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TRAVELLUXURY

FASHIONINTERIORS

May/June 2019

MilliOnAir | Uncovered

MilliOnAir

Written by Alison J Lowe MBE

Spring is a wonderful time of year when the temperature starts to rise,the days start to get longer, the birds are back singing in the trees and thesun seems to shine more. I love this time of year as it feels like a time ofreawakening. It is time to spring clean your home, check out the newspring trends, refresh your wardrobe and try new things.S

Spring always makes me want to throw everything away and start afresh, but thisapproach is neither economically viable nor environmentally friendly. Therefore,instead I have been looking for a few new things that will freshen up my life and bringme joy (well I am still trying the Marie Kondo method!). I am trying hard to become amore conscious shopper and change my impulsive buying habits. I am taking moretime to make decisions on purchases to ensure that I am buying things that I willtreasure for years. This month’s ‘Uncovered’ column shares some of the new businesses and products Ihave discovered. In the process, I had some great experiences, met some amazinglytalented people and found some great products that would bring me joy – but I willhave to scrimp and save for some of them. I hope you will find joy in some of these too!

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Spring trends,refresh yourwardrobe and trynew things.

My first place for spring inspiration was, andalways is, the Net-A-Porter site. I spend hourson the site lusting over the latest fashiontrends, the featured edits and the delectabletreats. The ‘Spring Edit’ showed that it was time tothrow off the black, the chunky jumpers andcomfortable leisurewear and step into thenew seasons bright hues, kitten heels, tailoredsuits, statement jackets and floaty dresses.The site hosts collections from the bestdesigners from around the world, with pageafter page of the most covetable pieces.More importantly for me is the wealth ofinformation on the site, which shows me thelatest trends, how to style looks, what to wearfor different events and gives me generalinspiration. I currently have lots of goodies sitting in myshopping cart, including the super new Chloekids wear, a pair of Ganni embroideredwestern style boots and an AlexanderMcQueen crocheted floral print maxi dress. Iam having to exercise great control to stopmyself from automatically hitting the buybutton – but can feel my will powerweakening! One item that is sold through Net-a-Porter thatI have been lucky enough to acquire, is thenew BEGLOW Tia, an all-in-one Sonic Skin CareSystem. I was introduced to the system when Iwas looking for products that help reducesingle use plastics. Part of my new year’sresolution to do my bit for the environmentwas to reduce the ridiculous amount of singleuse products, plastics and packaging I have inmy home, so I wanted to find out more aboutBeGlow. The product is an ideal replacement for facewipes, which frighteningly can take between100-500 years to decompose. Though it maylook like other electronic cleansers on themarket, this gorgeous gadget is hiding a secretthat helps you be kinder to the environmentand to your skin.BeGlow is an all-in-one sonic skin care systemdesigned with a dual pulse to deep-cleanse,lift and tone to leave you with your healthiestand best-looking skin yet.

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All BeGlow products have Smart SkinSense™Pulsation Technology using gentle, yetpowerful pulsations, removing impurities andmakeup more effectively than cleansing withhands. TIA also comes with an anti-ageingtitanium applicator to cool and calm the skin,improve circulation and improve productabsorption. BeGlow TIA also has a thirdfunction: using the ergonomically shapeddevice on the reverse, you can place and holdthe device against the muscles in the face fortoning and lifting. Since getting the BeGlow Iactually look forward to removing my makeupat the end of the day. With my Spring wardrobe sorted and my dailyskin care routine improved, it was time to geta seasonal refresh of my hair style and colourwith help from the gorgeous celebrityhairstylist Edward Taylor Hair. Visiting Edwardat his new hair and beauty salon, led me touncovering the gorgeous village of Stock. Ihadn’t come across this little Essex villagebefore, but it seems that I am late to the party,as it is one of the most up and coming,desirable places to live. As Edward showedme round his gorgeous new salon he sharedhis insider knowledge of the area. Stock is an absolute gem, a traditional villagewith four excellent pubs, a cricket pitch, a spahotel, a golf course and a bijous selection ofboutique shops. The house prices in thevillage are escalating as the nouveau richeescape to this sheltered enclave that is ineasy reach of London. The village has a wideselection of properties from timber framedcottages to newly built mansions and pricesare predominantly within the £million andabove range.

With everything you need at hand to live aluxury lifestyle, it is easy to see why thisvillage is becoming so popular and I cantotally understand why Edward has opened hissalon in this pretty village. It is the perfectplace to entice his celebrity clientele to, aswell as providing an exemplary, luxury hairand beauty experience to his quickly growinglocal customer base. I met Edward through his work on shows atLondon and Paris fashion weeks, and hecontinues to work with a group of high flyingbusiness leaders and celebrities. Owning hisown salon was a long-term dream and within ashort time of opening, he won the Essex SalonPeople’s Choice award. He has now expandedthe business with a team of highly qualifiedspecialists, which also includes the new BeBeautiful beauty salon and I will be poppingback soon to try their new ‘Million DollarFacials’ – that’s the result not the fee! Next door to Edward Taylor is another award-winning business, Stock Florist, a beautifulflower shop selling the finest hand cut flowersin Essex, which won the British WeddingFlorist of the Year 2018. Owner Sam Raindlehas always been passionate about flowers, sowhen the opportunity came along in 2014 totransform an empty shop into a beautifulflower shop she went for it!Sam explains that her and her husband“discovered the empty shop whilst walkingthrough the village and he mentioned howbeautiful it would look like a flower shop. Hewas right, if you could draw a perfect locationfor a flower shop; Stock would be what yousketched out. The narrow streets, the old houses full ofcharacter, the locals who always stop to saygood morning. I really couldn’t have picturedit better in my mind. Stock is the weddingcapital of Essex. There are four very specialand very different wedding venues close by.People travel far and wide to come here,though, because there’s something soromantic about Stock”.

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I couldn’t agree more, there is something veryromantic about Stock and I can totally seewhy, when individuals and businessesdiscover the village, they want to stay andbuild their businesses and lives there. I’m very tempted myself. So, if you are everpassing through the green belt of Essex, popby and discover Stock for yourself, I canhighly recommend the florist, the hair salonand The Hoop, a great bar with manytraditional features and original timberframework, which serves great food and drink.So maybe stay a while, just don’t push thosehouse prices up too much! After visiting Stock, I came home a littledisappointed with my current abode sodecided to treat myself to something new formy home. I am currently browsing thecatalogue of interior design companyBeaumont and Fletcher, who create the mostdivine couture collections of fabric,passementerie and cushions. Every piece is truly beautiful and theextraordinary fabrics are hand embroideredusing fine coloured silks with gold and silverthreads. Some pieces are embellished withpearls and crystals, others inlaid with semi-precious stones, but each is a work of art.Every Beaumont & Fletcher sofa, chair andfootstool is created by skilled craftsmen, in adedicated workshop in Kent. Using the finestmaterials and traditional methods, each pieceepitomises the individualistic style anduncompromising quality for which thecompany is renowned. I want everything, butneed to take my time to choose that onespecial piece …. so, I may be here a while.