A FRAGRANT JOURNEY AT THE INSTITUT GUERLAIN

THE FIX YOU NEED TO LOOK PORELESS AND POSH IN LESS THAN 90 MINUTES. THE TREATMENT A HIGHLY CUSTOMIZED FACIAL WITH OVER 300 TREATMENT TECHNIQUES TO CHOOSE FROM. THE SPOT 68 AV. DES CHAMPS- ÉLYSÉES. “This facial is completely made to measure,” says Véronique Jacquet, spa director at the Institut Guerlain in Paris. “We adapt every product to the individual’s skin.” The 60-minute treatment goes beyond product selection; aestheticians train for nine months before they’re allowed near a client’s visage. (After that, it’s six months of on-the-face work.) They’re schooled in 350 different massage techniques, and they incorporate a variety of styles on the fly into every treatment; not a single facial is ever replicated. “There is no prescribed method: Until they meet the client, they don’t know what they’re about to do,” says Jacquet. Each bespoke treatment starts with an offering of four different fragrances (for energy, relaxation, detox and enveloping) that are engineered to disappear by the end of the treatment so as to not irritate the next customer. Throughout the machine- and steam-free treatment, the aesthetician uses only her hands for cleansing, mask application, massage (addressing everything from sagging to lymphatic drainage) and hydration infusion and employs some of the brand’s most ingredient-rich oils, such as Abeille Royale. For the grand finale, clients can have their makeup applied before they leave, from a precisely painted French red lip to a classic cat eye.