by Annie Vischer
In a little pocket of Notting Hill you’ll find Privet Body. They describe themselves as a luxury top-to-toe body topiary service for both men and women, and their therapists as a team of ‘expert gardeners who believe that personal pruning should be an enjoyable affair’. Naturally we couldn’t wait to pop along.
You’ll find Privet Body at the end of Kensington Park Road, surrounded by boutiques, bakeries and niche art galleries. Everything about it is down to earth. Quite literally. The manicure area, or rather the Manicured Garden, is hidden behind a wooden wall and pot flowers, so that discerning gentlemen who value neat nails can have them tended to without fear of being spotted.
But the real stars of Privet Body are their treatment rooms. Each has a character. The Log Cabin is apparently the favourite. It’s chalet feel is a sanctuary away from the London hustle and bustle. There’s the Potting Shed, a gardener’s haven, the Tool Shed, the Writer’s Hut, which houses a wall of books, a desk and a typewriter, and then there’s our personal favourite, the room for St Tropez spray tans – The Orangery.
We popped over for a wax in the Writer’s Hut. It could have been the surroundings, it could have been Erinah’s (our therapist, oh sorry, gardener) exceptional talents, it could have been Smooth Radio playing out from the speakers, but that wax might just be the most pain-free, relaxed one we’ve ever had. And we’ve had a lot. For any West Londoners on the lookout for a new go-to waxing location, we’d point you in this direction.
It’s cool, it’s quirky, and if you manage to drag your man along with you once, you can be fairly sure he’ll be booking in a few return visits.
Privet Body, 214 Kensington Park Road, W11 1NR, www.privetbody.co.uk, 02072215674.