Writing, fatshion, me: A Lush Facial and Lunch in Leeds

For my 40th birthday back in January, my cousin N bought me a voucher for a facial at a Lush spa. I've never been to one before but I've got friends who rave about them so I was intrigued to try one. I hadn't got round to booking it before but then I thought it would be a nice treat for early October. I invited N to come along later to meet me for lunch, which she agreed to. We decided to go to Rosa's Thai restaurant in Trinity because it's just opened and we both like Thai food.

I set off really early before my appointment, intending to have a little wander through some shops, maybe get a drink of coffee before my 12 o'clock appointment in the Lush store. However, when I got to the car park, there was a queue to get in because the car park was full. That would have been bad enough but then someone had broken down in the queue which was causing chaos. I did eventually get in and get parked, but I had had to wait about half an hour and I was only just on time for my appointment! I had rang them to let them know but it meant I arrived a little bit flustered!

But I was shown downstairs into the spa area and I had a little conversation with the therapist about my skin. She showed me the room, which was absolutely lovely - very quiet and relaxing, with nice lights and furniture and things. She told me how to undress and get on the bed and so on, and to then ring the bell to let her know she could come in. I ended up undressing almost completely - I could have kept my bra on but it was more comfortable without. The blanket covered me fine. The bed was heated which was absolutely gorgeous - I could have comfortably fallen asleep on it I think. I do find it hard and painful to lie completely flat on a bed, which I mentioned, so she raised the head of it slightly for me.

She used about eight products I reckon, and she did a proper thorough massage of my neck and shoulders, which I really like. When the clay mask was drying on my face, she massaged my arms and hands, which was really nice too. The music is specially curated to match the facial, which feels like a nice touch too instead of it just being the plinky plonky stuff they usually have in spas. The facial lasted about forty five minutes and I really appreciated too that she just got on with it instead of trying to make small talk (which I hate).

At the end, she quietly told me to take my time in getting dressed and then meet her outside. My bones felt all warm and relaxed so it did take me a few minutes to kind of come round and get dressed. I went upstairs and bought some products - I needed some more shampoo, and I liked two of the products she had used on my face so much that I bought them too. Then I also bought some Halloween shower gel which smells like cherries and is glittery.

By this time it was almost 1pm which was when N and I had said we would meet, so I rushed down to Rosa's Thai. It's new in Trinity but neither of us can remember what was there before! N was running an errand for me, bless her, so she arrived a little bit after me.

I had summer rolls which were really spicy but also nice, and then a tofu penang curry, which was nice and hot but the vegetables were a little bit weird. I also had a homemade lemonade which was delicious too. After lunch we went into a couple of shops but then said goodbye and I drove home. N is going travelling in November so it will be a few months before I see her again!

I was wearing a new t shirt that I got from Simply Be. It's a Joe Browns one. I really liked the pattern on it and it was in the sale so was onlyt about fourteen pounds or something like that. It's really comfortable and I think I will wear it a lot! I wore it with this old Scarlett and Jo skirt which is nice for the cooler months because it has netting and lining underneath it.