SALON REVIEW: DANIEL GALVIN, KENSINGTON, LONDON
Review: Jennifer Bonfield
Located just off Kensington high street, down a pretty residential side street brimming with white-washed Georgian town houses, this relatively new salon was opened less than a year ago but is already proving popular with the local crowd who are lucky to have a central London worthy salon located a mere stones’ throw from their doorsteps.
This is the petite version of the huge flagship salon located in Marylebone, and the middle sibling – as it were, to the most recent salon addition at Selfridge’s, Oxford Street.
I was greeted warmly, ‘gowned-up’ and taken to the lower lever with Casey, my colourist. We had a consultation and discussed what I’d like to achieve with the colour. Since summer is just around the corner there’s no other way to go other than blonde and blonder, so I opted to lighten my tresses with a single shade of creamy blonde.
While the foils where being applied I sipped on a fresh pressed apple, strawberry and ginger juice from the salon’s partner Deli – Nouvelle Delicatessan, who also offer a huge (and immensely tempting) lunch and snack selection from which you can order with the Daniel Galvin staff and it will be brought straight to you while the expert team tend to your tresses. There is also a beverage menu available from the local pub – The Abington, featuring a divine drinks selection including Espresso Martinis and Champagne.
After browsing the menus, I was relocated to an adjacent room where I had a huge semi-private (no other stations at either side) station the size of a large marble desk – lots of room to lay out your essentials; tablet, phone, drinks, piles of mags and you could easily whip out your laptop here if you need to squeeze in some work.
I was placed under the heater for 10\15 minutes intervals and the foils were removed in 3 stages in reverse from the order they were applied. My hair was then given a detox treatment (treating and brightening the hair that hadn’t been highlighted at this appointment) it then was washed and conditioned. The only downfall to my entire visit is there was no head massage – which is the best bit!
Cheryl – the salon manager, finished by giving my tresses a good trim and a great full-bodied blow dry.
This is a great, relaxed but super-chic salon with a strong brand ethos. It’s easy to see this is a close-knit team who have real pride in the Daniel Galvin name. Being a client at this beautiful boutique salon feels a bit like being a member of a chic neighborhood pampering club and if I was a Chelsea resident this would without a doubt be where my hair salon loyalty lies.
67 Abingdon Rd | London | W8 6AN
020 3544 6535