A visit to the Ilāpothecary store (and not our last)
It took us a while to get to Ilāpothecary's store on London's Kensington Church Street – once the stomping ground for both Jo and Sarah, but nowadays rarely on our beaten track.
However, if you are within striking distance of this tranquil oasis – we promise you will forget you're in a city, the minute you step inside – we encourage you to check out the Ilāpothecary boutique and treatment room just as soon as you can. Not least because Ilāpothecary's products need to be smelled to be believed.
They are all beautifully arrayed in the shop (including a men's range which we didn't even know existed), where the staff are just lovely – linger and sniff and dab and chat for as long as you like, as you acquaint yourself with the range created by natural health practitioner Denise Leicester, who's such a miracle-worker that she'd probably have been burned at the stake a few centuries ago.
Ilāpothecary draws on many different traditions: crystal healing, naturopathy, homeopathy, Ayurveda and aromatherapy. (And along with our friend, Victoria Health's Gill Sinclair, we're huge fans.)
Alas this time we didn't have time for a treatment – but we'll be back, and look forward to reporting on our experiences. We’re deciding between signature Beat The Blues massage (based around Ilāpothecary's bestselling collection), or perhaps SOS Immune System Support therapy – jolly timely right now, as 'flu sweeps the nation, with its fusion reflexology, steam inhalation, lymph drainage and nervous system rebalance. Or maybe a Digital Detox Facial Therapy Session, to ease the effects of time spent at our screens, which can result in blurred vision, dry eyes, stiff neck, sore shoulders and a clenched jaw…
But meanwhile, this space is definitely a very welcome antidote to modern living – and unusually, it has us feeling rather wistful about leaving this corner of West London, where we’d have loved to have this on our doorstep.
Ilāpothecary 99 Kensington Church Street, London W8 7LN/07342-168395 or e-mail here
