I have to admit that I’m a sucker for spa treatments. I’m never happier than when my face is being steamed, wiped and smothered in masks. Shallow but true.

Beauty at the Bay, set in leafy Braiswick on the edge of town, is a very welcoming place. Marie, the owner welcomes me as if I am her family, gets me a cup of teapigs herb tea before I’m led to one of their new treatment rooms in a converted stable to the rear of the premises. Warm underfoot, I’m snuggled on a massage bed where a 30-minute aromatherapy back, neck and shoulder massage irons out many of the knots on my shoulders.

But it’s not over yet. Now it’s time for my all time favourite beauty treatment: a facial with added technology. South African brand Environ is a product line newly-introduced to the salon. Although well established, it’s not that widely known outside of salons, but it should be. A warm pad is placed under my back before Lilli gets cracking. Relaxing but thorough cleansing precedes the application of a serum A&C serum 1 pushed into the skin with pulsed currents and sound waves to penetrate the skin and make the products work effectively. ‘You might see flashing lights’ warns Lilli. Later a thick, putty-like mask made of algae is applied even over my mouth and eyes, two probes attached, and the treatment continues to work. I’m a bit claustrophic but strangely don’t mind this mummification in the name of beauty. I look smoother and less tired, which can’t be a bad thing…

* Back, neck and shoulder massage £27.50, Active Vitamin facial, £65, beautyatthebay.co.uk

Link to the review is below…

https://www.i-loveessex.com/blog/2017/1/5/beauty-at-the-bay-colchester

The Beauty Awards season is in full swing and Beauty at the Bay is in the running to pick up yet more awards.

Whilst we are waiting to hear about how we fare in the forthcoming Newsquest North Essex Business Awards at Braxted Park on July 1st, where we have been nominated in two categories (more about that later), we have found out in the last 24 hours that we have won the British Hair and Beauty Awards Beauty Salon of the Year award which is fabulous news for all our  staff and more importantly our wonderful clients. It may sound like a cliche but we really could not have won without our incredibly loyal and appreciative following. We LOVE you all!!

If this news wasn’t amazing enough we have also been contacted by Scratch magazine who have informed us that we have made it through as finalists to their glitzy 2016 Scratch Stars Awards ceremony in both their Nail Salon of the Year (Salon Environment) AND Retail Salon of the Year categories. We had the best time with them last year and walked away with two winners trophies. Can history repeat itself?  Winners will be announced on Sunday 5 June at a lavish party at London’s Cafe de Paris hosted by George Lamb. We’ll keep you posted.

And we are not finished yet……… Today we received yet more good news, that we have made it through as finalists in the BABTAC & CIBTAC Awards whose prestigious ceremony takes place at The Hurlingham Club in London on the 12th June. Again we are up for not one but two awards, namely Best Large Salon and Best Website. Obviously winning Best Large Salon would put us in dreamland but we are really excited about the possibility of winning the Best Website award as along with our marketing partner, Green Square Design, Print & Web we have put a lot of time, resource and energy into building a truly informative and interactive website with pretty much everything we could imagine being included within it. We want to win this one for Green Square!

We thought 2015 was a good year but 2016 looks like being even better.

Thank you once again for helping all our hard work pay off. The last few months have been very eventful and at the same time very exciting, with every new client being viewed as a possible secret shopper representing the various beauty awards organisations listed above. It’s a good job we make it our mission to treat even our most regular customers like every visit was their first.

Keep reading our blogs and you’ll be amongst the first to know if we win in any of the categories that we are finalists in.

Marie x

Beauty at the Bay are proud to be named as Teapigs’ stockist of the month. Anyone who visits the Bay regularly will know how much we love Teapigs and will have enjoyed a cup or two as part of their treatments.

Nick Kilby and Louise Allen started Teapigs in November 2006. They met whilst working for a really big tea company, where they learned all about tea and drank lots of it. And the more they learned, and the more they drank, the more they came to realise something: that there’s a whole world of quality teas out there that simply aren’t getting the attention they deserve. And so Teapigs was born.

Nick describes himself as a tea evangelist (although much nicer than those shouty ones on American TV). Louise, an experienced tea taster who has travelled the world tasting teas, is a self-confessed tea addict (not seeking rehab).

Together they founded Teapigs and, since 2006, the Teapigs team has grown a little. As well as Nick and Louise, there’s now a team of 20!

Beautea (sic) at the Bay stocks every flavour and all are available to purchase so why not take advantage and take away some Teapigs after your next visit?

What happens if you don’t enjoy the flavours? Oh yeah and Teapigs might fly!

At Beauty at the Bay we love to embrace all that is new in our therapeutic world, which is why we have had our very own set of colouring sheets designed and printed.

Recent science has shown that adult colouring books are proven to reduce stress and even decrease symptoms of physical and emotional stress.

We all remember the thrill of being young and receiving a new set of crayons or felt tipped pens. Well now you can relive those innocent childhood days and do yourself a power of good at the same time.

Art therapy as it is termed can be beneficial in treating depression, dementia, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder as well as slowing down the progress of life threatening conditions.

Even the most healthy of us are prone to periods of stress and feelings of being overwhelmed, such is the pace we live at and the expectations that are put upon us.

Many of our regular clients tell us that a visit to Beauty at the Bay is their escape from reality and their safe haven where they can feel their day to day stresses simply drift away. We love this kind of feedback and genuinely strive to make each repeat visit as good, if not better than the last.

So next time you book an appointment ask to see our collection of Beauty at the Bay themed colouring sheets and give art therapy a go. Whether you arrive early and have some spare time on your hands or if you are simply waiting for your nails to dry, start colouring in and tell us how it makes you feel.

Soon you will be able to download the colouring sheets from our website and if you have any ideas of what images should be given the Bay Art Therapy tratment then let us know as we are looking to grow our library with a view to having an art exhibition one evening with a few prizes up for grabs.

Now where did I put my crayons….

So here it is, the day of reckoning for our latest competition.

We have been so overwhelmed with the response that we have decided to not only double the amount of winners to FOUR
but include a special free Dermalogica Power Kit as an extra bonus.

Please don’t be too disappointed if you weren’t a winner on this occasion as we will be having another competition soon.

In the meantime if the following lucky winners would like to email [email protected] we will email you back your £25.00 voucher and you can collect your special bonus prize when you arrive for your next appointment.

• Emma Kelly
• Lisa Wilson
• Gillian Lewis
• Emma Cavey

Thank you once again to everyone who took part and if you didn’t win this time then good luck next time.

Marie xx