THE FULL PACKAGE

Ashmira Botanica launches a full range of face and body therapies and we try Salon System’s two-in-one lash and brow system

Ashmira Botanica face and body treatments

Waxing specialist Ashmira Botanica is branching out into face and body treatments using its new product range. The five treatments can be personalised and aim to balance the five elements: earth, fire, metal, water and wood. Heavens Flower Five Elements Facial is a 60-minute treatment featuring lymphatic drainage and acupressure, followed by a mask, cream, elixir and a sensory experience dependent on the client’s elemental needs. The Pure Alchemy Youth-boosting Facial incorporates all five elements with facial cupping, massage, a foot soak and sound therapy. The 60-minute Inner Zen meridian body massage uses a Yin or Yang essential oil blend to leave clients uplifted or relaxed, while the Inner Bliss massage involves exfoliation, with crystals and a sound bowl. Finally, Elemental Body Exfoliation treatment provides full-body softening in 30 minutes.

Ashmira Botanica recommends charging £50 upwards for facials and £35 upwards for body treatments. 01823 428 588 / ashmirabotanica.com

Tried and tested… Salon System Lash Lift

Before & after

The lowdown: The Dual Treatment Lash & Brow Lift System allows therapists to use the same products to perform a lash lift and brow lamination simultaneously. It’s a rework of the existing Salon System Lashlift range, with an improved Lift Lotion and a new Boost Lotion and cream.

The experience:

Anyone who knows me knows a lash lift is my favourite treatment so I was excited to see the new products in action. Having recently had a separate brow treatment, I opted to try the lash lift only. Salon System expert Lisa Stone discussed the kind of look I wanted – dramatic but with a slight curl rather than too “straight up” – before choosing the medium shield for me. She then secured my lower lashes with pads and carefully stuck my upper lashes over the shield, separating them out. The reformulated Lashlift Lift Lotion was then applied to break down the bonds of the hairs and left to process. This lotion also contains collagen to strengthen and panthenol to hydrate. At this stage the same lotion would usually be applied to the brows too.

Once the lotion was removed, Stone applied Lashlift Fix Lotion to fix the lashes in their new position – again, this would usually be applied to the brows too at this point and the brows would be brushed and shaped while it is on.

After 10–15 minutes on the lashes (five-to-eight minutes for brows), the Fix Lotion was removed and the Lashlift Boost Lotion applied to protect the hairs and prolong the colour. The verdict: The finished result was striking but still natural looking. Once I could apply mascara (after 24 hours) the look was dramatic and fluttery. Five weeks on and they’re still going strong, with results expected to last eight weeks.

Business benefits: Therapists can carry out the two treatments within the time it would usually take to do either one of them, meaning the potential for increased profit within the treatment time slot. The fact that both treatments use the exact same solutions also makes it easier to keep to the set timings as there’s less changing of product.

Tried by Eve Oxberry

Salon System recommends charging from £60 for a combination Lash & Brow Lift treatment, with a 60-minute appointment time. 020 8573 9907 / salonsystem.com