Created for the chaotic urbanite who is short on time, Cucumba is convenient, casual, and most certainly cool. This trendy Soho pit stop in the heart of media-ville offers a place of quiet repose right in the West End, where you can collect your thoughts, wax your whiskers, massage your muscles and trim your tresses, all in your lunch break.

Diligent duo Stella Nwobi Stephens and Vivienne Nweke - tired of treading the corporate treadmill - launched this beauty boudoir just over two years ago, leaving lucrative careers to turn their hands at pampering the masses. Now, with a tight-knit team of six employees, and a trendy studio in the heart of the West End, the pair plan to expand to The City and beyond, and release their own brand of botanical cosmetics in the process.

A vibrant abstract print splashed with colour enlivens this white-walled minimalist beauty clinic with hovering ping pong-ball shaped hanging lights. There is a retail space at the front of the shop selling men’s products, and a selection of affordable, grooming therapies available to visitors of both sexes.

You can invest in beauty and massage therapies that fit your time and budget, from 10-minute eyelash tints to 20-minute head massages, or a 30-minute luxury wet shave or power nap. Focus on the feet and hands with manicures and pedicures, or consume a restorative Firefly juice from the Chill Out Bar. You can also rent out the whole place for business events or hen and birthday bashes.

Pamper Packages include anything from lunch and dinner parties to pole dancing, belly dancing, massage or magic lessons. There is even a Botox Champagne package. So if you don’t mind a shot of toxic protein administered to your mug, pop in on your way to Pret for a quick gravity-defying jab of Botulinum and a swig of Moet.

Stressed-out souls need no longer linger in strain and anxiety. Release the shackles of modern life and arrange a quick pick-me-up at Cucumba. They promise to turn their clients into pampered and polished princes and princesses. And while booking in advance is the only way to guarantee a slot, the ethos of this shop is to be a pit stop, so you can drop by without an appointment, any day except Sunday. Yay!

Cucumba
12 Poland Street
Soho, W1F 8QB

By Abbey Stirling/MOLI