The sweet smell of success

Aromatherapy has come a long way in the past 20 years.

Then, it was a weird, indulgent luxury, practised in warm, candlelit dens by a select group of initiates. Now, the word is spattered about with abandon on anything from supermarket bubblebaths to scented candles, and a certificate in ?aromatherapy massage? can be picked up by any beauty therapist for the price of a weekend course.

The appeal of aromatherapy has become so broad that it obscures the fact that there are still therapists about who make what can be a rather dull massage into a life-changing experience. How do you find them? Read on.

Queen Bee of the new aromatherapy gurus is Michelle Roques O?Neil, who has just opened her own salon, Pure Alchemy, in St John?s Wood.

Tough cookies crumble in her hands. ?I see busy people who, on the surface, are very well put-together, but when I touch them I can feel how vulnerable they really are,? says Michelle. Clients sometimes find themselves in tears after five minutes? chat, before they?ve even got on the couch. ?People need a lot of nurturing, and a little bit of sympathy,? she says.

Michelle has spent 20 years perfecting her art. She trained with and worked for Micheline Arcier, the grande dame of the discipline, who opened London?s first aromatherapy clinic in the Sixties. She has worked at the Hale Clinic and in Harley Street and as consultant for the top beauty-and-therapy chain Space NK.

As well as opening her clinic, she is organising the ultra-modern spa attached to Cowley Manor, a hotel due to open in the Cotswolds in December, which is already being talked of as a celebrity retreat on a par with Babington House.

Michelle?s aromatherapy massages, frequently described as ?incredible? by her awestruck clients, draw on her training in acupuncture and Reiki. ?My treatments are very personal,? she says. She also does La Stone (a divine form of massage using warm, smooth stones) and in January is launching a new stone treatment, a creation of hers called Ceremony, which draws on Native American traditions. Get there before the rush.

Pure Alchemy, 3 Violet Hill, St John?s Wood, NW8 (020 7624 1022); £70.

London's top aromatherapists

Micheline Arcier no longer massages, but does individual consultations for £80 an hour. Dee Stanford, who has been at the Knightsbridge salon for 11 years, stands out among the highly trained staff (020 7235 3545); £52.

Lisa Barnwell trained in Australia, and wields a caseful of special Australian oils such as white cypress and blue mallee eucalyptus. Healthy Living Centre, N1 (020 7704 6900 or 07968 782 657); £50.

Daphne Barrett, who works from home in Wimbledon, specialises in ?removing the emotional blocks from the body? (020 7947 1940); £55.

Eileen Fairbane has been practising for 20 years. Very good for postural and back problems. Hale Clinic, W1 (020 8450 2470); £55.