I Tried This Spellbinding Treatment At The LUSH Spa – And It Did Not Disappoint

Seeking a quiet escape in the city, Charlie Colville checks out the LUSH spa – aka, the city’s best-kept wellness secret – to try its latest treatment, The Spell.

Review: The Spell Treatment At The LUSH Spa

LUSH has been a high street staple for decades. With the scents of bath bombs, shower gels and fragrances spilling onto the streets outside every store, it successfully lures in shoppers (by the nose) with promises of the sweetest-smelling bath time experience you could hope for.

But beneath a select number of LUSH stores across the UK is a wellness oasis. Despite having a huge following, the LUSH spa is still something of a closely kept secret amongst the brand’s biggest fans. But a flourishing presence on TikTok – where revealing ‘hidden experiences’ is a hot pastime for content creators – has made the LUSH spa the next big hotspot for wellness seekers.

For my first visit, I book on to try the LUSH spa’s newest treatment. A foot and scalp massage inspired by reflexology techniques, The Spell sounds nothing short of magical.

What To Expect

The Spell starts outside the treatment room. My therapist, Anthea, sets me up in a quiet corner, tucked away from reception, by a table with candles and a cauldron. It’s here that the ‘spell work’ begins, with a small ceremony where you can burn away any worries.

Handing over a scrap of paper, ink and a glass pen, Anthea asks me to write down anything that’s been causing me anxiety recently before exiting the room. For a few minutes, I’m left to scribble down any and everything (that I can fit on the paper). And when the therapist returns, we pop the scrap of paper in the cauldron and set it alight.

It’s a cathartic way to start the session – which only gets better from there. The Spell was created by the LUSH team to ‘encourage the feeling of moving forward’ (hence the burning), before ‘being deeply relaxed and pampered.’

The next 60 minutes do just that. Moving on to a warmly lit private room, the treatment kicks off.

As mentioned, The Spell consists of a reflexology-inspired foot and scalp massage, based on the traditional approach of treating the feet to help relax the body and mind. ‘I’ll be able to feel exactly how you walk,’ says Anthea, as she prepares a hot bath to soak my feet. ‘And I’ll probably pick up on any habits you have.’

Dipping my feet into warm water though, she quickly calm any nerves I might have. ‘With The Spell, we’re looking to ease any of those built-up tensions lingering in your feet,’ Anthea emphasises. ‘And then work up to the scalp to replicate the sensation across your whole body.’

So I sit back, relax and let her work her magic. My feet are thoroughly soaked, cleansed and exfoliated – and even treated to a mini bath bomb experience, with a rich, earthy-scented product dubbed Volcano that’s exclusive to the spa.

Feet nice and pink, we move from the small bath to the treatment table. The lights are dimmed as I lie down, and a specially-created soundtrack for the spa is set to play. Don’t expect your typical spa music; this is a much more immersive soundscape, blending natural sounds, folk songs and medleys of yellowhammer birdsong. It’s this, combined with the trained hands of a LUSH therapist, that lets you drift away for the next several minutes.

More tension-relieving scrubs and ointments are applied to my feet and legs, bringing with them the soothing scents of peppermint and lavender. And while Anthea leaves a mask to set on the skin there, she moves back up to deliver a truly melt-worthy scalp massage. The addition of hot stones, placed neatly on my chest, only add to the cosy, warm and relaxed feeling settling into my body.

It’s one of those treatments where time stops for a little while, giving way to that floaty sensation between sleep and wakefulness. Drifting in and out, I’m left to completely forget about the stresses of the work day in favour of the feeling of tension dropping from my muscles.

And when I’m quietly awoken, the feeling lingers. I’m practically floating as Anthea bundles me up into the relaxation area of the spa, hot minty tea in hand. Encouraged to settle down for a few minutes before braving the streets of London, I find myself reluctant to leave – understandably. It’s difficult to find a slice of calm like this in the city.

But when the time comes, I make my way back through London. I’m thankful to still carry the effects of The Spell with me over the next few days; a tensionless relaxation that makes the lead up to the weekend feel like a breeze.

The Final Word

If anyone can find calm on the high street, it has to be LUSH. These scentscaping experts can easily cast a spell on anyone that steps into their store and spa. The brand has seamlessly carved a space for itself in London’s wellness scene – whether by magic is up for debate.

BOOK

The Spell lasts 60 minutes and costs £90 per person. You can book this treatment at the following LUSH Spas: Bath, Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, London (Oxford Street), London Covent Garden and Poole. lush.com