Our daily schedule is pretty much the same – shuttling between home, kids, and work – hardly giving the busy working woman time off to pamper herself. So the Lakme Salon’s “three course French treat” called Luminance 3+ facial gave me the opportunity to take a break and let my face and skin be pampered for a good 90 minutes. The facial is done by the Lakme skin expert Sheela Shantaraj.
As she cleanses my face gently, she talks and explains the process. “With age it’s difficult for a woman to sustain that youthful glow. Here we give you a collagen booster, then use products that will help in spot reduction and finally the radiance mask, which will leave your skin glowing for the next three weeks.”
Sheela, who has been with Lakme for 22 years, adds that she is also “using a Vitamic C serum, which will exfoliates the dead cells, make you look bright and the mask will tighten your skin making your skin feel and look younger.”
Then it’s time for the scrub. The scrub is so mild that you hardly feel it on your face. “We treat the skin lightly and do not pinch out the black heads as they will leave marks on your skin and cause damage.” By the time I get to the face mask, I am almost drowsy with all the cream and massage on the face.
Now it’s off to experience the new Gel Manicure. Because I chew up my nails, Sapna, who is in charge of this section observes my hands and asks if I would like a pedicure instead. As I take off my shoes, she looks aghast as my toes too do not have long nails. (And no, I do not bite them off!)
After all the works of the pedicure, she uses the gel foot pack which “will remove the tan from your feet”. Then the grand finale is to paint the nails with the Style Gel, which again is designed for the working professionals – it lasts for three weeks.
It’s a long process and requires a good amount of patience for those who rarely spend time in salons. The gel is applied in layers. And after each coat your foot is placed under a UV or LED light so that the polish gets stronger and becomes chap proof. After three attempts my feet are glowing, painted and ready to hit the road again.
The facial is priced at Rs. 4,000 and pedicure at Rs. 595. Both are available at all Lakme Salons.
