The Castlefield Spa

The Castlefield Spa, a little diamond of a place located inside the Castlefield Hotel on Liverpool Road, has a party pamper package to give you that extra boost of confidence for your night on the town. Combining a manicure, spray tan and party lashes, it sounded like a fab primping opportunity, so we checked it out.
CND shellac manicures are all the rage, and rightly so. When applied correctly, your polish endures for up to two weeks with nary a chip or peel in sight. And with about 80 CND colours on the market, there is bound to be a shade that screams your name. By the way, I have fallen prey to ‘express’ shellac offers. It sounds attractive… long lasting nail colour in 20 minutes time. I ended up being very disappointed with the results; once, the colour peeled off one nail in a large cohesive piece the same night of the manicure. Which made me think shellac was whack. Not true. Like the tooth fairy, there is no such thing as express shellac, as I learned from the lovely Sarah, the highly-​trained beautician who took very good care of me that day. The nail bed needs to be properly prepared and completely free of dirt, dead nail cells, oil etc etc in order for the polish to bond correctly. This takes time, but the results are spectacular. I can’t stop holding my hands out in front of me and marvelling at how puuuurty n’ shiny my nails are. And the lovely thing about Castlefield Spa is if, for some crazy reason, you do chip a nail, just pop in and it will be repaired free of charge. Removal is free of charge as well (it is advised that you do not remove yourself as you may damage your nails). Maintenance tips are provided to make sure your colour lasts as long as possible.
Next on the list were the party lashes, or Lash In A Flash, which can last a remarkable 2 to 3 weeks when cared for properly. They come in small, medium and large sizes depending on your preference. I opted for medium, although in retrospect I should have gone with small. But no biggie as I just trimmed them slightly to the desired length. Each cluster of lashes is glued to the edge of your eyelid, and it will sting a tiny bit when being applied. And you may feel like a large spider is camping out on your lid when you first open your eyes. But these babies are secure. There are of course some things you need to avoid to make them last, nothing major though. Again, free removal is available so don’t try yanking them out yourself.
Finally my St. Tropez spray tan was applied. I’ve had spray tans at other spas that left my skin super tacky and my bed sheets looked like I had a roll around with a massive chocolate bar (if only) the next morning. What makes St. Tropez different is how light it is; smells very nice too. But the bestest part is that there is no need to wait the usual 24 hours before showering like other spray tans. You decide how deep you would like the tan to set (2 hours for light, 3 hours medium, 4 hours dark) and you are free to wash off the application. I left it for 2 hours and have a nice little sun kissed glow… I would look ridiculous with a deep tan. Irish people weren’t built for tans. And doesn’t cellulite look significantly less horrible with a little colour on top of it?
I waited 2 days before writing this review to see how everything settled in, and I’m tickled pink with the results. Everything looks fantastic, if I don’t mind saying so myself. What’s even better is there is a killer offer on this package. Only £40 for all three treatments. That’s a savings of £24.