Save face with the season’s must-try skincare treatments, from L.A. to Napa
Words by ANUSH J. BENLIYAN
As the holidays approach, self-care tends to take a hiatus. But with summer’s sun damage behind us and the harsh winter weather ahead, it’s actually the most important time of the year for skincare. Here, we spotlight a wave of new beauty innovations across California — including the latest from such renowned gurus as Georgia Louise and Marie Veronique — that give good reason to tend to your skin.
The House Specialty
For those looking for quick, on-the-go skincare services, Face Haus is a must-know. The “facial bar” concept has five locations across Los Angeles (as well as New York and Texas), where reclined chairs share space in a communal setting, making it perfect for bringing along a best friend or two, or for when you just need to get in and out without the fuss of a spa. Their latest? A menu of five electrolyte-infused hydro-jelly mask add-ons, each infused with moisturizing algae, soothing organic whole grain oat flour and inflammation-reducing organic white willow bark powder. Every mask is formulated to leave you feeling ultra refreshed, with options ranging from the Purifying Active Charcoal mask, ideal for oily, acne-prone skin, to the Illuminating Orange and Glutathione mask, which brightens the complexion. $25/mask.
The Glow Up
New York City-based celebrity facialist Georgia Louise — a favorite of Jennifer Aniston, Linda Evangelista and Sarah Paulson — has debuted a Los Angeles outpost of her skincare atelier at the newly minted AllBright West Hollywood, the first U.S. location of the London private women’s club. There, members and nonmembers alike can experience the in-demand skincare savant’s high-tech beauty techniques with her signature facial: The Georgia Louise at The AllBright. The treatment begins with an enzyme peel mask beneath LED lights, followed by a cryo facial massage, which cools and depuffs the skin. Next, a massage using Louise’s Butterfly gua sha stone leaves the face sculpted and ready for the cherry on top: a glow-inducing sheet mask and galvanic current treatment via the Pulse+Glo headset, which pushes nourishing ingredients deep into the skin to help refine pores, stimulate blood circulation, soften the appearance of fine lines and aid in blemish control. $275/50 min. 8470 Melrose Place, L.A., 323-524-9711.
The Old-Fashioned
With outposts in San Francisco and Marin, International Orange day spa is lauded for its holistic approach to wellness and beauty, incorporating organic alchemies — from pineapple, papaya and pumpkin enzymes, which naturally digest dead skin cells, to fresh herb and plant extracts — and such ancient practices as acupuncture, face massage, and their most recent offering, gua sha. With origins that can be traced back to circa 220 CE China, the lymphatic drainage technique, applied using a shaped jade pebble, manipulates the connective tissue beneath the skin to help eliminate toxins, stimulate oxygen and promote blood circulation. Ideal for addressing fine lines, hyperpigmentation, scarring and other concerns, the treatment can be added to any International Orange facial and leaves the skin looking radiant. $45/15 min. 2044 Fillmore St., 2nd Floor, S.F.; 2421 Larkspur Landing Circle, Ste. 43, Larkspur, 415-563-5000.
The Natural Talent
Napa’s picturesque Auberge du Soleil resort has teamed up with Bay Area-based skincare maven Marie-Veronique Nadeau to create a one-of-a-kind signature facial at its serene spa and Beauty Bar. The new custom skincare treatment, called L’Essentiel, exclusively uses the chemist’s nontoxic Marie Veronique line of small-batch, handcrafted products, which Nadeau painstakingly formulated to help repair and recover skin to its healthiest state. The Auberge du Soleil Spa’s house estheticians — who received training from the brand’s team as well as longtime collaborator, leading San Francisco esthetician Kristina Holey — will personalize each facial to address specific concerns, from dehydration to stress, and naturally balance the skin’s microbiome. The new offering coincides with the launch of Marie Veronique’s latest perfected brews: the collagen-producing, sun protection-boosting Vitamins C+E+Ferulic serum, and the C-Therapy serum. From $235/60 min. 180 Rutherford Hill Rd., Rutherford, 800-348-5406.
The Perfectionist
Specializing in the “untouched” look, GoodSkin Clinic — the upscale European-style med-spa with locations in New York and L.A. — takes the stigma out of using injectables, chemical peels, and laser and light treatments for skincare concerns such as rosacea and hormonal acne, offering such high-impact procedures as microneedling and PRP therapy. For combination skin, founder Lisa Goodman, who is debuting a new San Vicente Boulevard flagship in January 2020, suggests the PhotoPeel, which utilizes intense pulsed light (IPL) to reduce sun damage, fine lines and the appearance of pores by activating skin’s pigment-causing melanocytes “and allowing the ViPeel Precision Plus to recognize and adhere to pigment,” she says. For best results, opt for a series of three PhotoPeels, getting one every four to six weeks. From $950. 11980 San Vicente Blvd., Ste. 621, L.A.
Feature image: GAIA REPOSSI. Photo by Jeremy Everett, C Magazine, March 2017.
Nov. 27, 2019
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