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subscribe to beauty blog via RSSAn Italian in America
January 7, 2009 4:57 pm
Carmen Miraglia’s Erbe spa and skincare boutique is as authentic as they come. Setting up shop on Prince and Sullivan streets some 20 years ago, the New York transplant by way of Rome has provided a bastion for naturalists seeking out the pure and obscure in skincare since before the green movement was taken up by Hollywood starlets and Soho rents went skyrocketing into the stratosphere. Committed to a contemporary reinterpretation of the formulations and practices set in place by the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian herbalists, physicians, and monks that preceded her, Miraglia and her extended family have learned to expertly utilize the botanical bounty from their native Mediterranean region. The result is a collection of unique creams and salves that lend themselves to a range of services known for an ability to cure whatever ails ya. Originally sold as custom-made, small-batch items in local pharmacies and herb shops in Italy, the entire line relies on cold-pressed sweet almond oil, evening primrose, wheat germ oil, jojoba, karite, and Saint-John’s-wort and incorporates extracts of calendula, burdock yarrow, mallow, and pure essential oils in varying combinations. It’s Miraglia’s active interest in the ingredient sourcing process and the attention to detail with which she designs her packaging, facials, and massages, however, that have earned her something of a cult following stateside, where news of her small aroma-phytotherapy mecca is typically spread by word of mouth. Consider yourself in the know.
Erbe is located at 196 Prince Street in New York City. For more information or to book an appointment, call (212) 966-1445.
tags: Burdock yarrow, Calendula, Carmen Miraglia, Erbe, Evening primrose, Jojoba, Karite, Mallow, Saint-John's-wort, Skincare, Sweet almond oil, Wheat germ oil
