Decléor’s first UK boutique and day spa on Westbourne Grove, just off Portobello Road, is just as fragrant as the products it flogs. Behind the gold and floral shop front, you’re greeted by the brand’s full range of essential oil-based products, with a circular centerpiece that shows off the key botanicals and their benefits.
At the back of the shop there’s a ‘Sensorial Spa Bar’, which is basically just a nice chair in front of a mirror (with a camera and screen in it). Here they do ‘Face Shots’: 15 minute facial-massage treatments for £15 (redeemable on products). A pretty sweet deal, plus the whole thing is filmed and the tutorial is emailed over to you so you can see the awkward faces you pull as you’re being pampered (then recreate them at home).
For longer treatments, there are treatment rooms downstairs, and a special multi-sensory ‘Recharging Hub’ at the back of the shop, which has coloured mood lighting and a screen on the ceiling where you choose a landscape to view while you’re pampered. I tried the Ultimate Vitamin Glow (£65), an hour of indulgent facial pampering, apparently a fave of Cheryl Ann Tweedy before all her red carpet appearances. And if it’s good enough for our Cheryl…
After a cleanse, tone and moisturise, there’s a slightly strange-feeling exfoliator that sloughs off all the old dead skin, followed by an all-natural oaty mask, which feels a bit like being covered in warm porridge. It’s a surprisingly heavy, cosy and comforting sensation, as the mixture calms the skin and pumps it full of good anti-oxidants. There’s also a neck and shoulder massage that’s so relaxing I almost drifted off, and didn’t watch any of the forest scene passing over me on the screen above. Afterwards, my skin felt plump and definitely more glowing, but I was more ready for a nap than to be papped.