I love a facial—I mean, who doesn’t? Yes, it’s not necessarily a necessity but, in my opinion, it’s an easily justified indulgence. For example, think of what your apartment looks like. Now think of what your apartment would look like if you never gave it a deep clean—if you only vacuumed once or twice a week, wiped down the surfaces every now and then, but never truly got into the nooks and crannies of the space. Imagine the dust bunnies and layer of grime that’s settled over everything. Not to be dramatic, but that’s kind of what skipping a facial is like—is your skin really ever in its best state if you never do a deep clean?
Okay, now that we agree it’s worth treating yourself to a facial, you’re probably wondering where to go. Not all facials are created equal, and as a beauty editor, I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced a decent amount of facials and developed some strong opinions on them while doing so. Most recently, I was lucky enough to stay at Le Meurice in Paris and, while I was there, I got a facial that ranks in my top five.
The Grand Hydrafacial Treatment is an exclusive treatment offered by the Spa Valmont, nestled underneath Le Meurice. It was created especially for city dwellers—hi, me—to rid skin of all the dirt, sweat, and grime that comes with living in an urban environment. It combines the deep cleansing of a Hydrafacial—a treatment that removes the aforementioned dirt, sweat, and grime from your pores—with hydrating Valmont products to leave your skin smoother and more radiant.
Courtesy of Le Meurice
The morning of my facial, I was running late. Let’s blame it on jet lag. Regardless, I stumbled into an elevator and made my way to Spa Valmont, bleary-eyed, puffy, and extremely apologetic. However, once I entered the spa, the space’s pale blue-green color palette—and the women at the front desk—immediately put me at ease. After being welcomed with a detox drink, I quickly filled out a health and expectations form before sliding on the massage table, warmed by the heated mattress beneath me.
After a super quick evaluation, the facial began with cleansing and exfoliating. The exfoliation wasn’t a scorched-earth attempt to get rid of my skin—my aesthetician used a gentle yet effective peel, removing the week’s grime and dead skin cells without any irritation. Then, she used suction to clear out my pores and infuse my skin with a cocktail of active ingredients (like antioxidants and hyaluronic acid) to hydrate and plump the skin.
Next, it was time for red light therapy. LED red light therapy sends light waves deep into the skin’s layers to trigger collagen production and reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Then, my aesthetician applied hydrating Valmont masks and gave me a facial massage to help soothe inflammation and puffiness.
About an hour of consulting, cleansing, exfoliating, toning, red light therapy-ing, masking, and massaging later, I emerge from the facial feeling like my face is glowing. There are no remnants of jet lag on my skin—it’s smoother, less puffy, and brighter. It’s as if I got a full eight hours of sleep and just did a kale juice detox. I look in the mirror one final time before I head out and think to myself, “Wow, the lighting in here is really good,” before realizing that it was actually just my skin.