At Spa Spy HQ we regularly discuss "what is luxury"? Luxury could be chauffeur-driven cars, vintage champagne and exclusive restaurants – the lifestyle influencers portray on their social media platform of choice. For others luxury could be time to spend with their family, or even some me-time while their hectic family are at school. The closest definition the Spa Spies can get it luxury is choice. From "I don't fancy this for lunch" to "I'm going to choose to spend this weekend away in a hotel". Choosing the right thing for us in that moment.
The same choice goes for super-tailored spa days and treatments: why book a massage weeks before your spa time if you could choose on the day? Are you tired and want an active, energising massage or do you feel a little run down and want a more cocooning treatment? This choice gives us a sense of luxury.
Natura Bissé has been a favourite among the Spa Spies since the Spanish brand landed on our shores in 2015. From me, Summer Spy, with oily problem skin to Sybaritic Spy's dry and dehydrated skin, the products and treatments miraculously seem to plump, tone, and leave everyone's skin glowing regardless of their skin complaints.
This summer the brand is launching a series of body treatments which starts with the question of "How would you love to feel today?". The Diamond Well-Living Collection of products and treatments are designed to use textures, scents, pressures and sensations to give you a moment of wellbeing in your busy life. Choose from a boost of vitality with citrus, cypress, sage and rosemary; to purify with seaweed and chia; to de-stress with lavender and grape seed; or post-exercise comfort with mint and eucalyptus.
The product collection encapsulates this sense with its range of fitness oils that can layered into your day. For perfectly prepped skin the collection includes a body scrub and rich, yet non-oily, body cream.
The salt-based Diamond Well-Lining Body Scrub (below) smells of exotic holidays – just my kind of experiential affair. Ginger and citrus scents hint at sun-soaked memories of lazy pre-child beach days. The scrub smooths onto the skin without being overly abrasive, the oils (grapeseed, sunflower and candelilla) and shea butter make the product feel like it glides over your skin leaving just the salt residue and deeply hydrated skin.
The Diamond Well-Lining Body Cream hints of refreshing vitality with aloe, mango butter and extracts of apple and peach among the ingredients. The white cream is so thick you can turn the pot upside down without any risk of spillage, it feels substantial and rich on the skin without feeling oily. I massaged it into my hands and forearms, deeply inhaled to appreciate the scents and was back to my task without the feeling of slipperiness.
To put the Fitness Dry Oil to the test I tried it post-Peloton ride, after 45 minutes of being shouted at (encouragingly) by an enthusiastic American spin instructor and I needed clarity and comfort. The green-tinted oil uses peppermint and eucalyptus to relieve tensions and heaviness. The oil easily sinks into the skin and leave a sense of moisture rather than oiliness. The scent was refreshing without using citrus – light and fresh but without the warmth of an orange scent. The dry oil range also includes detox, de-stress and energise options and there's a warming gel and cooling gel to melt stress or invigorate.
As well as being good for your self-care, the products are vegan friendly and more than 90% of the ingredients are of natural origin. The brand is also cruelty free, neither they nor their suppliers test ingredients or products on animals and they are not sold in countries where animals testing is required by law. The packaging is recyclable and sustainably sources. Halos all round.
Choosing the right scents for how you are feeling in that moment certainly feels like a luxury – a small moment taken for yourself – in days full of juggling demands. One that I will enjoy and be grateful for.
Jo Gardner
9th June 2021
