It was my birthday yesterday – yay! And being that everyone had work and an early bedtime, an evening out was not on the cards. Hence a day of pampering ensued. I’d been desperate to go to Edinburgh’s Lush Spa since it opened in 2010 but had never been abel to justify the spend. However, birthday treat seemed appropriate so off I went!
Dreaming of the Ribena goodness of the bubble bar, I booked myself a Comforter treatment. Lush describe it as “A relaxing full body treatment to help you dive into a world of pure imagination” which sounded just the ticket for turning 23 (an incredibly dull age to turn don’t you think?).
The Spa
So the spa itself is fairly inconspicuous and actually tucked away beneath the normal store on Princes Street, meaning you get a chat with the lovely staff there before you’re taken into the Spa itself. The lovely therapist- who’s name now escapes me completely but I am old now so I shall forgive myself- came to meet me and took me downstairs for my pre-treatment consultation. Downstairs is like the comfiest place ever; there are no stark white walls, no bright lights, no weird oil smells…it’s a giant kitchen. There’s a kettle and some comfy armchairs and a big long kitchen table with mismatched chairs to sit at for your consultation. Now I don’t know about you, but i’m not great with the traditional spa feel of things- I tend to feel like I’ve snuck in without anyone noticing. However, in true Lush form, this was the most welcoming place ever. Lovely Therapist (LT from now on) took me through a standard disclaimer and made sure I had no special circumstances, before taking me through my treatment. I LOVED this. I got to smell and feel everything she was going to be using and she told me everything that would happen during the treatment. Again, this might just be me, but I’m not great at relaxing in these situations. I become hyper aware that I’m basically naked and being rubbed by a stranger…BUT! Because LT told me everything she was going to do, there was no chance of surprises or WOAH! What is she doing?! moments. Basically, we were off to a cracking start.
The Treatment
So the treatment rooms are just as lovely as the outer kitchen, and for the Comforter, it’s set up with twinkly stars on the ceiling and a big comfy bed. Now when I say bed I’m not kidding; there was a warmed ‘mattress’, a big duvet and an honest to God pillow. I did begin to reconsider my 9.30am appointment slot with fear that I was just going to fall asleep again. So ensconced in my little cocoon of joy, it began.
You may or may not know, all Lush Spa treatments are accompanied by specific music. I was a bit skeptical about this. I am not a fan of whale sounds. But. There was not a whale sound in sight, for this treatment it was all uplifting, slightly whimsical tunes and I have to say, this totally made it- anything that begins with the Harry Potter theme playing is alright by me- as it was nice to have music that you knew playing in the background. The familiar tunes were strangely – wait for it – Comforting!
Now, the treatment itself is nothing like its bubble bar namesake; there’s a hot chocolate body scrub to start that will make you want to eat yourself. This was smoothed over each limb in turn, then a rolling massage and then the scrub removed with mits. Really loved that I didn’t have to shower the product off and break the spell. Once LT had done the same to my back, she started with the rose oil for the massage. It was apparently a Lomilomi style massage (Hawaiin so they say), which meant nothing to me but I can say it was wonderful. I really wasn’t in the mood to have my muscles pounded and this did anything but- very very relaxing but still worked out a lot of tension in my back- basically just what I needed.
The Aftermath
Post treatment, I felt amazing. I never ever feel relaxed like that after a massage. Ever. Loved it. Lush continued the whimsy with their candy floss cocktail, to remind us not to take life too seriously, which was just a lovely touch for the end of the visit. I was also lucky that LT has spotted it was my birthday when I filled out my details and appeared with a comforter bubble bar and some sort of in shower scrubby body butter…thing, as a Happy Birthday! from Lush Edinburgh which was just really nice. I mean, have you ever been to a spa and they’ve just given you free product just since it was your birthday? I think not.
Basically, stuff Disneyland THIS is the happiest place on Earth (not really Mickey I love you) and completely worth the hype and the price tag. So swooshy. So relaxing. So Lush.
