Facial and Heaven Skincare by Deborah Mitchell

TheFoundationDirectory; Heaven Skincare and Facial by Deborah Mitchell

I was super excited when I got an exclusive invite for a special evening with Founder Deborah Mitchell of Heaven Skincare and beauty therapist. Heaven is a luxury British organic skincare brand, founded in 1991, the key ingredient in most of her products is Bee Venom. Deborah came up with this potion in a dream, her sister is a bee keeper, so she knew a lot about bees. She has now patented her 'secret' mix as Abeetoxin, a complicated formulation of bee venom, honey and natural botulinum harvested from bees.

TheFoundationDirectory; Heaven Skincare Bee Venom Mask - Gold

Deborah's infamous Bee Venom Mask is sold in 3 tiers;
Silver (£7.50-£82) - this contains the lowest amount of Abeetoxin as an introduction to the masks, but also good for those with sensitive skin. It's more like a rich cream than a traditional mask, and appeared to disappear from the surface of my face within minutes of application. It contains essential oils like organic Rose & Lavender, also organic Marshmallow, organic Shea Butter, vitamin E, Beta-Carotene, obviously Bee Venom, Abeetoxin & Honey. It's said to control facial muscles for an immediate tightening & lifting effect, it firms & releases collagen, relaxes muscles, and interestingly can help with pain.You apply a thick layer, leave for 10-20 minutes and then wash off. You can also apply it on top of your usual moisturiser or as your moisturiser, I've not trialled it in this way yet though, but it did feel very hydrating upon application so I can see how it would work. I cannot comment on the anti-ageing effects unfortunately, because even though I'm in my 30's wrinkles are not something that is a concern for me, but a great preventative measure and really nice moisturiser.

Black (£163)- her bestseller and Gold (£352), which you can only buy once, as it uses the Queen Bee Venom and there's only one in each hive. But don't forget this is an organic brand, so Deborah is now a 'Guardian of the Bees', because she donates a percentage of all her profits to bee charities and the way she extracts the venom actually saves the bees lives.

TheFoundationDirectory; Heaven Skincare

Deborah started out at 17 years old as a mobile therapist, she has been quoted as saying 'when I put my hands on the first person I ever treated, a strange, life-changing feeling came over me.....Now if I don’t do enough treatments, I suffer; it’s therapeutic for me'. Deborah can quote a long list of some very important royal clients and A-list celebrities including Camilla Parker Bowles, Kate Middleton, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robert Downey Junior and Victoria Beckham to name a few. So when I got the chance for her to lay her hands on my face (feet and hands included) I jumped at it, she doesn't only just do facials, but reads your aura/heals while she's at it. In the luxurious setting of the Langham Hotel room, I laid down while Deborah read my aura, I have a lot going on in my head she chimed (she's not wrong there). She cleanse, massaged and treated my face, neck, décolletage, hands and feet, it was a wonderfully relaxing experience and my face felt clean, plump and glowing after.

TheFoundationDirectory; Aallexxy with Deborah Mitchell following Heaven Skincare Facial

I have to say the packaging and overall presentation of the brand is gorgeous, when you expect to see a tub, it's actually a pump, it's clean, sophisticated and luxurious. Deborah has a great down to earth, vivacious bubbly personality, you can tell she really cares about her clients. If you are looking for a great British luxury organic brand with a focus on anti-ageing this is definitely for you, check out the range here.

Beauty and Melody Salon; Environ Facial

If you follow me on Instagram you will know that in February I attended a Keziah Connections event at the stunning Beauty and Melody Salon, so when I was invited back by Matthew (Manager) to experience an Environ facial I obviously jumped at the chance.

Beauty and Melody Salon

I actually didn't fully understand what an Environ facial was, it was developed by a doctor in South Africa and uses soundwaves and small electric pulses to drive the treatment down into the dermal layers of your skin that it wouldn't be able to reach with just manual application. This Environ facial is effective at treating sun-damage, pigmentation, premature ageing, dryness and scarring to name a few. The process starts with the usual cleansing of the skin, steaming to allow easier access to pores for extraction and then your treatment is applied. You can have either a vitamin treatment (vitamins A, C and antioxidants) or hydration, I choose vitamins. The electric pulses didn't hurt at all, and you quickly get use to the sensation, below you can see the little electrodes attached to the top of the algae mask, that was applied after the vitamin treatment had been done.

Beauty and Melody Environ Facial

I have really be loving my skin at the moment, and I believe it's down to the skincare I'm currently testing (review soon), being properly absorbed into my skin as a result of the facial. There's no point buying expensive skincare products, that will just sit on the surface of the skin, I now see the importance of facials in my skincare routine. There are also Environ skincare products available to purchase, to continue at home what the facial starts in the salon.

Sylvia was welcoming and knowledgable about skincare, even for women of colour and the usual concerns of pigmentation, I felt comfortable and confident in what she was doing. The facial can be done monthly, but for those with particularly problematic skin it can be done weekly or it can be done just before a special ocassion. So it can be adapted to your budget, but at £90 (1hr) - £110 (1hr 30mins), most people like myself will be saving this for a treat or special occassion. There are alternative treatments available at more purse friendly prices, so do have a look at their website beautyandmelody.co.uk.

Beauty and Melody Salon

Located a short walk away from Marble Arch tube station, they don't only do facials, but everything from weaves, wigs, makeup to laser hair removal, and yes the machine they use is suitable for darker skin tones.

Do you regularly get facial treatments done? Have you had an environ facial before?

Thank you for visiting the blog today

Alex