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USP When bliss opened its London day spa in 2001, the hype surrounding the arrival of the coveted bliss triple oxygen facial led to long waiting lists for the treatment. Since then the hype has receded but the spa remains modish and busy – to secure an out-of-office hours appointment that suited my schedule took two weeks. The spa’s location on the border of Chelsea and Belgravia puts it on the lady-who-lunches-and-shops trail, and with plenty of salubrious brasseries, cafes and boutiques nearby, spa visitors can easily make an indulgent day of it.

QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE The ground-floor spa reception and nail bar were buzzing when I checked in on a Monday evening. As a first-timer I was clearly among bliss veterans, but the receptionist sensed my trepidation and told me that her colleague in the locker room downstairs would explain everything. She did – I was assigned a locker and given robe and slippers and then directed to the lounge from where a therapist collected me for the 85-minute treatment.

The treatment room was spartan and white like the rest of the spa. The heated bed immediately relaxed me, and the music was good – swing and soft pop songs instead of that insufferable “spa music” which is played in some establishments and can drive you up the wall.

To call the triple oxygen facial merely a facial is misleading. Behind its success, other than the noticeable complexion boost, is the experience, which includes a brief head, shoulder, hand and feet massage while various elements of the treatment are being carried out.

It starts with a cleanse and exfoliation, then there is a glycolic peel and a couple of masks, which are accompanied by the afore-mentioned massages, and finally the blast of oxygen across the face (thankfully not the application of a giant oxygen mask over my face, as I had envisioned). Nevertheless, notions of claustrophobia were tested by the appliance of plastic over one of the face masks (with a hole over the mouth and nose), which was then covered with a warm damp towel. This was surprisingly relaxing and apparently "opens the pores before extraction", a delicate phrase for the squeezing of spots and blackheads. The oxygen blast was ticklish in places but refreshing and marks the end of the treatment.

The immediate results, if the therapist has found congested trouble spots, are not always that pleasing, due to red patches and blotchiness, but a day later my skin looked refreshed and felt smoother. One immediate effect though was bizarre – I felt energised after the treatment – and strangely relaxed, to the point of smiling at people on the tube, which is never a good idea.

AMBIENCE There’s nothing grandiose about bliss – just clean, almost clinical white walls and floors, with huge flat doors into treatment rooms and 1960s space age furniture. The odd smattering of grass-print wallpaper or a faux grass rug provides colour. Chatty signs, in that Innocent drinks sort of tone, telling you where to put towels and not to steal the bathrobes, make for a relaxed atmosphere. There’s a Kafkaesque feeling owing to the windowless basement location, particularly in the lounge where clients wait to be collected by their therapist. You quickly forget about this when you tuck into the wine and brownies – a fun addition to the cucumber and cranberry juice on offer at the buffet, and an appropriately indulgent start to the treatment.

IN CROWD Most clients seem to be on first-name terms with their therapist and when I visited were either frazzled high-powered City women or women who looked far too well turned out to have spent the day sitting at a desk.

FOOD Cucumber slices, goat’s cheese, crackers, flapjacks, brownies, cranberry juice and wine are on offer free to clientele in the lounge before treatments.

WALLET WATCH The 85-minute triple oxygen facial costs £145 and includes cleansing, exfoliating, a fruit acid wash, wrap, extractions, face mask, face pack and oxygen spray, as well as some gentle massage during the wraps, peel and masks.

NEED TO KNOW bliss london, 60 Sloane Avenue, London, SW3 3DD (020 7584 3888; www.blisslondon.co.uk) open Monday-Friday 9.30am-8pm (one Wednesday a month open at 12.30pm); Sat 9.30am-6.30pm; Sunday 12pm-6pm.

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