LONDON — Rituals, the Amsterdam-based bath, body and home fragrance brand, is taking wellness treatments to another level with a concept spa called the Mind Oasis at its new London flagship on Oxford Street.
The Mind Oasis offers high-tech, soft-touch treatments aimed at time-poor city dwellers looking for respite from their busy lives. The treatments are focused on mental clearing and relaxation, and there’s not a cream, shower gel or body scrub in sight.
The spa, which Rituals calls a “wellness sanctuary,” spans 463 square feet and is located on the store’s lower ground floor. Treatments include a “brain massage,” where customers recline in a zero-gravity chair inside a private pod.
There is soothing music and a digital screen overhead with instructions to help them regulate breathing and relax. In addition to the breath work, there is also light therapy and guided audio and gentle massage that uses synchronized 4D sound and haptic vibration to guide the brain into a deeply relaxed state between wakefulness and sleep.
The only thing guests have to do is turn off their phones, remove their shoes, and relax in peace and privacy. A 30-minute session costs 34 pounds, while a 55-minute one costs 49 pounds.
The zero-gravity chair inside the meditation pod at Rituals on Oxford Street.
Rituals is also offering a hydro massage, which takes place on slim, state-of-the-art heated waterbeds. Fully clothed guests lie down on the beds and feel the warm water roll and rumble under them powered by a series of hydro-jets.
If desired, they can pull down a little canopy above the bed and get some collagen-boosting LED light therapy at the same time.
The price for 25 minutes is 29 pounds, while 45 minutes costs 49 pounds. The room, which has two rows of diagonally placed beds, is as chic as the set from “2001: A Space Odyssey,” and is scented with the brand’s Ritual of Jing, which has calming notes of lavender and sandalwood.
The soft soundtrack features authentic nature recordings from forests, mountains and coastlines to evoke a deep sense of relaxation.
Annemarie Forsyth, Rituals’ managing director for the U.K. & Ireland, described the Mind Oasis as “an antidote to today’s hectic lifestyle. It’s another significant step in our mission to help people slow down and find moments of calm in their daily lives, and I believe it’s the future of retail, well-being and beauty tech.”
The Mind Oasis meditation pods at Rituals’ new Oxford Street flagship.
Couro Seck, head of concept at Mind Oasis, said Rituals’ goal is to be the top well-being brand, and the spa concept is another step in that direction.
“Society today is always in a rush, always on the go. People’s heads are all over the place, so our thinking is ‘How can we give them a little extra sparkle right here in-store? How can we help them let go, and take that sparkle with them?” she said.
Seck added that Rituals wanted to make Mind Oasis “accessible, and an entry point for people to see what relaxation can do for them. Even with our well-being products, we always want to be accessible.”
She said the Mind Oasis in Amsterdam is located next door to the city’s university, and during exam weeks, the students pile in for treatments. “We’re so happy to see it because students usually cannot afford these kinds of things, and I’m so happy we can have this broader audience.”
The ground floor of Rituals’ new Oxford Street flagship in London.
Oxford Street is the largest Rituals store in the U.K. and the first one to house a Mind Oasis. Other Mind Oasis spas are located in the Netherlands, where Rituals is based; Belgium; Germany; Switzerland, and Spain. The Oxford Street flagship is Rituals’ 131st store in the U.K., with a further two stores set to open by end of 2025.
