Inspire

Indulge Your Inner Princess

Tuesday, 29 Jan 2008

When you’ve been on the road for 7 months, there comes a point when you realise how basic life has become. Month upon month of living out of a backpack, adhering to a strict budget, and sleeping in a new spot every week, can truly have an affect on how you feel about yourself.

Once a princess, now a backpacker...

Back home, before I started this world trip, I liked to think of myself as a bit of a princess. I got my nails done, had a bathroom full of makeup and toiletries, dyed my hair, and got all dressed up to go out. But when it came to becoming a backpacker, that life of luxury went flying out the plane window.

Since leaving, I have done none of the above, which often makes me feel like a bit of a dag. This is not surprising when you peek inside my backpack to discover that I am now rotating between the same three outfits, have a toiletry bag that barely fits my shampoo let alone three different shades of lip gloss, and simply don’t have the room for my glitzy heels.

Yes, I have become a true backpacker, so it was a delight when I heard from Adele that Intrinsic would be sending me to a day spa to indulge in one of their lavish beauty treatments. What fun - I would get the chance to feel like a true girl again!

A day of bliss

The day spa I visited was Elemis, a luxurious oasis hidden away in the middle of central London, where I received a traditional Arabian Rasul treatment; an exotic steam ritual where you apply medicinal chakra muds to your body. The aim of this therapy is to cleanse the respiratory system, smooth skin, detoxify the body, and revitalise your chi energy.

So one bleary, grey, winter morning, I braved London peak hour and hopped on the condensed tube to make my way towards a piece of heaven. As I walked along trendy Old Bond Street past Tiffany, Gucci and Prada, I could feel my inner princess emerging once again. And when I entered the tranquil setting of the day spa, I knew that when I walked out again, I would definitely feel, and hopefully look, like the princess I once was.

My treatment

From the moment I walked into Elemis, the staff were friendly and helpful as they transported me into a calming atmosphere. As I sat on the lush couch drinking my complimentary fruit smoothie, and surrounded by beauty products, burning candles, and relaxing music, I felt the hustle and bustle of London slip away.

After being shown to my private bathroom where I showered, I was then taken into a small temple and sat down on a big, heated chair where my beauty consultant explained to me about the different muds and where to apply each of them. After covering my back with green mud, she then left me to float away into an hour of bliss.

Sitting there completely naked except for my bikini bottoms, I peered into the tubs of colourful mud, looked around at the empty temple, and giggled to myself thinking how unusual this was. But as the herbal steam started to lift into the air, I took a deep breath, dug my hand into the first tub of white mud, and started smearing it on my face. It was then onto the light brown mud, which I slathered over my chest, arms and stomach. Then last of all, the dark brown mud which I used to cover my legs and feet.

At this point, I must have looked quite bizarre. Covered from head to toe in coloured mud and perched on the edge of the chair, I didn’t really know what to do next! The idea of the treatment is that when the steam that was drifting around the top of the temple mixes with the mud, the beauty effects begin. So I stood up and started doing a little yoga-chillout-dance that I made up. I waved my arms in the air, wandered around the temple, breathed in deeply, and felt my stress drift away.

Starting to feel a bit silly, I sat - actually more like slipped and slithered - down in my chair, and waited for the next part of the treatment. It was then it started to rain… inside the temple! Warm water started dripping through the top of the chair I was in, making it feel like I was in the middle of a tropical jungle shower. I lifted my head and let the soft, drizzling water wash away the mud from my face and body.

When the rain stopped, I said goodbye to my little temple and stepped outside into my private bathroom where I showered to wash away the remaining mud. Excited by the array of exquisite smelling beauty products around me, I couldn’t wait to further indulge my body as well as wash my hair. After drying myself, I applied ‘Skin Nourishing Milk Bath’ and ‘Exotic Frangipani Oil’ to my now amazingly, silky smooth skin, which left me smelling like I was still in the middle of a jungle.

Back to reality

As I initially suspected, I walked out of Elemis feeling like a princess again. My skin was as smooth as I have ever felt it, and the smell of frangipanis drifted from my skin, which I continued to smell through out the day, instantly calming and soothing me with each breath. And when I walked into work, my manager couldn’t believe how much my skin was glowing, saying how fantastic I looked. Yes, a good beauty treatment really can make you feel like the prettiest girl in the world.

Go on, pamper yourself!

It just goes to show that every girl can look and feel like a princess. It’s easy to pamper yourself once in a while, and if you haven’t got the money to treat yourself to a day spa, then simply do it yourself!

Schedule some time on your own for a few hours and indulge yourself…

• play some calming music,
• burn an aromatherapy candle,
• put on a sweet smelling face mask,
• make a cup of herbal tea,
• soak in a bubble bath,
• paint your toes a favourite shade,
• slather your body in a sweet smelling moisturiser, or
• all of the above!

Trust me, you will feel like a million dollars afterwards, as well as having the chance to prance around feeling like a princess, which, in my belief, every girl should be entitled to do once in awhile.

Discover more about Elemis at: www.elemis.com

Discover Intrinsic’s Essential Oil range and find out how you can use our oils to make your own beauty treatments
Read more about Lizzi and her overseas adventures