Leonor Greyl
This Parisian range of botanical haircare has been mentioned frequently in the beauty press over the last while because of movie star and shopaholic Nicole Kidman's fondness for it. The range was the brainchild of pharmacist Jean-Marie Greyl, who applied his knowledge of plants and their properties to the problems which his hairdresser wife, Leonor, came across in her salon. Every type of hair is catered for by this range, and we were particularly impressed by the Balancing Bath for Greasy Roots and Dry Ends (#8.50) - a hair type that's too often ignored.
l Available from Space NK Apothecaries
Remede
This range was created by Marcia Kilgore, owner of the hottest beauty salon in Manhattan, Bliss. Her client list reads like a who's who of Hollywood: this is where Uma Thurman treats her skin to doses of pure oxygen. The Remede products use the latest technology to deliver vitamins, oxygen, glucose and hydration to the skin and it's rapidly becoming a cult brand in London. Pictured is one of our favourite products - Sweep (#24), a super-gentle exfoliator made from white marble which buffs the skin but doesn't abrade it.
l Available from Space NK Apothecaries and Liberty
To do the London beauty splurge properly, the place to stay has to be The Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge. This elegant and discreet hotel is just a short, bag-laden stagger from Harvey Nichols - certainly the most convenient of the nearby beauty meccas. And as if that wasn't enough, the hotel boasts a superb health club and spa, which houses a stunning rooftop swimming pool and, more importantly for beauty aficionados, the only Christian Dior beauty salon in Europe.
The Dior salon is the place to head after a hard day's cruising the cosmetics counters of Harrods and Harvey Nichols.
The Berkeley Health Club and Spa offers a range of treatments, which go under the heading of The Healthy Day Retreat Collection.
Prices start at #255 for a De luxe Queen-bedded room for single occupancy and go all the way up to #1800 for the Pavilion Conservatory Suite. Special packages are available throughout the year. One of the options for this summer is The Berkeley Weekend break, which covers your overnight accommodation with English breakfast and complimentary use of the Health Club and Spa, and costs #250 per couple in a double room or #320 for a junior suite. This offer is available from July 20 until August 31 and is valid for any Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
l Reservations can be made by calling The Berkeley on 0171 235 6000 or by accessing The Savoy Group's website
Kiehl's
Whenever the glossies run one of those favourite-products-of-the-supermodels features, there are always plenty of mentions of this cult American skin, body and haircare range. Dating back over 100 years, this is an extensive collection of high quality and unpretentiously packaged products, of which the bestsellers are the famous Lip Balm no1 (#4.50) and the Ultra Facial Moisturizer (#18.50) - both of which are pictured, left.
l Available from Space NK Apothecaries and Liberty
Barkers, Kensington High Street; Fortnum & Mason, Piccadilly; Fenwick, Bond Street
Harrods, Knightsbridge; Liberty, Regent Street. Telephone 0171 734 1234 for mail order; Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street. Telephone 0171 629 1234 and ask for mail order; Space NK Apothecary, various branches, including 45 Brook Street. Tel: 0171 636 2523 for mail order
TLC
This compact collection of aromatherapy products has become Harrods' bestselling aromatherapy range in the eight months since it was launched there. It was developed by Tracy Louis Cahn (hence the TLC), an aromatherapist who began forumlating products for her clients to take home. As demand increased, she decided to produce a range which could be obtained by mail order. Now it's being sold in some of the best London stores, and is moving into some English branches of Frasers over the next few months. Our favourite products are the Hard-working Hand Cream (left; #5.95), a delicious-smelling Vitamin E-enriched treatment, and TLC's unique Pulse Points (#4.95), pure blends of essential oils which you dab onto pulse points as needed. Also pictured are p.m.t, which Tracy developed to combat her pre-menstrual mood swings (it was that or divorce, apparently), and Zing!, the perfect energiser.
l Available from Harrods, Fortnum and Mason, Selfridges, Barkers and by mail order on 0171 372 5979
wu
It hasn't even celebrated its first birthday, but this unusual and exotic range of skincare has already gained cult status among beauty junkies. Wu was dreamt up by London-based Hong Kong businesswoman Julia Kwan, who worked with Chinese herbalists to develop the range's unique formulations. Made in China, with ingredients which include ginseng, pearl, silk and ginkgo, the products are the result of the fusion of ancient knowledge with modern technology. Pictured are the White Rootlet & Ginseng Cleansing Milk (#17.50) and the Pearl & Silk Cream Moisturiser (#19.95), both of which are suitable for normal-combination skins. At the moment (but hopefully not for much longer) the range is only available in the London stores listed below, but it has a very efficient mail order service, currently operated by Julia Kwan herself, on 0171 240 6313.
l Available from Liberty, Space NK Apothecaries, Harrods and Fenwick
philosophy
Although it's only been going for three years, Arizona-based philosophy has become one of the most covetable cult ranges, thanks largely to the efficacy of the products and partly to the natty packaging, which has the company's own philosophies printed on each item. Co-founded by Cristina Carlino, who had already built up her company, BioMedic Clinical Care, following the success of her MicroPeel, philosophy now sells its state-of-the-art products in some of the best stores on both sides of the Atlantic. One of the latest additions to the range is a two-step oxygen treatment called ''the great awakening'' (left; #21). Two of our favourites are also pictured: the hair treatment ''head trip'' (#11.50) and the mattifying cream, ''never let them see you shine'' (#8.50).
l Available from Space NK Apothecaries, Liberty and Harrods
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