FACE PLACE FACIAL

By Chrissy Iley

Face Place is something that’s profoundly genius. There is one only facial – no menu to confuse you – just excellence at one option. It is not mamby pamby, let me relax you while you speak to your inner wolf child experience. It is tried, tested, results driven.

At the end of this facial you emerge with your skin looking lifted, fine lines plumped out of it, rested, radiant, younger, and happier. Even if you are incredibly stressed and miserable, if something has happened to your face where it has been transformed, something that just looks a lot more carefree, it makes for interesting therapy. You instantly feel better, better than you would do sitting with a therapist. Before I tell you anything of what happens. I’ll tell you this. It’s great. The Face Place facial is exactly the same as it was devised in 1972 in West Hollywood. The West Hollywood salon has had all the greats – Cher, Streisand, Madonna, Midler, the lot. It’s really quite something.

In London it’s at the Rosewood Hotel. The Rosewood is incredibly beautiful, a lovely building with a newly happening restaurant and a bar that serves Indian inspired tapas. In the reception is a blonde Labrador. It’s so elegant and well behaved. It’s like a Hollywood Labrador and it makes a statement. This hotel is friendly, cuddly and elegant, The Spa is downstairs. There’s winding corridors. You might get lost but when you arrive it’s worth it.

I was greeted by Carly, a wonder woman of a facialist. Great skin herself, always good to look at. Results driven often means we’re going to hurt you. In this case it means were going to be totally weird but in the end you will be so grateful it won’t seem weird. But what happens is, for want of a more precise word, just weird. First off this leather cone which is like a miniature Teepee goes on your face so you have your own miniature sweat lodge going on. Before the cone, there’s orange blossom infused towels so your face is cleansed. There’s not steam. That apparently dries out your skin. You notice the heated bed underneath you. It’s hot but it’s cosy. This mask lasts for about 10 minutes. After that another instrument that’s the size of a straw hoovers around your face. There’s some extractions which aren’t painful but they’re not comfortable either. They let you know that work is being done. Then there are more towels laced with vitamin C and other antioxidants. Then it becomes really weird. While your face is swaddled in cloths comes a mask. It straps on so you can sort of see out of it. There’s some kind of current that come through it, it feels kind of tingly, somewhere between an itch and a tingle. You feel it penetrating and tightening the skin then you taste some kind of metallic taste in your mouth. Maybe it’s coming from a metal filling, maybe it’s coming from out of space. You get used to this and while you are pondering the tingle and the current, Carly massages your arms and hands and it’s all very delicious.

All this goes on for about 20 minutes during which time Carly took a picture of this mask with me in it, I’ve no idea what the little leather collar and lead was about or its function but you soon forget the weirdness when you look at your face. Plumped up and firmer. Skin texture looks all together younger and happier.

You look perky. Carly passed over my face with some Skinceuticals tinted moisturiser – so good I bought it afterwards and that was it. I refreshed my mascara which actually had remained on during the facial because it’s my new YSL Shock and it stays on whatever. I needed no make-up at all for dinner and a party. It’s a general consensus that the less make up you look as if you’re wearing the younger you look. This only works if you’ve got great skin or if you’ve been Face Placed. £140.  Absolutely worth it.