Inside Chanel au Ritz Paris, Chanel's Completely Gorgeous—And First-Ever!—Spa

Chanel is an old brand. Gabrielle Chanel, better known as "Coco," opened her first store in Paris in 1910 selling hats. In 1918, she opened her first couture house at 31 Rue Cambon. She launched her first fragrance (Chanel No. 5, of course) in 1921. The company introduced cosmetics in 1924 and a skin care line in 1927. And even after all the years, and all the face creams, and all the thousands of boutiques all over the world, Chanel has never had it's own spa. Kind of crazy when you think about it, no?

Well, this summer, all that changed when the brand opened Chanel au Ritz Paris, it's first free-standing spa—or "unique beauty destination," as they prefer to call it—in the newly renovated Hôtel Ritz Paris. After what seemed like a century (okay, it was just four years, but I'm impatient) the Ritz finally reopened after being shuttered completely for a 21st century makeover. Many of the changes were subtle (better air-conditioning, stronger water pressure, higher ceilings in the lobby), but the renovations to the Ritz Health Club, now called the Ritz Club Paris, were pretty major. While the famous pool was left fairly untouched (it got a new tile floor), the hotel added not only Chanel au Ritz Paris, which includes a small boutique full of Chanel beauty products as well as five treatment rooms and access to the pool, but they also added a five-chair outpost of the David Mallet salon, so you can get your hair done after being pampered, Chanel-style.

Regina Yazdi

But even though the spa has been opened for nearly five months, it's proven difficult to find images of what it actually looks like inside (trust me, I've tried, endlessly), or get an idea of what the treatments are actually like. Chanel au Ritz Paris is so exclusive that it's nearly impossible to get an appointment (since it opened, it's been booked solid), let alone get a camera crew inside. It's so exclusive, in fact, that you get an gorgeous invitation sent to you in the mail (yes, in the mail, with a stamp), confirming your appointment. But during Paris Fashion Week, we did it. On a brisk Wednesday evening during the first week in October, myself, our fashion director Rachael Wang, illustrator Regina Yazdi (who's beautiful drawings of the spa can be seen throughout this piece), and a video crew followed model Katie Moore to her appointment at Chanel au Ritz Paris (her invitation can be seen below), so that we could finally capture on film—and on paper—what the fanciest skin care spot in the world actually looks like. And as you can see, it's breathtakingly beautiful, decorated with design elements and artwork found in Coco Chanel's room at the Ritz where the designer lived for 37 years.

Hannah Choi/Allure

Moore was treated to the Grand Soin facial, a two-to-three hour treatment that uses a mix of products from all the different Chanel skin care ranges, including Sublimage, Hydra Beauty, Le Lift, and Le Blanc. Once complete (and you're left so relaxed your legs feel like Jell-O), Moore received one of four, non-alcoholic beauty cocktails that she chose to sip by the pool. However, if you've got somewhere to be after your facial—or you want to make a stop at the Ritz's famous Hemingway Bar for a real cocktail—you have the option of receiving an express makeup application at the boutique.

Regina Yazdi

So sit back, relax, and get an inside look into at how the other half lives. Or in this case, how the other half spas.

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