Bride-to-blogger Claire Adams has been on a LOT of hen dos, so she's expecting some serious pranks on hers this weekend. Ahead of the big event, she trials pre-hen beauty treatments (well, even if it's embarrassing, she's got to look good for the pictures...)
Over the past few years, at a very rough guess, I think Lee and I must have been to around 20 weddings. Weddings of friends, family, friends of the family - you name a connection and we've seen them tie the knot.
Before the wedding, comes the hen night/weekend/week - and I've seen it all. From head bashing Red Bull cans in an empty Pacha nightclub like a group of yobs (I know...) to watching a sheep give birth at a small farm in Oxford (probably more terrifying) and dressing up Grecian stylee in Palma, it's always been interesting.
What everyone has provided, without fail, is fun, a ton of laughter, too much alcohol and most importantly the chance to catch up with all your friends at one time, in one place and go mental.
Today I fly off to Barcelona for my hen weekend and I'm feeling both a little scared and very excited about what my 17 friends have in store for me. Admittedly I can often be the one who encourages the dares, enforces the shots and laughs at the embarrassment, so the thought of the Hens from my past finally seeking revenge is a teeny tiny bit worrying.
In preparation of my weekend away I thought it would be a good opportunity to trial some beauty treatments I'm planning to book in for the Wedding day.
A friend recommended beauty geniuses Return to Glory, and having experienced their service I can totally see why. They provide any type of beauty treatment (from mani/pedis to full body massage) but in the comfort of your own home. Joy! So once the pedicure is done you can roll into bed instead of trying to make it home without smudging your toes.
I particularly liked the idea of their three week manicure and pedicure as I am desperate to keep my nails looking polished long past the wedding day and throughout our honeymoon.
My therapist arrived on Monday evening and immediately got to work. She was very friendly and really sweet but quickly told me off for visiting my local Thai salon where they slice half of your heel off with a blade (apparently that method isn't very good for your feet). She also insisted
pedicures on dry feet were far more effective than on wet which I didn't find hard to believe as she spent a good hour working away on mine.
She then ended the treatment with the most amazing foot massage - all of this while I was sat back on my sofa watching Corrie. Bliss! She then moved onto my hands and expertly filed, tidied and polished my nails before applying the same Shellac pink and an incredible hand massage.
The other beauty ritual I try to maintain but very am often burned by (and really don't want to be for my wedding) is eyebrow threading. At school I had eyebrows Cara Delevingne would have been jealous of (but at the time I loathed). Now my eyebrows are two, thin uneven strips and I largely blame Hammersmith tube station's threading set up for their demise.
I had read a lot about a threading expert called Shavata and when I searched online I saw she had recently opened a flagship salon in Knightsbridge. I popped in there one lunch time for a tidy up and tint and can easily predict that I will definitely be going back.
Whereas I am usually rushed in and out of a threading bar within five minutes, at Shavata I was sat back in a reclining chair and consulted on what I would like from my eyebrow treatment and asked what I envisioned the end result to be.
The specialist then spent a good half hour on my brows as she neatly applied the colour continually making sure the shade was exactly right. She even wiped it off and reapplied again when I said I wasn't sure if they were still a bit light. Next she delicately and patiently shaped them to what I had initially asked for while taking care to stop and show me what she had done and to get my thoughts throughout.
So after all of that, H-day has finally arrived! I am all prepped and pampered and ready to go away for my last weekend of freedom - I only hope I still have my newly shaped and coloured eyebrows by the time that I get back...
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