Volume I, The Prep

The first word from inside the house. Everything that happens before you walk in, and everything that makes it hold after.

❥ The night before

A deep bronze starts twenty four hours before your name comes up. Exfoliate everything. Dry brush or a scrub, and go hard on elbows, knees and ankles.

Then stop. Nothing on the skin after that.

❥ The day

Come clean. No moisturiser, no deodorant, no perfume, no makeup. Anything sitting on the skin sits between you and the colour.

Wear something loose and dark, and bring slides if you have them. Doors open ten minutes before you. One booking is in the building at a time, so there is nobody to wait behind and nobody watching you walk in.

❥ Inside the room

Twenty, thirty or forty minutes, dialled to your skin and your history. Your level gets called on the day based on how your skin is actually taking it, not on what you booked last time.

If your skin says shorter, it goes shorter. That call is final and it is the reason nobody walks out of here burnt.

❥ Making it hold

Rinse lukewarm when you are told to and not before. Short showers, never long and hot. Pat dry, never rub.

Moisturise morning and night from day two and the depth carries seven to ten days before it fades clean and even.

Colour builds. It does not arrive. One session lays the base. It is the third and fourth that make people ask questions.

❥ Bring who you trust

The room holds up to four. Book II for two, III for three, IV for four, and the whole slot is held to your names. Nobody outside the booking comes in.

❥ Carrying the card

Black Card sessions sit against your name and nothing expires. SAINT is eight, VICE is twelve, GRAND is sixteen, and the rate drops every tier you climb.

No face. No case.