Brand? Guinot
How Much? £50 for 60 minutes
Where? Russell Eaton, Leeds
Who? Sam, Spa Manager

Let me stress this from the offset: if you didn’t already know, I am obsessed with skincare. There is no bigger compliment in the world to me than “Ooh, haven’t you got lovely skin?” and my mother instilled in me early that spending time and cash on your face will bring you benefits later in life. Good skincare can save you money on make-up and it can help to boost confidence. I’ve always loved to experiment with new treatments so when my local salon Russell Eaton offered me the chance to swap my Aveda facial for their new Guinot one, I grabbed the chance. The French do skincare better than anyone, after all.

At 9am on a Wednesday a few weeks back, I rolled out of bed, washed my face and headed out the door without a scrap of make-up on. Now, I’m a regular at Russell Eaton, and I think my return custom and gushing twitter feed everytime I visit probably says more about how great the salon is than anything I can type here now, but trust me, their spa area is absolutely beautiful. It is 100% the best salon spa I have ever been in. Instead of the bright, almost clinical look most spas I’ve been to opt for, with folding tables and whale music, the spacious area downstairs at Russell Eaton is all dark, soft and rich, very natural feeling and tranquil – the kinda place you might want to curl up with a book or, you know, settle in for a snooze.

Guinot is not a brand I have a lot of experience with but I have tried samples from beauty boxes before. They’ve been around for over 40 years, and their products contain 56 active biological ingredients, a mix that’s been used in hospitals to treat burns victims. Anything with healing properties automatically appeals to me, so that hooked my interest. Their range is based on the idea that the skin is made up of 30 layers, therefore skin renewal works on a 30 day cycle, losing the upper most layer every day. Ergo, if you get a Guinot facial every 30 days, you should have healthy, hydrated glowing skin year-round. I’ll let you know how that works out for me.

Lets talk about the process: Laying under the towels in the treatment room was like being in a cocoon. An electric blanket can be turned on or off to ensure you’re super toasty and the light is dimmed so you can zone out and enjoy the experience without a problem. Sam, the spa manager, talked to me about my skin (dry/combination, dehydrated and prone to sensitivity) and the products I usually use and designed a Guinot ‘prescription’ for me. I’ve since learned that on every visit you get a prescription to take away and the salon keep one on record, this way you can feedback to them and they’ll always be able to design a personalised, tried-and-tested treatment that works for you.

Guinot believes that ‘a radiant, healthy complexion depends on subcutaneous blood circulation’. So after cleansing, exfoliating and some very therapeutic facial massage, Sam used these roller type contraptions to work a moisturiser into the skin. This is called “Double Ionisation” and the rollers mean active ingredients with positive and negative charges penetrate the epidermis around 10x deeper (hence that 30 layer thing I was chatting about earlier) and thus moisturise 10x deeper than in an average facial. Another type of roller is then used which stimulates oxygenation and microcirculation, helping your skin look more alive, healthy, less dull. These rollers are charged, but they’re practically silent, so nothing interrupts your pool of tranquility, don’t you worry. Sensitive sisters, don’t be worried about this being too extreme. It just feels like cooling, metal beads massaging your skin, and speaking as someone who is particularly worried about using anything remotely controversial (think Clarisonic and the like) on her skin, this was 100% comfortable for me and actually my favourite part of the whole experience. In my opinion, it’s solely responsible for the refreshed, plumped feeling my skin had after the treatment.

After the rollers, Sam smoothed on a mask that smelled absolutely divine, popped some cotton pads over my eyes and left me to relax even more while she massaged my forearms and hands with a moisturiser that helped to seriously minimise the dryness my hands are prone to and really added to the pampering experience. During the facial, the shoulders, upper arms, decollage and neck are all treated with lots of attention too which is an extra I really love about this facial as opposed to others I’ve had because it feels like a more holistic treatment and I walked out of the door with not only a glowing face but also several fewer knots in my upper body. As I sit hunched over a computer all day, this was short lived, but very nice to experience for a few hours!

Once the treatment was finished, Sam went away to write up my prescription while I got dressed. I liked that I was given a glass of water and some time to get up at my own speed. I know that may sound silly, but it really added to the slow, gentle process of the whole treatment which is part of what made it feel so luxurious. In my previous experience, so many salons feel like a bit of a conveyor belt, and as soon as your time is up the strip lighting is flicked back on and you’re back to earth with a bump, so it was nice to be able to get up at my own pace. To be honest, the whole process felt like longer than the 60 minutes I was allotted, which was great as usually I feel these things go all too fast, and for £50, I think this is pretty good value.

Pulling a ridiculous face to demonstrate the improvement in my rosacea (no make-up, post treatment)

Enough about the experience, let’s talk about the effects! This facial has given me hands down THE BEST results of any facial I’ve had (and that’s a fair few). I saw the effects straight away – my skin looked clear, felt super supple and stayed hydrated all day (rare for me as my skin usually drinks my moisturiser right up). I have a big problem with dry skin and if I don’t exfoliate twice a week religiously then it tends to get very dull and bumpy. After the Guinot facial I didn’t exfoliate for a week and a half. I didn’t need to. My skin was so clear, the tone was even and my redness was much reduced, covering only 60ish% of the cheek surface it usually does. Because of the texture of my skin, make-up in the weeks following the facial went on so much easier and I found I got better coverage from my base make-up. I got compliments from 4 (FOUR!) people commenting on how “glowy”, “healthy” and “radiant” I looked. WHATTTTTT. I genuinely noticed an improvement in the way my skin not only looked but also, more importantly, how it felt, for around 3 weeks after the treatment. I suffered from no breakouts and I felt no tightness or itchiness after cleansing or showering. Absolutely amazeballs.

I’ve been back for another one since and I intend to keep them up every 5 weeks at least until I get married. I’m so impressed by the improvement in my skin, as well as the fabulous experience I had at the spa itself. So many beauty treatments seem to only be about the time you spend in the spa, but for me the results are plain to see. Visit Russell Eaton, Leeds at 4-6 Boar Land, Leeds, LS1 5DD or call them to book your appointment on 0113 2469162. And don’t forget to tell them I sent you!! Follow the salon , Sam  and Guinot