As I check in for my facial, I spot a woman with the most dewy, luminous skin, paying her bill. When she learns I’m next, her face lights up even more. “You are going to love it,” she says. “I go to spas all over the world, even Paris, and she is one of the best.”
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“She” is Becky Pfeifer of North White Plains, a licensed aesthetician for the new Clarins Skin Spa at Bloomingale’s; Clarins is the renowned French beauty company founded 50+ years ago. The treatment room Pfeifer leads me to is a delight for the senses with one high-gloss wall and even the products-organizer table done up in Clarins’ signature lipstick red. The scent of the brand’s Eau Dynamisante in the air, the flickering candles, and the strains of light jazz combine to make the nearby cosmetics counters recede from consciousness. As I slip under the silky coverlet—red, of course—onto the warmed treatment bed, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.
Like all Clarins beauty therapists, Pfeifer relies exclusively on manual methods—no brushes, machines, or even a steamer—to work her wonders; all Clarins products are also botanicals formulated from plant extracts. For the next 50 minutes, I am treated to cleansing, exfoliation, marvelously thorough extractions, and a delightful massage of facial, scalp, and neck pressure points. Pfiefer applies Clarins cooling Shaping Facial Lift, a peptic mask with antioxidants and other deliciously soothing lotions and potions—all professional-formulation products that are 7 percent stronger than those sold at retail. The result? My skin looks so young and luminous that, instead of heading straight home, I decide I am fit to be seen in public sans makeup and do a couple of hours of shopping elsewhere in the store.
Clarins Skin Spa, Bloomingdale’s, White Plains (914) 684-6457; whiteplainsskinspa@clarinsusa.com. 50 minutes: $75; 80 minutes: $95; “Le Petit Facial” (30 minutes): $40.
