How Not To Be Bridezilla

A BRIDEZILLA 92 august 2014 THE WEEKEND PAMPER You’re getting married! Now is the time for a spacation. The weekend getaway before the whirlwind begins. Eat, drink, and inhale wellness. Throw in some rubbing, scrubbing, preening, and you’re all set to take that big leap. The Bridal Package: Wild Rose Body Scrub, Grounding Aromatherapy, Energising Body Wrap, Aroma Hot Oil, Ananda Foot Reflexology, Mountain Dew Skin Freshener Ananda in the Himalayas Three days in the serene climes of Narendra Nagar, fresh mountain air, yoga, food for your body type and six exotic therapies... They have you covered from head to toe. The Wild Rose Body Salt Scrub uses natural sea salt—infused with 100 per cent pure rose essential oil. The perfect polish is followed up by a Grounding Aromatherapy massage. A customised aromatherapy oil blend is combined with lymphatic and pressure point massage techniques to invigorate or detoxify you, as you may choose. This is finished off with the Energising Earth Wrap, which detoxifies and revitalises. The hot oil head massage with a blend of geranium, lavender and rosemary essential oils is soothing. It hydrates and calms the scalp, besides relaxing you and deep conditioning the hair.

The foot reflexology restores your body to its natural equilibrium. One session and you’ve got your appetite in place and your sleep regulated. Because that’s what will eventually have you looking your best! Besides the luxe facial, of course. The Mountain Dew Skin Freshener reverses environmental damage and works well for sensitive skin. A deep cleansing facial, it uses pure essential oils to suit your skin type. And while I’m yet to figure how they did it, I can say that the part of facials I dread the most—the blackhead removal—didn’t seem to hurt at all and yet those unsightly specks were all gone! THE ONE-DAY PAMPER So you don’t have the time to head out, but you would still like a day to primp and preen, and to pretend that you did get away! Book yourself in for the day and shut yourself off from the world.

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The Bridal Package: Tropical Salt Mousse Glow, Himalayan Clay Body Envelopment, Deep Cleansing Facial Kaya Kalp at ITC Grand Chola If you’re in or around Chennai, check in at the ITC Grand Chola for a night. Head for a late evening swim, so you’re not in the line of attack from the sun. Whip up an appetite, and head to the Cafe Mercara Express, where Chef Nikhil will serve a wholesome meal. Or detoxify with their in-room wellness menu. Call in first thing, so you can make the most of the spa, which opens as early as 7 am. However, make sure you’re done with breakfast about an hour before your appointment.

The body is prepped with thorough scrubbing. The tropical salt has anti-ageing properties and removes dead and dry cells that dull the skin, while the sea minerals and fruit enzymes in the mousse heal, repair and provide antioxidant protection. A purifying, warm body wrap comes next. It uses Himalayan Clay and essential oils of Mysore sandalwood, eucalyptus, black pepper, lime and ginger to detoxify and condition the body. The body treatment, which takes over two hours, is finished off with a ylang ylang moisturiser. You get to pick a facial to work for your skin type. The Deep Cleansing Facial is a good choice, as it works for all skin types and is glow-inducing. If you’ve august 2014 93 photo courtesy vivanta by taj, gurgaon 94 august 2014 been an early bird and you started on time, follow this up with a head massage and a mani-pedi, and you’re all sorted!

Beauty Journey: Foot Cleansing Ritual, Six Senses Signature Oriental Massage, Six Senses Signature Facial, Essential Manicure, Essential Pedicure Six Senses Run away from the madness of Delhi to the far out Six Senses Spa at Jaypee Greens, Greater Noida. The day-long package is designed to repair and rejuvenate. The Oriental Massage uses acupressure and stretching techniques to loosen up those stiff muscles and relieve bodily tension. The facial uses natural plant extracts to balance the skin’s pH level. The massage is designed to encourage lymphatic drainage, which leads to improved skin elasticity and clarity. Finish off with luxe grooming, with their specially designed manicure and pedicure.

THE QUICK FIX If you’ve been too busy attending others weddings rather than prepping for your own, like I was, these therapies will have you covered in no time.

THE EXPRESS RITUAL Worship Spa & Salon A 30-minute facial that actually delivers. Before you raise your eyebrow, we’ll have you know that the trick lies in the right products. A serum that works as a multi-vitamin supplement for the skin is massaged into your skin, to speed-up cell regeneration and healing, taking care of all those blemishes; and a seaweed mask tones and firms the skin, giving it that conditioned, taut appearance. And if you have another 30 minutes to spare, jump into that pedi-seat and get a quick scrubbing for your extremities, too, or pack in a hair spa treat.

RADIANCE FACE THERAPY & SHINE BODY THERAPY Shvasa Spa at Hyatt Regency The 30-minute face clean-up gets rid of all the grime and leaves behind supple, squeaky clean skin and a radiant lustre. The cleanser-scrub-mask ritual is accompanied by an eye treatment that involves a mask and a cream, too. Yes, all in half an hour!

Follow it up with a quick body polish. A June Jacob scrub, followed by a cleansing shower and a rubdown with a hydrating, nourishing body balm. Bring on the glow! MYTHIC OIL RITUAL L’Oreal Professionnel All sorted, but your hair’s missing that shine? L’Oreal Professionnel’s Mythic Oil uses essential oils of argan, cranberry, cotton seed, rice bran, tea tree, cypress, linseed and citrus to nourish your hair and give it that much-needed softness and radiance. It repairs damaged hair, protects colour- or chemically-treated hair, and acts like a sunscreen for you hair, too. Pick from the Mythic Colour Glow Ritual, the Mythic Repair and Radiance Ritual and the Mythic Intense Nourishment Ritual. THE SUPER RELAXERS Sometimes, all you need is an escape, a time-out from the stress, chaos and madness that always accompanies a wedding. And if you’ve been working out to look your fittest for your big day, you need to ease those muscles out, too. And here’s the thing—a relaxed bride always glows. Yes, always!

WATSU WATER MASSAGE Zehen at The Manor The goodness of shiatsu meets the comfort of a warm water soak. Slip into your swimsuit, jump into the hydrotherapy pool and let the therapist take over. You need to surrender to the water. Just be a water baby and have faith in the law of buoyancy, your therapist and the fact that the pool is too shallow for you to drown. Also, they’ll strap on some floats so you’re barely submerged. Once settled in water, your body is stretched, pulled, lengthened and massaged. You can feel the tension melt away, as your body relaxes blissfully. What follows is better sleep, improved circulation and muscles that are far more supple—all known remedies for dull skin.

SAMMARDANA Jiva at Vivanta by Taj When I stepped into the Jiva Spa at the Vivanta by Taj in Gurgaon, mine was a body ravaged by extreme physical stress. Stress that was beginning to make me look far beyond my years. The last thing you want when you’re just about to be married, and let’s face it, it does happen to all of us! So instead of the usual suspects, I picked a deep tissue massage to relieve my sore muscles. The Sammardana uses a bespoke, all-natural oil blend, to work with your unique requirements. The strokes, too, are customised to work for your body, with varied pressure and concentration on areas that need special attention. Working on the soft muscle tissue, the massage relieves deep-seated stress. The least I’d say is I stepped out with that spring in my step! august 2014 95 photo courtesy itc grand chola (facing page); zehen at the manor (this page)