Press

PLOT A special pampering hen day laid on in the privacy of bride-to-be Vikki's flat
CAST me, Vikki Berg, 25, hen; Amanda B, 28, sister of hen; Amanda C, 26, friend; Amy, 26, friend; Sarah, 25, friend; and Claire, 25, friend
DIRECTORS Sisters Rebecca and Clare Hopkins, founders of Balance being
CREW Katie Davey, beauty therapist; Araldo de Lucca, national make-up artist for Helena Rubinstein
REVIEW a five-star service! Balance being is an original and innovative idea. The Hopkins sisters arrange bespoke packages at home, away or abroad, focusing on relaxation and well-being. And you don't need to lift a finger, as they organise everything for you.

ACT 1
SCENE 1 Rebecca and Clare arrive promptly at my flat with enough food to feed an army. They head straight for the kitchen and navigate their way round it with ease and efficiency. Before I know it, everyone has arrived, and we're sitting in the conservatory, devouring the most delicious home-made banana and apricot loaf (Clare is a superb cook), and sipping lemon and ginger tea. Rebecca and Clare hand out a timetable of the day's activities. We are split into two groups: one doing yoga, and the other having beauty treatments. After lunch we'll swap. We finish the cake......

SCENE 2 Lucca has set up his impressive make-up kit in my sitting room. Like a child in a sweet shop, I reach for the products and start playing with the lip glosses. Amanda B is sitting near me having a manicure with Katie. Amanda C is in my bedroom having reflexology with Rebecca. The others are in the lounge doing yoga with Clare. Lucca asks what type of look I want, and proceeds to do the most natural and flattering makeover I've ever had. He makes me look a million dollars. (Which is just as well, as I've got plans for the evening.) Then it's my turn to see Katie. I opt for a pedicure and say goodbye to all the rough skin on my feet and the chipped varnish. I can hear the groans of my unsupple friends doing yoga, while Amandas B and C are with Lucca and Rebecca. Balance being packages can extend to birthday celebrations, mother-and-daughter pampering days and special days for you and your partner, as well as hen packages. If only my sister Amanda B and I had thought of this idea first......

SCENE 3 The Amandas and I sit in the conservatory poring over the magazines the Balance being women have brought with them, and looking at their "pamper basket" which is overflowing with beauty products. This is the epitome of a girl's day in, and Rebecca and Clare have planned it to perfection. It's the extra little touches that make all the difference....

SCENE 4 We sit down to a lunch that would put a top chef to shame. Never has such impressive food been served in my flat! There is home-made soup, salads, soufflés, hummus, salmon skewers, and warm rolls. And, as if that were not enough, out comes an enormous polenta cake, complete with a dollop of crème fraîche and home-made lemon curd, for pudding. I'm tempted to ask Clare to move in with me......

ACT 2
SCENE 1 It's my turn for reflexology, and Rebecca has set up her portable bed and lit a scented candle in my bedroom. I'm a big fan of reflexology, and Rebecca quickly assesses my weak spots and works on unblocking all my energy channels. She uses products that she and Clare have concocted themselves, and I begin to wonder whether there are two more talented sisters in the country. I am left feeling relaxed yet rejuvenated, and I float into the lounge. If only my flat were always such a haven of beauty and tranquillity....

SCENE 2 Amanda B, Amanda C and Clare are waiting for me in the lounge to begin our yoga class. Clare is gentle with us - we're all nervous beginners - and asks what we'd like to concentrate on. Relaxation and stress relief are popular, and a sequence of poses follows. For the last half hour or so, we lie on the floor with our legs up against the wall, sporting lavender-filled eye cushions - again courtesy of the Hopkins sisters. Clare tells us they are for us to keep. I wonder whether a girl can indulge in more than one hen day - I'd love to do it all over again. But not before I've sampled the cocktails...

SCENE 3 The six of us congregate in my conservatory, and Clare brings in her third baking triumph - a chocolate, biscuity torte. We wash it down with the prettiest pink Cosmopolitans, which she has been shaking up in the kitchen, and the girls toast my health. As if they haven't spoilt us enough, Clare and Rebecca give each of us a bulging goodie bag to take away. Quite how they organised such a fantastic day, without a hint of panic or stress, I'll never know. They are the calmest (and most calming) young women I've ever met. If only this would rub off on a stressed-out bride to be.....

Rebecca and Clare can arrange weekend breaks, and daytime and evening events at home or another venue. As well as pampering, you can choose activities as diverse as wine tasting, salsa dancing and tarot-card reading. They will also do one-on-one reflexology and/or yoga sessions.