Coco Lane - A Pampering Session in Armagh

One of the most exciting things about going back to my home town is seeing how well it is doing.

Armagh is a very beautiful city with it's two cathedrals towering like protective sentinels over this ancient city. There is a lovely blend of old (buildings) and new(businesses) with a liberal splash of trendy (interior design and fashion).

Two types of businesses are flourishing here - hair salons and beauty parlors - so if you were in the mood for a weekend of personal pampering consider Armagh.

My most favorite hairdresser of all time is Colleen Mullan - the one person who "gets" my frizzy mop right every time owns her own salon, the cleverly named International Hairport Benburb, in a quaint village, about 15 minutes from Armagh City. Full disclosure here - Colleen is my cousin, and I love her to bits. So you'd be justified in accusing me of being biased, BUT my hair is not easy hair, and her work speaks for itself as far as I'm concerned!

She is one of many up and coming business-women in Armagh who are rapidly knocking on their own glass ceilings. Another great hair place doing Armagh proud is the award-winning Petra's House of Color in Thomas Street, Armagh. They won the Ulster Tatlers, Hairdressing Salon of The Year 2015. Petra was in my class at school. I have great respect for her achievements in this competitive industry, and I'm overjoyed to see her doing to well.

While I was home in April/May, My Sister and I treated ourselves to a day of pampering in Coco Lane Beauty Spa. From the moment we walked in through the door, I was bowled over by the gorgeous decor.

It was hard to believe were were still in little old Armagh! Ciara, the owner and another great example of girl-power in the Armagh business-woman's world, had paid attention to every last detail.
Even the W.C. done up in Marilyn Monroe 50's chic was delightful

Since we'd booked on a weekday morning, My Sister and I had the place pretty much to ourselves. We began with a blissfully warming soak in the hot-tub. We'd already used the towels by the time I thought to take a picture - Ciara'd had them beautifully arranged on our arrival. I'd not gone into the experience planning on writing this blog. I was so impressed with it that I decided before I left the premises that I would take some snaps so that I could blog about it.

After the tub we lounged in a "tikki" style area and had a delicious lunch, served up to us as we lolled about in our robes catching up on sister-time. Healthy sandwiches and salad and gallons of tea were brought in from "Doorsteps," sandwich place just up the street.

After lunch Ciara worked her magic on my jet-lagged body with a massage that felt like heaven had arrived!

We finished up with a mani-pedi and before we left Ciara gave us a little goody-bag of travel sized lotions and potions - perfect for the travel junkie that I am!

So I wasn't surprised to learn that Coco Lane has not only been nominated but also shortlisted as a finalist in the Ulster Tatler Awards 2016 for beauty salon/spa of the year.

This had certainly been the tonic I'd needed after my hectic travel schedule, and the perfect setting for us sisters to catch up. So if you feel like you need a pep up or are wondering what to do on a rainy day in Armagh, head to Coco Lane - you will come out feeling completly rejuvenated!

Best of luck in the awards, gals!


Byddi Lee