Beauty destination: the heavenly new Dry & Tea

“Not a style, a tea, a wave or a wash – but a moment.

A moment of the utmost attention.

A moment of sensual stimulation, of taste-bud tantalization, of a style defined. Inspiring inner beauty, confidence elation and delight.”

This is a quote taken from the website for boutique grooming bar Dry & Tea, which I can now acknowledge as my new Happy Place. That is not a title I bestow on a location lightly - and certainly not usually after just one visit! – but this serene spot quite literally blew me away.

As soon as you set foot into its tranquil Newmarket, Auckland premises you feel welcome, as well as lulled into a sense of peace by it’s wonderful shades, smells and furnishings (a fur rug gets me EVERY time!).

Dry & Tea the brainchild of Louise Pilkington, former owner of Servilles Ponsonby and designer and co-founder of Loumina jewellery, and is described as “a boutique blow wave bar and teahouse”.

It’s the ideal place to spend a few hours of quality ‘me’ time, or just to drop in for a professional ‘up do’ or nail paint. They also apparently apply false lashes for you with a true expert’s touch, and offer vouchers for that special someone who needs a treat. I experienced one of the best blow waves I’ve had in recent memory, and also left with a set of perfectly painted nails using the company’s own brand of polish.

Pureology and Redken hair products grace the shelves along with Dry & Tea’s aforementioned very own nail colours, as well as Butter London Lippy Gloss, Davines products and Cloud 9. On the tea side of things, they serve the highly respected – and delicious - T2 range of Organic teas and tisanes, which are free of anything artificial. If you haven’t tried them before then I highly recommend that you do as they've carefully sourced outstanding raw ingredients from certified growers who uphold the most rigorous set of organic standards through every stage of production, including growing storage and processing. And they taste bloody amazing!

Last but not least, another reason for my visiting Dry & Tea was to become acquainted with Pureology’s new family range that takes the brand’s sustainability reputation to an even higher degree.

Precious Oils from Pureology consists of a shampoo, conditioner, masque and treatment oil. Delivering the utmost respect to colour-treated hair and the environment, Precious Oil contains 100% biodegradable ingredients. The paraben and silicone free formula has already earned it the prestigious Green Seal certification, which is no mean feat. To be awarded the aforementioned Stamp a product must reach rigorous requirements designed to reduce its environmental impact from the beginning of production to the end of its product life in the home. Pureology were honoured to receive this for Precious Oil, and for me even more reason to pick this beautiful brand.

Each product works to replenish the hair’s natural lipids, working on hair experiencing brittle, rough and dull colour, but Precious Oils Versatile Caring Oil is the star product of the range. It combines four botanical oils that work to provide nourishing benefits to the hair’s cuticle including coconut oil to reduce hair’s fragility and increase its flexibility and Jojoba seed oil to lock moisture into the hair for improved elasticity. Oh, and it quite literally smells like summer!

So Happy Friday everyone, and get your butts down to Dry & Tea ASAP – you’ll find it located on Kent St in Newmarket, or have a peep online here.