PARIS — Forget Biarritz. Paris is turning into a regular spa town, with treatment rooms that proffer facials and massages popping up everywhere — from department stores to freestanding locales.
“[People are] trying to create less of a clinical environment and are now coming up with more conceptual [places], which become destinations,” said Nancy Flavin, a Paris-based industry consultant. “It’s not just about how a treatment is done. It is about going to a place for a treatment and getting pampered.”
Take Printemps department store’s flagship on the Boulevard Haussmann, for example. As reported, it’s being revamped to give a holistic beauty experience that includes 18 treatment rooms, plus Nuxe- and Shiseido-branded spas, starting in November.
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Among other notable pampering addresses are:
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Cinq Mondes at the Samaritaine
Away from the department store’s hustle and bustle, Cinq Mondes spa offers massage techniques culled from around the world — including Thailand, Brazil and Java. Aestheticians primarily use Cinq Mondes-brand products, and the lineup includes a one-hour facial followed by a Chinese Taoist ritual for $86.50. All dollar figures are converted from euros at current exchange.
There’s also an aroma-and-color hammam treatment, for which clients select a hue to suit their mood and then the aestheticians choose a corresponding aromatherapy oil and colored light. This treatment lasts for 30 minutes and goes for $52.
Plant reflexology and hot oil treatments, plus leg waxing, are also offered.
9 Rue de la Monnaie, (011 33 01) 40 13 14 22.
Menard Institute Paris
There is a treatment room for facials tucked in the back of this beauty boutique, Nippon Menard’s first in Paris that also showcases its line of products, including skin care, makeup and fragrance.
Visitors to the boutique can have a complimentary skin diagnosis by a Menard aesthetician, who asks questions concerning lifestyle and photographs the skin. Information is sent electronically to Japan, where Menard staff reads and analyzes results. Then, in a matter of hours, a report detailing the skin’s health is sent back.
On the treatment front, the lineup includes a hydrating bath, which lasts 75 minutes and costs $98; a 90-minute “breath of snow” tint-brightening treatment for $104, and a 75-minute “wave of brightness” purifying treatment meant to correct skin’s imperfections and regulate excess sebum. This goes for $92.
10 Rue de la Paix, (011 33 01) 42 65 58 08.
Institut de la Beauté Ingrid Millet
Among the latest freestanding beauty institutes to open in Paris is the 1,615-square-foot Institut de la Beauté Ingrid Millet. All the treatments here involve Millet’s signature products, many of which are used to give alternating hot-and-cold sensations.
There are two rooms for facials using caviar-based products or essential oils. More are available for body treatments, including sculpting and scrubs. Prices range from $40 for the 30-minute eye contour treatment to $110 for the 90-minute Thalassocaviar anti-wrinkle facial.
Galerie Royale, 9 Rue Royale, 75008 Paris.
(011 33 01) 47 42 36 60.