Girly Day Out: Afternoon Tea at the Orangery, Amazing Jo Malone Hand Massage ♡

Last week, my friend Issie and I went out for a really girly and pampering day out ♡ It was just what we needed as our school term was finally coming to an end and we just wanted to spend a day catching up while enjoying the Spring weather in London 🙂 We had a really packed full day which started with afternoon tea at the Orangery at Kensington Palace! Issie found this restaurant on Instagram and thought it would be the perfect location for us to enjoy the greenery while munching on cakes <3

We were so lucky that the weather was beautiful that day 🙂 There weren’t too many people around at Kensington Palace (probably since it was just past noon on Wednesday) and it was a perfect day for us to stroll around the beautiful park and enjoy the weather while we made our way to the Orangery, which is inside Kensington Palace ♡

After walking for around 7 minutes in the park, we finally found the Orangery! ♡ The interior was so pretty and far exceeded our expectations 🙂 Since the weather was so nice that day, there was barely any artificial lighting inside the Orangery and the restaurant was really comfy yet elegant. We sat down, were served by a really lovely and sweet waiter, and ordered their Afternoon Tea Set for two as well as our tea <3

The food came, and we dived in! After tasting the sandwiches, the scones, as well as the desserts, both Issie and I agreed that we had nothing bad to say about this afternoon tea set. It was traditional, none of that quirky gastronomy fanciness, but it was just what we needed. The scones were nice, and so were the desserts! For the price that we paid (around £30 per person after service charge), the afternoon tea was definitely well worth it and a lot better priced than many other afternoon teas we had tried ♡

After we finished our afternoon tea, we made our way out of the Orangery, and took a bus straight to Harrods as I have booked hand massages at Jo Malone for the both of us as a yayyy-it’s-the-end-of-term treat! ♡

We arrived Jo Malone and was lead to their hand massage bars <3 It was fairly quiet at Harrods that afternoon as well which was sooo nice and such a change to the usual jam-packed Harrods we were used to seeing on the weekends 🙂 We were offered champagne by the lovely staff at Jo Malone (Ummm Yes Please! ♡) and our hand massages began!

The lovely sales assistant at Jo Malone (I am so sad that I didn’t ask for her name because she was the SWEETEST SA ever and was so nice and accommodating throughout the whole massage!) started off with asking us which scents we usually go for from Jo Malone. Issie loves the English Pear & Freesia scent and has been using the cologne for the longest time, while I am a total Red Roses advocate ♡

The lovely SA then asked us to choose from a couple scents that she picked for us which she thought we would like based on our current favourites (as we were definitely looking to try something new <3) I literally loved all the scents she picked out but very naturally ended up choosing the sweetest scent out of them all – Nectarine, Blossom & Honey, as well as a slightly fresher scent from their new “The Herbs Garden” collection called Nasturtium & Clover which I absolutely adore ♡ 

Jo Malone is big on fragrance combining – the SA explained to us that she would start off the hand massage by using a hand and body wash as well as a body creme of the first scent, and then move on to spraying the other scent we chose on top so the fragrances can mix beautifully and create a unique scent which is tailored to our personal preferences <3

The entire hand massage experience was so relaxing and so much fun 🙂 We chatted with the SA about everything – from Jo Malone to TV shows and uni, and were never once pressured into purchasing a single product. By the end of the massage, my arms smelt amazinggg and I could not stop sniffing them! ♡

Since I really liked how the fragrances smell on me, I decided to pick up one of the scents that was used on me during the massage. I would have LOVED to pick up both the colognes, but I managed to control myself and just picked up Nectarine, Blossom & Honey, since it is the sweeter scent out of the two and I feel that I can definitely wear it on its own and still get a similar effect ♡

The SA was also kind enough to give both Issie and I little samples of other scents we might like and even put the samples in tiny little Jo Malone bags (so adorable!). Needless to say, Issie and I had an amazing day out and I cannot wait to be back in both the Orangery and Jo Malone (extremely tempted to get the limited edition Nasturtium & Clover cologne before they sell out!) ♡

♡