Coming from a family were both my mom and my grandma are amazing with a sewing machine, house full of Burda Moden magazines and my mom's contagious love of quality fabrics, my interest in fashion is not a surprise. For a long time I was completely mesmerised by the glitz and the glamour, patiently waiting for my monthly glossies. Like a lot of girls, at one point or other, I daydreamed about being a model (I've always had a wild imagination). Of course the stories in the media about the darker side of fashion open up your eyes to the harsh reality of the kind of pressures models face and how few actually make it big in the business.
The Model Zone is the British Fashion Council's project, created to look after the wellbeing of models during the London Fashion Week. As you can imagine, things get pretty intense, and a lot of the girls are young and far from their homes which adds to the pressure. Weleda UK have been supporting this project for several seasons, providing their products to use on the first occasion, and then getting more deeply involved with a team of beauty therapists and homoeopaths. The place is like a little oasis or a mini retreat: a space to relax, get a massage or a facial, stock up on healthy food and recharge your batteries. The location is confidential each season for obvious reasons, but to give us a taste of what it would look like this September (and to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Skin Food) Weleda recreated the Model zone experience a few months ago.
Photos courtesy of Weleda
The setting was a swanky apartment suite at Ham Yard in Soho, I was assured by Natalie Lewis (my therapist) that it was pretty much the same set up as at the The Model Zone, just a different location. Treatments on offer consisted of hand and foot massages, and of course the signature Skin Food facial that was specifically created for the occasion. Walking through the doors it already felt like a place of calm, of course I have no idea what the atmosphere is like on the day, but it was definitely all set up with relaxation in mind.
I got to experience the signature facial. I have to admit that I was completely baffled by what Natalie was doing, first I could smell the undeniable sent of rosemary (which turned out to be a hot flannel soaked in Rosemary bath), then my nose told me that something from the almond range was being used (that was the almond cleanser). Luckily, Natalie was very obliging, she not only answered all my questions but also assured me that I would have the step by step instructions of how to recreate this ritual at home in the goodie bag. That was the point when I started to relax a bit, letting my annoyingly busy brain fall into rest mode.
The cleansing was followed by a massage with almond soothing facial oil. The massage extended to neck and shoulders, which in my case are super tense (every time I get a massage, therapists comment on it), so it was really nice to get some of that tension out.
Photo courtesy of Weleda
Moving on to the piece de resistance, a generous layer of skin food was left on the skin for 5 minutes to do its magic. I have to say this was my first interaction with skin food, the few samples that I had were snapped up by other members of the family so I never got to try it for myself. I actually quite like the scent, it is sort of sweet and herby. One of the ingredients in this product is Lanolin, which means it is not suitable for vegans. Here is what Weleda have to say about their lanolin and it really comes down to whether or not you trust the brand. From all my experiences with Weleda so far, I trust them (of course it is up to you to make up your own mind).
With a flannel soaked in hot water and a little lavender bath the mask is taken off, and the last step is a light application of Almond soothing lotion. The whole process was about 30 minutes, but it left me feeling incredible. Getting ready to come to the event I was definitely a little worse for wear, completely run down and super stressed. Half an hour with a Weleda therapist and I was ready to take on the world. I would have never thought of using Skin Food as a treatment mask, but if your skin is feeling dry it really does the trick. For those of us with oily complexion, the recommendation is to skip the T-zone and only use it on dryer areas, to avoid overloading the skin.
Photo courtesy of Weleda
I have teamed up with Weleda UK to gift one of my readers with the whole shebang of the products used in their signature facial, unfortunately a therapist is not included, but they are throwing in some organic teabags and a muslin cloth. The giveaway is open to UK residents only and it closes on 15th of August 2016 (don't worry, there will be something else happening for my international readers shortly after).
The prise:
Rosemary Invigorating Bath Milk 200ml
Almond Soothing Cleansing Lotion 75ml
Almond Soothing Facial Oil 50ml
Skin Food 30ml
Lavender Relaxing Bath Milk 200ml
Almond Soothing Facial Lotion 30ml
Organic cotton muslin
Organic cotton wool pads
Organic chamomile unbleached tea bags
Weleda Skin Food facial booklet
Good Luck!
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