The treatment: A massage and facial from The Spa Nomad, a beauty therapy business that comes to you.
The promise: Affordable pampering in the convenience of your own home. The mobile spa says it isn't just about beauty, but wellness, self-care and getting the best out of your skin.
Choose from the full luxury spa and wellness experience, from pamper parties to a relaxing treat for yourself. Massages range from Swedish to deep tissue, and there’s a broad menu of high-tech beauty treatments targeting dullness, fine lines, eye bags and more.
My therapist Julia gave a relaxing 60-minute massage, incorporating a little detoxifying and immune-boosting lymphatic drainage, and customised my 60-minute facial to my skin type and needs based on her own assessment on the day.
The practice: The lovely Julia arrived and spent a few minutes setting up her massage table and products in the living room, putting on relaxing music and placating my confused dog, Willow.
Using fragrant oils, she gave me an extremely relaxing full-body massage, upping the pressure on the tighter muscles, and incorporating a subtly stimulating lymph-focused technique. This led to the facial, where Julia’s impressive expertise (having previously worked for most of the big beauty brands) proved enlightening.
She identified key areas around my T-zone that she said could benefit from a little extra attention during my daily regimen, explained what could be causing any dullness and suggested ways I could improve my skin tone beyond the facial.
After cleansing, Julia gently exfoliated with a small metal tool, priming my skin for the “Hollywood Facial”, designed to resurface the skin, reduce lines, hyperpigmentation and improve scarring. Given the powerful ingredients – a combination of glycolic, citric and malic acids, plus retinol, vitamin B3 and antioxidants – this tingling peel didn’t stay on for long.
After rinsing, she applied a hydrating hyaluronic acid and aloe vera mask, massaging it into the skin with a cooling device to mitigate any irritation from the peel, and used red LED light to encourage radiance. Then another deeply hydrating mask was applied to “plump up” the skin.
The place: Yours! (Unless you're in Wellington and would prefer a treatment at their capital HQ, Sadal & Co hair salon.).
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Advertise with NZME.The price: Massages from $138, facials from $138. Thespanomad.nz
The verdict: As a former facial sceptic, I was blown away by the results – it was as though all the fine lines in my forehead drank up the hydration, giving my skin a smooth, bouncier appearance, (and I felt relaxed for hours). I woke the next day with a further improvement in the brightness and evenness of my complexion.
I’ve taken on board Julia’s advice around stress management and exfoliating correctly, and would definitely repeat the experience. Having the treatments at home felt just as indulgent as if I’d visited a spa, and there was no slinking back to the car with a makeup-free face afterwards.
Plus Willow got to lick the oil off my legs.
