Alchemie Spa, Santa Monica

The other week, I took the 5 to the 10 and found myself in another world: the Alchemie spa in Santa Monica. I don’t often go to Santa Monica as I like my beach days people free, so to me this part of the world is but a traffic jam in between Abbot Kinney and Malibu. But not anymore… Now I’ve discovered Alchemie spa, I’m pretty sure Santa Monica is going to see a lot more of me.

Alchemie opened a few years ago with the idea of bringing a sustainable ethos to the spa game. And do you know what I love more than a spa day? A spa day with a conscience! From recycled, renewable and sustainable resources in the design of the eco-friendly space to the highest quality vegan and natural products – cruelty free too of course – they have it all covered. They even produce their own range of skincare… I couldn’t leave without a pot of their honey cacao mask, this stuff is a KILLER (a NATURAL killer may I add).

I went there specifically for an organic facial and had one of the custom superfood facials with a LED light therapy booster ($120 + $45). These facials are designed to deeply cleanse the pores and use pure superfood ingredients to nourish, heal and revive the skin. After a thorough skin analysis (under that light) by one of the skin alchemists, the facial is tailored to your specific needs. You also get an enzymatic exfoliation if needed, finish with a head, neck, shoulder massage and a custom mask. My treatment focused on hydration as my usually pretty dry skin is now even drier thanks to the Californian heat. Before my treatment, I hopped in the infrared sauna for 45mn. I highly recommend doing the same if your budget stretches that little bit extra as the time spent in the sauna makes the facial be that little bit more efficient (a 30mn sauna session with treatment will set you back $25).

I left Alchemie without even a smidgen of make-up on but feeling like a million bucks. Seriously I could have sashayed on the nearest red carpet, blinding everyone with my glowing skin. Instead, I sat in my car and applied more honey cacao mask on my lips just so I could lick it off. This stuff is delicious.