The House of Rush - Salon Review

Every girl needs an urban pamper sanctuary where they can escape the chaos of city life.

The House of Rush is one of my sanctuaries of choice due to its convenient central location in London's buzzing Piccadilly and the array of skin-beautifying treatments it merrily offers.

I am also rather partial to their insanely glamorous, bouncy blow dry's that make you feel like a cross between a well paid glamour model and a tabloid-hungry WAG....but a much classier, less golddiggery version. If that makes sense...

On my first visit I was immediately impressed with the chic monocrome decor and the welcoming staff mincing about, offering steaming herbal teas and fragrant ginger biscuits to ladies who lunch and career girls with a penchant for lunchbreak grooming.

City Chic

I was there to try the Venus Freeze facial - a skin smoothing and plumping treatment beloved by many a fresh-faced celebrity including Yasmin le Bon and Lisa Snowdon.

Known as the 'non surgical facelift' I wasn't quite sure if it was suitable for my young(ish) skin but after being told it gives an instant brightening effect and therefore ideal before a night out, and I had a fancy dinner planned that evening at The Sanderson, I thought I may as well give it a go.

The Venus Freeze is said to tighten pores and firm the skin using a combination of Pulse Magnetic Fields (MP2) and Radio Frequency (RF) to raise the temperature of the skin.

This causes controlled thermal damage, which sounds rather scary, but it is in fact a clever way of 'tricking' the skin into repairing itself - thus promoting healthier, younger skin cells.

Melanie, my therapist, started the treatment by applying glycerin to my face before gently rolling the Venus Freeze hand piece in a continuous motion all over, paying particular attention to smile lines and facial contours.

My face felt comfortably warm during the facial as my mind gradually drifted off to a happy abundance of slumber-some thoughts.

After I peeled myself off the very comfortable treatment bed, I made my way to the main salon area where I was met by top stylist Tina who expertly transformed my frazzled mane into a bouncing array of glossy waves with a much needed shampoo and blow dry.

Blowdrys. Gotta love em!

Here I am (on the left) frolicking on a Chelsea rooftop post blowdry with my glam buddy Anseh, bursting with the kind of joy you only get when you saunter out of a damn good London hair salon.

Fabulous (yes I said fabulous) blow dries and Venus Freeze Facials at The House of Rush can be booked here.

Drink your way to beautiful Skin - SaVse Smoothies

Beauty comes from within - I am a firm believer in this wise statement.

One of the primary causes of skin aging is the naughty wrath of free radicals which attack DNA, causing damage to skin cells. 

Free radicals are unfortunately all around us and generated within the body due to a number of factors including smoking, illness, pollution, radiation and most disturbingly, the antibiotic residues found in non-organic meat and milk.

Fortunately, the happy saviour to the barrage of these toxic, skin-sullying scavengers comes in the form of antioxidants - which are present in a plethora of brightly coloured fruits and vegetables.

Ideally we should be at our desks smugly chomping away on spinach leaves and broccoli stalks five times a day in front of bemused colleagues, but sadly fast-paced urban life does not stand for such holistic pomp and frivolity.

When I heard about the launch of cold-pressed SaVse Smoothies at London's Selfridges - now their fastest selling drink, I was rather excited (I tend to get excited over such vegan/non-processed, raw, gloopy health foody things).

Unlike many high-sugar, pasteurized smoothies on the market today, these vitamin-packed bottles of raw  goodness intrigued me due to their antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetable content.

SaVse Smoothies are full of vital nutrients and go through HPP (high pressure processing) so do not require traditional pasteurization methods which decrease nutritional value.

They come in five flavours - each brimming with various skin-plumping antioxidants and include two new varieties with a base of probiotic-laden yoghurt.

As we know, probiotics help to keep the gut healthy which is essential for clear, glowing skin and although not an antioxidant itself, yoghurt compliments the antioxidant gluthathione in the body's cells therefore fighting the detrimental skin aging effects of free radicals.

My favourite of the smoothies is the Super Green - a nutritious yet delicious fruit and veg combination for optimum skin-health.

I couldnt think of a better skin-beautifying concoction....

Kiwi - full of vitamin C

Kale - packed with free radical-busting antioxidants - carotenoids and flavanoids

Broccoli - loaded with vitamin C and calcium

Pear - rich in antioxidant, anti-inflammatory flavonoids

Lemon - vitamin C-rich and detoxifying

Banana - a powerhouse of potassium, vitamin C and B for healthy skin cells

The other flavours in the SaVse range include the following bottles of fruity joy...

Super Purple

Beetroot

Apple 

Mango

Avocado

Lime

Lemon

Super Red

Strawberry

Celery

Spinach

Kale

Spinach

Orange

Super Yellow

Mango

Passionfruit

Pineapple

Yoghurt 

Super Pink

Rhubarb

Carrot

Strawberry

Apple 

Yoghurt 

SaVse Smoothies cost £2.49 and can be purchased from Selfridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Whole Foods and many other fine hearty health food establishments.

You can find out more info here.

SaVse. Anti-ageing badboys