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'My whole face looked smoother, younger, uplifted'

Ruuby

The blurb

‘Ruuby, London’s beauty bookings app, is available to download. In just a couple of taps, women can make beauty appointments either at home or at one of London’s best salons. It’s like a little black book of beauty—perfect for those who want to make appointments on the go. Ruuby places real importance on high-quality treatments—no one wants to risk their wax going wrong—and so all salons and therapists go through a careful selection process, ensuring that all-important degree of trust.

The Ruuby team work on personal recommendations and extensive testing when it comes to salons, and an enthusiasm for great treatments underlies the offering. We have done our research, and we have uncovered a lot of hidden gems. We are dedicated to finding the best beauticians in town, and opening up their appointment book to Ruuby users.

Partners include celebrity facialist Lisa Franklin, celebrity tanner James Harknett, Duchess of Cambridge’s hairdresser Richard Ward, Tom Ford nail queen, Magi, and many more!’

As well as being the go-to concierge service for high-end beauty salons in London, Ruuby now connects you to a team of highly trained professionals who will come and attend to you in the comfort of your own home. It’s simple and straightforward: download the app, register, choose between hair, nails, wellness, massage, waxing, makeup, eyes, tanning or facial, enter your postcode, and say whether you want the treatment today, tomorrow, or further into the future. Within moments, there’s a list of available therapists and their CVs for you to scroll through, with the treatments they offer and prices. Bingo. Done.

The process

Carolina arrived at my flat on the dot of four, smiling and apologising that she’d left her portable treatment table in the car as she’d had to park miles away and was three months pregnant. As I live just off Portobello Road, am fully aware of nightmare parking logistics and happen to have a large and extremely comfortable sofa, I told her it couldn’t matter less (worrying slightly about all the other gubbins she’d had to lug up my two flights of stairs, up the duff).

The Environ Cool Peel facial I was having involved a shoulder massage at the end, so I had to pull my jumpsuit down to my waist, take my bra off, and lie back against the sofa, head propped up on a pillow, my modesty protected by a large, fluffy towel. Most relaxing it was too, especially as I’d poured myself a nice big glass of wine and put the radio on prior to Carolina’s arrival (I offered her one too, completely forgetting that she’d just told me she was pregnant. Duh).

The Cool Peel facial was designed by Dr Des Fernandes (the plastic surgeon founder of Environ) to deliver the benefits of a facial peel, without the unpleasant side effects of some of the harsher products on the market (redness, flaking, stinging, major ouch factor). It achieves this by using lighter doses of lactic acid, combined with serums containing active ingredients in the form of vitamins A and C.

The various unguents felt light and zingy—occasionally a bit tingly, but pleasantly so, absolutely no pain. Carolina, originally from Colombia, talked me through the products, giving me some insider tips—did you know, for example, that anything claiming to have active ingredients should be kept in a pump dispenser, as they start to go off as soon as exposed to oxygen? Me neither.

She came across as experienced and well-informed, having managed several prestigious beauty salons all over London before setting up on her own. She also raved about Ruuby, saying how much easier her life is with someone else to take her bookings (seems like everyone’s a winner here). She was chatty and fun, with a no-nonsense air about her—having asked if I was happy with my skin, I said ‘yes, I suppose so’, to which she responded tactfully, ‘I can tell you enjoy the sun a lot.’ Oh dear, got me bang to rights.

This was all followed by a ‘professional alginate mask’, a really weird substance that set to a white, rubbery consistency, and needed to be left on for 15 minutes to do its thing. During this time Carolina gave me a pleasing shoulder massage, puncturing my pomposity when I referred to my ‘writer’s knots’ by calmly informing me that ‘everyone has knots.’

​The results

After peeling off the mask in one go (it was starting to resemble some kind of alien marine monster), Carolina handed me the mirror. And I have to say I was extremely impressed. My whole face looked smoother, younger, uplifted, the lines around my eyes finer, pores barely visible. My skin also felt fantastic, soft and dewy, and really clean, as though the polluting effects of living in the grimy metropolis had been magicked away. The effect wore off after about a week, but Carolina did say that to see real results, you should have a course of 6 weekly treatments (£50 each).

The whole experience felt like a luxurious treat (no tube, no crowds, no rush hour traffic), and I would highly recommend Ruuby for doing exactly what it promises, taking all the hassle and guesswork out of making beauty appointments. Go on, download the app. And if you want a significantly rejuvenated complexion with no pain, no needles, no knives, you could do an awful lot worse than booking a six week course of Cool Peel facials.

The details

Ruuby appwww.ruuby.com

Tried & Tested | ,