With only a week to go before she walks down the aisle, our bride-to-be blogger Claire Adams shares her last pre-wedding day experiences - the Kate Middleton facial and a last-minute lashes lift.
During the last week before my wedding when I am faced with the occasionally tricky situation or table plan conundrum, I often find myself thinking 'what would Kate Middleton have done?'
Okay, our weddings couldn't be more different, but when I heard about the Karzin Herzog facial that Kate treated herself to before her big day, I couldn't really think of a reason not to give it a try. (It's now called the Kate Middleton Pre Wedding Facial so it must be good.)
Although I wasn't expecting miracles, I was excited by the thought of achieving Kate's clear and glowing skin. The closest spa to me to offer this royal treatment was Beauty & Melody in Marble Arch, London. Sadly, this wasn't the actual place that Kate was treated ahead of her big day.
The early stages were much like any normal facial - a lot of cleansing and some essential toning. Then came the 'royal difference' - a vitamin face peel that was applied to my freshly cleansed skin. I immediately felt my face tingle as Sorena, my extremely helpful and knowledgeable therapist, explained that it was eating away at my dead skin cells. I didn't realise that I had quite so many!
Once that was removed, another face mask was applied. This time I was told its purpose was to pump oxygen into my skin which gives it the extra glow. A good 15 minute face massage then followed. Sorena used Neutral Oil and it felt amazing. Once finished, and half asleep, my skin did feel noticeably smoother and look much healthier! Now to just keep it that way...
My pre-wedding beautifying hasn't stopped there either. I like the idea of going mascara-less while I'm on my honeymoon so I popped into Benefit to give their LVL (length, volume & lift) lash treatment a go. I'm not sure that Kate swung by there before her big day but I am already a big fan of their products.
Perming the eyelashes is part of the process (this reminded me of my jealously at the girls in my class who were allowed to get their hair permed.) However 18 years on and now, not needing to ask anyone's permission, I felt excited at finally being able to give a perm a try. It wasn't quite the same but still....
It was all quite a process. There were three sizes of lift to choose from and I decided to go for the most dramatic – why not?! The perming gel (love it) was then applied and left to set then once that was taken off it was neutralised and tinted. The final result was amazing and I will definitely be able to go without any mascara while I'm away, plus I'm told it will last for up to 6 weeks.
So now that's that! After a good few months of sharing with you all my stories of the preparation, the planning, the stress, the excitement, the many ups and the occasional downs, the time has come for me to go and marry my very own prince.
Wish me luck!