Spa Spy: One spa, 8 Conference square, Edinburgh

GET THE party season started with a buffed body and tamed talons

THE TREATMENT:

The Little Black Dress Package, £135pp, valid Monday to Friday until 23 December, at One Spa (8 Conference Square, Edinburgh, 0131-221 7777, www.onespa.com). It includes use of Escape at One, a 25-minute Salt & Oil Scrub, 70-minute Ultimate Body Wrap, and a Shellac Manicure or Pedicure with a glass of prosecco.

WHY GO?

Even if your LBD is black, pink or green, this package is still ideal for getting skin and nails looking glitzy and groomed in time for festive parties.

OUR SPY SAYS:

A visit to this spa isn’t complete without a dunk in the rooftop hydropool, as well as a shot of the steam room (which was full of jasmine-scented steam on my visit), various saunas and hammams. I was braised like a good stew by the time I met my therapist in the relaxation room.

The package starts with a scrub, which gets the circulation going and sloughs off the layer of dead skin that’s accumulated under your woolly jumpers. As you lie prostrate, you’re rubbed from top to toe with a robustly exfoliating sea salt along with your choice of ESPA oil (I’d gone for Energising, which contains lavender, eucalyptus and peppermint).

Then it’s up and into the in-room shower, to rinse off the potion. Be sure to gently blot dry with a fluffy towel, so you don’t rub off the layer of oil, then back on to the bed.

Next I was slicked with a green-hued clay, which made me look very Grinch-like, before being wrapped up in plastic sheeting and swaddled in towels like a giant newborn. While the mud was detoxifying and working its magic, my scalp was gently massaged with ESPA’s Pink Clay Hair and Scalp Mud.

Then, it’s back into the shower for another rinse down, using cotton mitts to remove any stubborn bits, before my therapist anointed me with body lotion.

Once your gown is back on, you’ll be led through to One Spa’s secluded nail area, where you can peruse their range of CND Shellac colours.

I was in a festive mood, so went for Silver Chrome. My cuticles were dissolved using a special gel, which seemed a lot less brutal than the usual pushing back with an orange stick, then, while I sipped a glass of bubbly, two coats of colour were baked on under the UV lamp.

THE RESULTS:

My skin is as shiny as a bauble, and my nails glitter like tinsel, with a hue that should last for a fortnight or so. Now all I need is a little black dress.

Rating: 20/20