MOST WOMEN’S RED CARPET MOMENT

Being the wrong side of 30, I was an October bride (the 20th, as it happens, so as you read this I will be mainlining Resolve while stifling the children’s early morning exuberance with hefty administrations of CBeebies). Getting married in October was a deliberate choice. Not only was it much easier to find a venue; autumn, and indeed winter, are perfectly suited to the mature bride. The soft light is most forgiving, and the inclement weather makes having to expose one’s upper arms, or flit barefoot through fields of wheat, mercifully unnecessary.

For most women, getting married is their one true red-carpet moment. There will of course be other, more minor occasions, but unless you become famous or embroil yourself in a high-profile court case, it’s unlikely that you will ever be photographed quite so intently again. That said, I find that at least once or twice a year I am required to scrub up for a fancy do, usually in the run-up to Christmas. And as this is increasingly an exhausting time – schools starting, work cranking up after the summer hols, rain, assorted bugs and snuffles – a little professional help is invariably required.

Which is where Rani Mirza’s Red Carpet Facial comes in. I won’t pretend it’s cheap – £175. But it does last for two blissful hours and it will leave you looking as good as is humanly possible without resorting to surgery. Rani works out of her own small salon in Knightsbridge (020-7589 9080). It’s comfortable but not luxurious, elegant but not grand. Rani herself is straightforward, down-to-earth and very professional. She has ministered to one or two A-list faces in her time, but that’s not her raison d’être – what interests Rani most is you, your skin and making you happy. Her approach to skincare is refreshingly non-formulaic: she does something different every time, and what she does depends on the needs of your skin, not on a prescribed method of practice. The Red Carpet Facial is her baby, a combination of products and techniques designed to render the skin as flawless as possible. Unlike many facials, this one will not leave your skin blotchy or shiny: you should be able to go straight from salon to soirée.

It starts with a deep pore cleanse, involving exfoliation, a peel, a steam, the thorough removal of blackheads and other gremlins, a massage and a mask with further massage. Rani uses Yon-ka products for this, a gentle, plant-based range from Paris which majors in essential oils and restorative aromas. The products are excellent, but it’s Rani’s technique that makes all the difference. She has a real talent for massage, and performs the less luxuriant aspects of the treatment with brisk efficiency. Just when you think it’s all over, she whips out the microdermabrasion machine. This little device, which exfoliates using diamond chips, sucks away dead skin as it goes (it’s a bit like being attacked by a very small Hoover). Then it’s time for the oxygen spray, which is wonderfully cooling and restorative. Together, these two techniques soften the appearance of lines and wrinkles, so when you look at yourself in her loo mirror afterwards, you really do appear in soft focus.

Finally, it’s back to Yon-ka for a soothing green-tea fruit mask and more massage, by which time you’ll be completely zoned-out – and looking forward to that first glass of champagne.

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