Manhattan Sanctuary: Elemis BIOTEC Facial at Georgia Louise Atelier

We were recently invited to experience an Elemis BIOTEC facial at the Georgia Louise Atelier spa in New York City.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to venture to New York City—a bustling metropolis I consider a second home—to visit friends and cover a handful of New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2017 shows. In between my jaunts backstage, intense writing sessions and coffee meetings, I was able to escape to the Georgia Louise Atelier skincare studio for a few hours of calm and quiet.

The relaxation and waiting area at Georgia Louise Atelier in New York City.

First Impressions: Tucked off of Park Avenue at the southern edge of the Upper East Side, the well-known (and incredibly well-loved) day spa is located in an unmarked building on 71st Street; a quintessential, Manhattan block lined with trees and multi-level row houses with brick facades. The singular waiting lounge is decorated like a homey living room—plush couches and arm chairs, a low coffee table and several book shelves give the space a lived-in touch that’s spiced up by chic metal wall sculptures, carved wood wall divisions and a transparent gold and glass cube hung from the ceiling. Dark wood shutters let the perfect amount of soft light pour into the warmly lit room.

I immediately sank into the lush couch to fill out my extensive intake form and gulped down the glass of water the receptionist had brought me—all that sweating in New York’s 80% humidity had  me seriously dehydrated.

The Service: That sentiment was confirmed the moment my esthetician Vivienne whisked me back to her treatment room and took a closer look at my skin. Travel, plus lots of sweating backstage and on the subway and, though I know better, failing to drink my eight glasses a day, had left my poor complexion parched. Not to mention the loads of makeup I’d been caking on to cover my acne and hyperpigmentation, which had done everything but help my already clogged pores. Needless to say, I was ready (read: desperate) for my facial.

I was equally excited to experience the Elemis BIOTEC protocol and collection, which I’d read—and written—about but had yet to enjoy. Vivienne mixed and matched a slew of the brand’s products for my particular needs—the Pro-Radiance Cream Cleanser melted away the makeup and NYC grunge that had accumulated on my skin; the Gentle Rose Exfoliator sloughed off my dead skin cells and the Amino Active Mask helped to further exfoliate my congested complexion.

Vivienne admitted she really wanted to lance the crop of acne that had appeared during my week of travel, but she knew I had many more events to cover and didn’t want to leave me with too much downtime. Instead, she performed a series of extractions, and though I needed to deep-breathe my way through them (no pain, no gain, right?), I was truly grateful for her persistence and diligence with my stubborn pores.

After a hydrating mask and a lovely arm and hand massage, my discomfort was soon in the  past. Vivienne applied an SPF and the Pro-Collage Marine Cream before leaving me in a state of bliss on her treatment table. I willed myself out of the room and back onto the streets of Manhattan, somehow managing to hold onto my relaxed mindset well into the evening.

Noteworthy: The next day, a colleague backstage complimented me straightaway. “Your skin is glowing!” she said. “Georgia Louise,” I said to her. “You’ve got to visit Vivienne.”

—Rachel KossmanSave

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