Looking good in London is all about speed, but for girls across the Channel the beauty is in the ritual. Like sipping a café au lait by the Seine or browsing through exquisite boutiques, beauty in Paris is a matter of pleasure. And in a city where luxurious skincare is a religion, Carita’s hallowed House of Beauty is bigger than Notre Dame.
I dropped into Carita on chicest Rue Fauborg St Honore, completely sans appointment, on my way to lunch. You usually don’t turn up anywhere in Paris without a reservation, but the beauty buff in me just had to risk the faux pas and the gorgeous Carita ladies were gracious enough to give me a tour. And let me tell you: plush is not le word. A study in refined indulgence, it’s easy to see why Carita is an institution amongst Paris’s most well-heeled. A spiral staircase to heaven links three floors of gleaming grottoes dedicated to the worship of body, skin, hair and spirit. Each is polished, delicately fragranced and lit just so – every tiny detail is deluxe. And the products! Make no mistake, Carita delivers serious skincare, but they wrap it in the type of velvety bliss that puts the treat right into treatment. If you’ve never tried a skin cream that could make you sigh, you’ve never tried Carita.
Just between you and me, I’d have ditched my lunch date in a nanosecond if there’d been an appointment open – but no such luck. Thank the beauty gods that Carita treatments are now available in Australia too (call 1800 808 993 to find out where) – some Parisian rituals are just too much of a pleasure to miss.
I do love Paris!