Decleor is synonymous with the spa environment, think of the brand and you naturally conjour up images of that yellow packaging and golden toned campaign images of super relaxing facial treatments. But did you know that Decleor also offer a range of body treatments? Some of them pretty unexpected from a mid price point skincare brand that prides itself on its use of micro grade essential oils.
I was invited in to Decleor House of Fraser, Intu Metrocentre to experience a full body massage using hot stones and essential oils and as a Fibromyalgia sufferer I just couldn’t pass it up.
I arrived on counter and was taken through all the possible contra-indications and completed a health checklist with Michelle, before being taken to the hidden treatment area at the back of the store. Once inside, the dim lighting and soft, spa type music take you a million miles from the shopping mall and it doesn’t take long to completely switch off and relax.
The massage starts face down (there’s a real reason for this) with the starting focus on the back, neck and shoulders. Michelle starts with the diagnostic back massage that Decleor are famed for and she tells me my digestive system is sluggish and I’m dehydrated; ten points for accuracy, I’m feeling under the weather on the day of my treatment so this sums me up perfectly.
The massage gets underway with Michelle coating my skin in Decleor’s super thin aromatic oils before it’s time for the hot stones. Now, when it comes to this type of treatment, some places cool the stones first, others apply them over a warm towel and never directly to the skin, Decleor apply them straight from the heat on to your oiled skin which allows the stones to glide over your muscles, loosening them as they go. Yes, the stones are hot, but it’s a welcome sensation. I’m a person who holds tension in my jaw, neck and shoulders so feeling my shoulder muscles yield under the heat is uber satisfying.
Michelle tells me that my shoulders are like boulders and prescribes a deep tissue massage as a follow up treatment in three weeks time but works them as much as she can with the stones before moving on to my legs. It’s no ordinary leg massage – when Decleor say this is a full body massage, it really is a full body massage – my butt, legs and even feet are worked on with the stones to ensure even distribution of heat throughout the body. When I flip over on to my back, stones are placed under the shoulders and neck to encourage deep relaxation within the muscles and as Michelle works the stones on my biceps and triceps, a hot stone is placed in the palm of my hand to regulate the heat in that arm, it’s all very well thought out.
I’ll be honest Voyeurs, I enjoyed this treatment so much, I struggled to stay awake throughout, in fact, I’m pretty sure I drifted into a microsleep at one point, it’s that good. When you’re lying on your back, an eye mask is placed over your eyes so it’s hard not to indulge and take a power nap.
The Decleor Hot Stones Massage treatment lasts for an hour and if your a person who benefits from, or enjoys massage, then it’s an hour well spent. Y’all know I train in the gym a lot and whilst that has its own health benefits, it really does pay to keep those muscles in tip top condition with regular massage after using and abusing them. I try to have a massage every week if I can fit it in, something pretty deep, where you know you’ve been worked on, and a Hot Stones Massage, let me rephrase that, the right Hot Stones Massage is something I’d add into this regime on a monthly basis.
I booked my massage for first thing in the morning but I think next time I’d book it for after an evening gym session as I went home straight after and slept like a kitten until Plankton arrived home from school at 3pm. Oh yes, and thanks to the massage starting face down, I didn’t leave the place looking like I had a vagina on my face, as I have done at so many other places after being face down on a massage table with a face hole in it. Result.
Pixie xo
To book a massage, or any other treatment including the brand new Facial Pilates, contact the Decleor counter at House of Fraser, Intu Metrocentre.
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