As perhaps the most low maintenance fashion editor on the planet I’m at a complete loss after my face almost drops off post New York Fashion Week. Compiling a Big Fashion Issue, arranging the Grazia 10 exhibitionand then jetting across the globe for long days and long nights across a marathon fashion month – not to mention the beyond-sub-zero temperatures of New York - it’s no wonder that visible signs of toll-taking could be seen. On top of all of that, a back-to-back schedule stops you from drinking enough water – the catwalk waits for no man (to have a toilet break). Dehydration doesn’t even begin to describe it.
As a self confessed beauty-phobe, how is one to fix things with the least effort? And fast? My prior facial experiences extend to a last-minute mask slapped on at home and probably not taken off properly before falling asleep, so I am thankful for an introduction to uber-beauty therapist Arezoo and the new GeneO+ by Pollogen. The process is basically like a blast of oxygen to your skin and the woman applying it is a complete breath of fresh air. Welcoming you into what feels like a cosy apartment nestled in the heart of Knightsbridge, you can see why Arezoo attracts such an A-list audience - and has done for the past few decades. With her friendly demeanour (she guessed my star-sign from my new coat and we chatted endlessly over our mutual Perisan heritage) plus cups of tea and chocolate biscuits, she not only treats but also genuinely looks after each customer. Despite a celebrity roll call that includes Naomi Campbell, Gwyneth Paltrow, Daisy Lowe and Jake Gyllenhaal, Arezoo is discreet enough to remain quite the insider’s secret. I left with great skin, a calmer mind, and feeling like I’d located a long lost auntie, too.
The patented OxyGeneo technology is an unprecedented skin-care procedure, which delivers three essentials treatments simultaneously: exfoliation of the outer skin layer, infusion of unique revitalising formulas and oxygenation from within. Sounds intense, but at no point was this facial invasive or uncomfortable, quite the opposite. The warm radio waves (aka TriPollar radio frequency technology) feel tingly and like they’re instantly working their skin-tightenting, collagen plumping and refreshing magic. The exfoliation is thorough but even my delicate and sensitive skin coped with it. So much so that I could head straight out to a drinks do across town – sans makeup. I don’t think that’s ever happened on a Friday night before…