I realise this post will only be of interest and act as a call to action to a small, spa-loving pocket of the PRIMPED population, but when the subject matter pertains to both Chiva-Som (renowned as one of the best health resorts/destination spas in the world, the 2009 Conde Nast Traveller’s Readers Spa Awards 2009
Top 5 Overseas Retreat, and where people like Megan Gale head off to in order to become zen brown sticks before photo shoots) and Gwinganna (in my opinion, the finest spa/retreat in Australia), then it’s obviously my duty to write on it. ... more

Man, do I get asked this a lot. Almost as much as I am asked, ‘Is that Aston Martin yours?’, or ‘Do you find ferrets to be better pets than pythons?’ In fact, a friend asked me just Friday where he should send his mum for her birthday. Amazingly, even after five years in beauty I still falter when asked this. Oh, Sydney has some glorious salons, sure, but when it comes to blow-you-away-spas or destination spas, we could certainly lift our game. ... more

Some things in beauty are a given, like the fact that you don’t wear knee high boots when you go for a pedicure, or nibble on raw garlic cloves directly before getting a facial. Others, though, remain confusing. Like what to do when you’re given that fetching strapless terry toweling Velcro number by a therapist who is out the door before you can say “Enya on repeat”, and left alone in a room before a massage, or wax, or body treatment. Do you strip? Do you ask for disposable grundies? Do you sit quietly and wait for Bonita the maid to come and undress you, like at home?... more