ERROR:
subscribe to beauty blog via RSSA Post-Couture Week Recharge At The Dior Institute
July 10, 2009 1:09 pm
I was recently in Paris for a four-day jaunt and did my best to make the most of the trip. Foie gras and fine cheeses were consumed. Euros were spent in the Marais. And I almost witnessed a Jarvis Cocker show at Bataclan, but apparently headliners go on a bit earlier in the City of Light than in downtown Manhattan (a missed opportunity). I also made a point to book an appointment at the new Dior Institute in Plaza Athénée right before I left, where I imagine members of the fashion tribe, weary from couture week, are heading en masse right now. You can’t get more Parisian than a spa associated with the legendary French house, built in the confines of Monsieur Dior’s favorite hotel on Avenue Montaigne, where he shot his couture creations in the 1940’s and ’50’s and treated his best clients to intimate lunches. Sixty-some years later, a flagship for his age-defying skincare line was finally completed last fall, designed with the same luxury that has defined the brand since its inception. It’s an oasis unlike any other I’ve seen, glistening in a white light that seems to go on forever, an optical illusion assisted by a central pool, marble tables, tiled pillars, and mirrored walls. And while there’s something undeniably Zoolander-ish about the five treatment rooms—they’re as white as the lobby and are staffed by an unusually attractive team of aestheticians, also clad in all white—the overall effect is a futuristic tranquility that sets the experience apart before your service even begins. After a diagnosis to determine my “youthfulness profile,” a compulsory back massage was performed as a means of stimulating, re-oxygenating, and draining the body so my skin could fully benefit from the antiaging concentrates applied throughout the treatment. I got the “Just In Time” facial, which targets first wrinkles, and if the 60 minutes of washing, exfoliating, massaging, and pore-tightening weren’t enough, a complimentary makeup application—with Dior cosmetics—made me feel extra-pleased with my complexion as a I boarded my flight back to New York. I even got a compliment from a stewardess, who simply looked at me and said, “You look good.” Money well spent.
tags: Christian Dior, Dior Institute, Jarvis Cocker, Plaza Ath�n�e, Skincare
