The specialist Murad beauty room at House of Fraser is the perfect retreat from the horror of Oxford Street’s hustle and bustle of shoppers and jostling tourists. The bright and welcoming stall inside the department store offers a complimentary pre-facial skin scan with the Murad 'Youth Cam' – the machine takes a deep layered photograph of your skin. Prepare to feel scolded, looking specifically for sun damage, redness and ageing, if you haven’t been slathering on the SPF you’re definitely going to know about it!
Murad offer a range of nourishing and invigorating treatments claiming to deal with in anti-aging and skin protection. Living in this fair city can play havoc with your skin – if you’re a keen cyclist you have pollution to deal with, and if you work in an office the air-conditioning and central heating can give your skin a real battering, leaving it dehydrated. We enlisted one of Time Out’s hardy cyclists to test out the 60 minute Murad City Facial which aims to deal with the aches and pains of city living; the two ‘p’s: pollution and partying. The deeply relaxing City Facial goes through a series of phases that begins with a full steam and cleanse, extraction (code for: removing all your blackheads – GROSS) followed by a brightening vitamin C infused mask – along with hot towels – Lovely! Next comes a series of hydration treatments that use an Osmolyte Tonic to offset skin dehydrated by boozing, partying and working long hours. The penultimate stage includes a soothing massage of the face, arms and decollate. This treatment is the a real treat for hard-working skin: as well as being incredibly relaxing, your skin will feel tighter and thanks to the vitamin C infused products will leave you smelling more orangey than a marmalade factory.
RECOMMENDED: treats yourself to a spa day in London