Venetia Archer, founder and CEO of beauty concierge app Ruuby, shares her time-saving intel on getting preened before a trip abroad.
19 September, 2019
It’s
rather fitting that I am sitting in my hotel room in Vence
writing this, swathed in large fluffy bathrobe, hair lathered with
the finest of Ayurvedic hair treatment (I’m trying to grow it). For
I am finally enjoying a holiday this year, post a very, very busy
few months at Ruuby.
For those who don’t know us, we are an on-demand beauty
concierge app. If you live in London, you can download Ruuby and book an expert
beautician direct to your door in the same amount of time it takes
for your Uber
Eats to arrive (well maybe slightly longer, an hour, but you
get my point).
This makes Ruuby the perfect accompaniment to those of us en
route to finer climes, with limited time at our disposal.
The most important thing is timing. If you’re anything like me,
you might have left all of your beauty admin to the last minute (so
I am a fan of the 6am blowdry and 10pm wax). Start like you mean it
with your spray tan. It needs time to develop, and we don’t want
you hopping on the plane smelling like biscuits. The benefit of a
spray tan at home is multifold. Your tanner arrives with a small
bag, which miraculously births a full-on tanning tent, which
ensures your walls, floors, and anything else precious remain
clean. Then comes the tanning hose and bottles of various
solutions, which can be mixed to find your perfect shade. You’re
all set!
I’ve always been a bit hesitant about a spray tan, so I go for
the lightest shade of Vita Liberata, an organic tanning solution,
which comes out incredibly naturally. If time is of the essence,
you can choose the “Express” tan option, which develops over a
couple of hours, and can then be washed off. The traditional
tanning mixture requires more hours to develop, so best left on
overnight. Voila – bronzed skin pre-Bahamas!
Side note, it’s important to do this the day before your tan, so
you don’t strip off the new colour. I book with the amazing Jucy,
the self-proclaimed “Queen Of Waxing”. I agree with her. She hails
from Brazil, and knows a Brazilian better than the
rest. Always ask for Lycon wax – it honestly makes the experience
as pain free as possible. When I do it at home, it’s all done on a
massage table!
Nothing beats a tropical toe, and this is the most essential of
all holiday treatments. As discussed, I left this to the last
minute, and so had Kelly come to my home at 7am as I diligently
checked in to my midday flight. With a wheel of colours, I chose a
coral for my feet, and a mint green for hands. My autumnal
favourites are a forest green and midnight blue.
A pre-holiday facial is a nice-to-have. Often I save these for
when I come back to drench my dehydrated skin and attempt to
reverse my hours in the sun. For the pre-trip facial, I would
recommend a simple, hydrating treatment to prep your skin for the
plane. I am a great fan of the Murad range – its products are extensive and
suitable for all skin types. For the return, I always go full on.
I’ll book an acid peel and microneedle, to slough away the dead
skin cells. Microneedling is my favourite. Your therapist will use
a dermaroller, which uses needles to inject small pricks into the
skin, which encourages micro-tears, leading to collagen formation.
Two days afterwards, my skin is always glowing, and results
continue over the next two weeks as your skin regenerates.
The final step – ensure your beauty stash is complete for the
holiday at hand. Don’t try to save space, and bring your key
favourite products. My beauty routine is always infinitely better
when I am on holiday; there’s more time to languish and spend time
on it. I have been known to us a face mask in the air, and they are
a must for sunburnt skin.
