Essie & Spa London Launch
‘As the spring colours danced on by the rich scent of Essie tickled my nostrils, with blues, greens and pastels too, the nail varnish pots danced one by one. First came blue vivid and daring pushing ‘dear’ timid beige off to the side, it was a colour knockout but the pastels had strength in numbers, marching pinks, blues, mints and lilacs too, came charging into the sunset of nails from seasons past, The other colours sat cross legged in the corner old and disused they had no place to go, scowling at the newbies who flaunted their colours like peacocks, merged into one the new and old coincided, like a breath of fresh air the colours subsided and faded into the warmth of the spring, summer sun’
It was a fresh spring morning, the birds were chirping merrily and a glimpse of the naked early sun bathed me with subtle warmth. It was the perfect setup for what I hoped would be a stress-free day full of tranquility and the birds cheered harder as I made my way to Spa London. After an hour and a half skipping from train[s] to bus my journey was finally complete and I stepped into a world where Wifi was non-existent and social media was a distant murmur, buried outside. It was time to throw off the shackles of my digital media obsession and be welcomed into the open arms of peace.After completing a form stating allergies, medication and giving emergency contact details I was whisked away into the breakfast room abundant with succulent, flaky pastries, juicy fruit and welcome drinks of champer and orange glistening in buckets of ice. It was like a feast for the gods, almond, custard and raisin plaits draped over crispy pain au chocolat’s while croissant mounds commanded the rear, moist and buttery layers of pastry begging to be devoured in one whole bite. Grapes and apples were like water in a desert, juicy green fruit oozing with fresh juice but the bananas had the upper hand, large and ripe they stood center stage, bursting with promise. The champagne and orange were like beacons of hope, parching our thirsty lips with one sweet fizzy kiss but the biting cold that was sure to invade led the selection of teas to bustle forward. Camomile, rooibos, peppermint and matcha green tea provided warmth and comfort and made us feel right at home.
Sipping on our teas, champers and orange juices we were given a talk by Essie marketing pro Chantal; Essie began its shelf life as a brand who lived its life behind magazine covers, the freebie people paid £4.00 to buy. But slowly like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon nest Essie’s rise was on the horizon and before Essie knew it celebrity fans like Beyoncé was clamoring to know more. Within two years that caterpillar became a butterfly and today Spa London and Essie have collaborated to bring spa members the best nail care they can afford. With its precise nail brushes developed with a thin edge for exact precision and show stopping variety of colours, Essie’s spring/summer 16 collection has blazed its way through the nation’s cynical hearts. Chantal was passionate about promoting Essie’s transition from zero to hero and told us that Essie’s beginnings as an underdog is part of why she fell in love with Essie in the first place.
Essie’s bona fide status as an underdog come champion is a ‘love at first’ sight story we can all relate to and is partly what drew me to their launch at Spa London. Both dedicated to pampering their clients but ready with tales of wisdom and wit it was a ‘beauty’ based marriage made in heaven. But back to breakfast, I felt as though the brunch was rushed because no sooner had I entered the room to grab some pastries I was given a thermal spa essentials bag and whisked downstairs into the changing rooms. Our Spa London representative was friendly enough and took us through a brief memo of what to expect from the thermal spa and a little about the changing rooms. We were then confused as to what happened next; were we to go into the spa first or did we get our nail treatments done and then enter the spa? It turned out that it was all a matter of personal choice and since my friend Anna from ‘On The Edge’ was running late I waited in the changing rooms. We split into two groups and as I was waiting for my friend we were put into the second group. Stuffing down my delicious pastries I waited and waited and finally my friend had arrived and we went up to the breakfast room again for Anna to get her ‘champagne’ and brekkie fix. I grabbed some yogurt and muesli, more pastries and fruit to compensate for my hurried breakfast. It turned out that my brunch would be the ‘snacktrack’ to my journey home but for now we were happy enough to talk to Chantal, the nicest marketing representative you could meet. In fact Chantal was so friendly and committed to strengthening relations with bloggers that she took the time to get to know us trouble makers and added us on social media. I thought that was rather sweet and it is clear that Chantal was as excited about Spa London and Essie’s collaboration as we were.
At about 12.45 we were called to get our nails done and while I chose gel nails that promised to strengthen, nourish and replenish nail cells Anna chose nail art to show off her nails in style. To prep the nails my technician filed the bitten edges of my nails down with short abrupt movements. I asked whether my nails were ok and she said that my fingernails were in excellent condition but the only thing was that she could tell I bit my nails which is true. Sometimes it is a nervous habit and other times it is when I see my nails becoming too long so I bite them because I have no nail scissors to hand. According to the technician gel nails are a popular remedy to rectifying bitten nails which makes sense as you would not want to ruin your beautiful nails. Once buffed my cuticles were pushed back and she placed a clear base coat on each finger nail before placing them under the UV heater directly underneath. The UV heater dried the base coat within seconds and it was time to choose my nail colour. I decided to choose a colour that I would not normally paint my nails in but at the same time correlate with my bright/pastel aesthetic and lo and behold fiery lilac was chosen. With cool blue undertones, the lilac/egg blue shade matched my olive skin perfectly and made me crave the welcome return of a scorching summer.
Once the first coat of nail varnish was applied and my hands had finished drying via the UV heaters, a gloss coat was added and then removed with a cleansing polish to strengthen and smoothen the nails, before being dried under the heater. The nail treatment experience was wonderful and it was made even better by the nail technicians whose warmth and passion for providing and nurturing nail care was clear for all to see. It was the perfect combination of factual and colloquial conversation that allowed me to formulate the post in my head but also let myself relax under the guiding hands of the technician. It was bliss and to finish the treatment I was given a mini hand massage to ease out the knots and tension I had in my hands. As a writer I don’t get to treat my hands as much as I would like to so it was nice to be pampered by experts.
Once our nails were done we headed into the thermal spa with a fellow blogger Aysha and spent time in the various saunas, steam rooms and Jacuzzi washing away the stresses of our daily lives and it was lovely getting to know the beautiful and brave Aysha whose strength came from living in adversity. Our spa experience was excellent and mired only by an extremely rude woman who became aggressive with me and kept telling me to f**k off even though I was not doing anything but taking pictures of me and my friend. One of the spas staff came through because the woman clearly complained and told me not to take pictures of other people – which I had not- and luckily she believed us especially when I told her how aggressive the woman was being for no reason. The rest of our stay was excellent and it took us a while to exit the chill out lounge which my friend had fallen asleep in and go get our goody bags which consisted of four glitter nail polishes in bronzes, silver, fuchsia and multi and a bottle of water.
Pros
Variety and quality of nail polishes
Ability to accommodate the bloggers needs and make them feel at ease
Use of thermal spa
Variety of food choices available
Cons
Brunch felt hurried but give the staff their due they did allow us to go back into the breakfast room
Have you tried Essie Nail Varnishes before & would you go to Spa London