I've got a love-hate thing going on with the summer. Love, obviously, of barbecues, after-work glasses of rosé and evenings that stay light until 9pm. But what doesn't do it for me when the sun begins to shine, is the whole baring flesh fiasco. Give me thick black tights any day. But, let's face it, gladiator sandals with a pair of 100-denier supersofts isn't a good look.
And, while we're on the subject, what about the whole au naturel no make-up thing? Again, tricky, when you're used to hiding behind foundation and lashings of mascara. And those horrid-looking toes, which have spent the winter months happily esconsed in Uggs — they're not looking forward to seeing the sunshine very much either.
So thank goodness for the brilliant people at Groom who have devised a cunning plan to sort all your grooming woes in one fell swoop with their two-therapist treatment, the Beach Babes Hour. This involves a couple of therapists working in tandem to fulfill your waxing wishes, give you an eyelash dye and a pedicure (or manicure if you'd prefer) all in under 60 minutes. Leaving you summer-ready in the time it would take to buy and eat your lunchtime Pret sandwich. Genius.
The Groom salon is in Selfridges on Oxford Street. I duck through the store's gorgeous stationary department on the ground floor to the salon's reception area with its glossy magazines and even glossier women waiting for their quick beauty fix.
I'm shown to a room by my two lovely therapists (let's call them Therapist A and B). After stripping to my underwear, I wrap myself in a fluffy white towel and soak my feet while also choosing a nail colour from the rainbow-coloured display of varnishes.
The emphasis is on speed, and so everything is done simultaneously. As I sit in an exceedingly comfortable chair-cum-treatment-bed, A and B set to work on my bikini line — one side each — before going their separate ways. Therapist A settles on a stool at my feet to start the pedicure, while B applies hot wax to my lower legs, further transforming me into a hair-free creature.
Once done, Therapist B applies dye to my eyelashes and as we wait for it to take, she gives me a relaxing head massage while Therapist A beavers away on my tootsies. Before I know it, thanks to the military precision and co-ordination of both therapists, in just under an hour I am transformed into someone well and truly ready to face the summer. Now all I have to do is find the fashion department and buy those sandals...
Visit groomlondon.co.uk for more details of the Groom two therapist hour and half hour treatments, as well as their individual treatments. The Beach Babes hour is £90 for strip wax and £100 for hot wax.
