My Salon Experience Review: Paul Henri (Aveda Salon)

I really hesitated to write this review as I support anything with the Aveda mark on it.  I believe in the business ethos, the natural ingredients, and the holistic and earthy approach to beauty products.  But it stops there to be honest. I have frequented Aveda spas and salons for close to 5 years now.  Each and every time, it has been great, but unfortunately, I can't say that my experience was the same with the Paul Henri Aveda salon in Ipswich.

The first time I went there was roughly 4 months ago.  My haircut was way too short, and I left feeling like a boy.  I chalked it up to having a entry level stylist, because I was tight on cash that trip.  So, this previous trip, I was determined to have a senior stylist cut my hair.  I won't mention names on this review, but just know that this is a senior stylist that I am reviewing.  At a whopping £38.95 for a hair cut, I expected a lot more from a senior stylist. 

The first problem was the condition of the salon when I arrived.  England is experiencing their summers, and needless to say that it has been HOT!  Not only did the salon not turn on their A/C, but the door wasn't even propped open.  I should have walked out immediately, but I was desperate for a hair cut, so I just dealt with the heat.  Next, the senior stylist was in a foul mood, because she said that their system was down.  Ok sistah, I get that it's stressful, but it ain't my fault the system is down so a smile would have been great.  The hair wash, hair cut, and check out lasted 30 minutes total.  She did a rush job on everything.  I asked her if she thought the cut suited me, and she really couldn't be bothered to engage in any conversation with me.  How odd is that? A hair stylist that doesn't talk to their customer?  I was so put off by this point.  I asked her to layer the back of my hair a bit more for volume, and she couldn't be assed to do that either, giving me some lame excuse as to why, but the truth was, she just couldn't be bothered as her mind was clearly on something else and stressed.  Also, I do expect hair stylist to take care of their own hair.  The senior stylist had a rag on her hair, where she obviously couldn't be bothered to do it, so to make a half ass attempt at looking stylish, she put on a hippie rage as a headband.  Seriously?  If you are in the hair industry, you should give a damn about your own hair.  That was the 2nd red flag that I ignored, and I wish I didn't.

The only plus side to this is that when I asked the receptionist for samples, she gave me a handful.  Otherwise, this experience would have been completely shit.

Oh well, I won't be returning back to Paul Henri which is a shame as I love the fact that they use Aveda products.  So my quest for a half decent hair salon continues. 

So that is my experience with the Paul Henri salon on Upper Brook Street. 

CONS: Overpriced and Inexperienced staff members.

PROS:  Centrally located and uses amazing Aveda products.

Yardley London's Royal Diamond Perfume

A while back, I did a review on Yardley's Royal English Daisy.  English Daisy was my favourite out of all the other samples that were provided for me to review.  It smelled so similar to MJ's Daisy, and I kept my bottle with me at work to spritz on myself when I needed a pick me up.  Royal Diamond is like the sexy older sister of English Daisy. 

Yardley's has been known for perfecting the singular note fragrances, and with the launch of Royal Diamond, they seem to have perfected their first multi-note floral bouquet.  It is a sophisticated fruity, sweet, and warm fragrance.  It has citrus accents of pear and bergamot, sweet subtle honey, and a gorgeous combination of rose, lily of the valley, peony and finishes off with a soft cedar wood, benzoin, vanilla and sandalwood.

Yardley's is also known for being a classic perfumer, but Royal Diamond really brings a fresh modern scent to their portfolio.  Move aside English Daisy, there is a new sheriff in town.  Royal Diamond is a really strong and feminine scent.  This scent really represents the strong modern woman, and I will gladly wear this.

Here is the gorgeous vintage inspired glass bottle, and the stunning vintage perfume atomiser that they included.  I immediately decanted into the vintage style perfume sprayer.  I mean...come on, look at it, who wouldn't love this?

 Absolutely stunning!

The Royal Diamond collection includes:

Eau de Toilette 50ml bottle - £9.99

Body Spray 75ml - £2.49

A huge thank you goes to the lovely people over at Yardley for sending this beautiful bottle to me, and for filling up my days with this absolutely amazing scent.  Yardley is heading the right direction, and I urge everyone to go out and grab this perfume as it is worth a lot more than they are asking, a hell of a lot more :)

The Best Massage I've Ever Had

Today's review is on a treatment and not a product, which is rare, but still essential as I know I still read reviews prior to booking any treatments.  After two friends highly recommended this therapist to me, I decided that today would be the day.  Rose Helm ITEC Dip, CThA, MTI Deep Tissue Massage Therapist, is a single practitioner in Ipswich.  Her treatment room is in an office building.  I thought that was a bit odd as I usually go to spas to get a massage done, but once you walk into her "office" it feels like a treatment room and not an office building.  Her decor is modern and minimal, and on par with all the high end salons out there.  I complimented her on how lovely it smelled (which is a HUGE deal for me).  Her room smelled like the numerous Aveda spas that I frequented in Miami, and I was very pleased with that.

Rose is extremely professional.  When she talks, you know she knows what she is talking about.  I instantly felt comfortable, and felt like I was in the right hands.  We had a brief 15 minute disucssion about my ailments, medical history and lifestyle, and she assessed that this session would be focused on my back and legs.  I can't even begin to tell you how much I needed that.  As she was doing my massage, I could tell that she knew exactly the parts of me that needed extra attention.  A lot of massage therapists just give a generic massage and glance over problem areas, but Rose didn't.  Without me even having to tell her, she knew exactly my problem areas and she began to apply a medical approach of massage to me.

I haven't mentioned this before, but I am anemic, and sometimes my lack of iron makes me very tired and often dizzy.  It has to due with the lack of oxygen that is circulating in my body.  She knew this, and she worked on getting my blood circulated.  All I can say is that for the last 1.5 weeks, I felt like utter sh*t, and after a 45 minute massage, I felt rejuvenated and extremely relaxed.  I can't even begin to tell you how amazing I felt after this massage with Rose.  She definitely did get the blood moving, and that is exactly what I needed right now.

She uses strong/powerful and slow movements that really make a difference.  I've had many massages, and I never experienced a proper deep tissue massage.  Sure it's slightly tense and painful, but that's because my muscles are very tight from lack of exercise and abuse (by moi lol).  Now 4 hours after the massage, I feel like I could sleep all night.  When I tell you that this is therapeutic, that's a bit of an understatement.  I am so glad that my friends recommended Rose to me, and I am doing the same.  I booked another appointment for 2 weeks later, and I can't wait!

For information about her and bookings, please go to her website
http://www.rosehelmdeeptissuemassage.co.uk/