  Put it this way, after my oxygen facial I was WISHING I had a high school reunion to go to that night.  It is that good!

Lucky ladies in the Chicagoland area can book one or a series of Intraceuticals oxygen facials  at Dr. Steven Dayan’s Watertower location.  The 50 minute facial, performed in the relaxing treatment room pictured above,  will run you $200, but if you book a series of six facials, Dr. Dayan’s True Skin Center will give you $400 worth of products to coordinate with, support, and extend the benefits of your facial.  The products include hyaluronic acid (HA) based mositure binding cream, HA based contour eye gel, and HA gel. 

FINAL VERDICT - RDW (RUN DON’T WALK) – Sound too good to be true? It gets better.  This is the facial that keeps Madonna’s facial looking like porcelain.  This is the facial that Justin Timberlake and Eva Longoria swear by.  This facial is a must for all brides and mother’s of the bride.  Believe it or not, this facial can even be performed on sun burnt skin.  Come to think of it, this facial is for anytime of year, not just the holidays.  But can you think of a better gift for yourself?