A French Touch Salon

The finest in Parisian skin care on the central coast.

Skin Care

Succulent Soothers: Why We Love Sothys!

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

succulentsAmerican Spa recently featured an article titled “Succulent Soothers”, which discussed the uses of succulent plant extracts in skin care.  At first, I couldn’t get the image of a few potted plants that my mom has upstairs on a table in our living room: succulents?  Like cactus?  No way.

Way!  As it turns out, succulents have worked miracles for humans for ages, dating back to the Native Americans living in desert areas.  They unlocked the secrets of the greenery that was able to thrive under such harsh environmental conditions, and used extracts from these prickly plants to treat illness, and dermal afflictions, as well.  Succulent extracts, especially from the Prickly Pear Cactus and the leaves of Chaparral , can treat blemishes, warts, eczema, cold sores, and contact dermatitis (an allergic reaction in the form of a rash, resulting from contact with our skin).  Much more than this, though, skin care brands like our much-loved Sothys have included these extracts because of the miracles they work in hydration, and even anti-aging.

prickly pearPrickly Pear, which was featured in the article, is said to have tons of “super-antioxidants that protect the skin from the arid climate and help minimize fine lines and wrinkles.”  Sothy’s Marketing Manager, Soraya Thonier, says that prickly pear cactus extract also boosts cell turnover and exfoliates to reveal smooth skin, while its antioxidants “neutralize free radicals and protect against future cellular damage and premature aging.”  Prickly Pear is used in Sothys’ Firming Body Cream, as well as the luxurious anti-aging Secrets line: our Secrets de Sothys Global Cream, Eye Contour Serum, Secrets Intense Lip Crème, and Global De-Stressing Serum.

chaparralChaparral Extract is used in their Hydra Protective Cream and Hydra Protective Softening Emulsion, and possesses many of the strengths that the article boasts about, including the power of maintaining the skin’s by increasing its “capacity to hold moisture, protecting the skin from dryness.”  These products both work to moisturize and nourish the skin, then protect it from the abuse and elements it faces every day (climate extremes, pollution, you name it!).

So now when you hear succulents, rather than picturing a spiney, homely-looking cactus, think of a natural skin treatment that hydrates the skin (and seals that hydration in!), fights free radicals, nourishes, and provides anti-aging, all in one bottle.  Combine that with the soft, luxurious feel of Sothys creams and serums, and I think we’ve made our point!

Alors, stay thirsty, mes amis!

Bisous,

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Pieces of Paris

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Bonjour Mes Amis,

parisian girlLet’s imagine for a moment, mes amis, that we are in Paris, la ville d’amour.  You’re sitting at  a small outside table at a quiet café, overlooking a park with a hot cappuccino, listening to the melodic cadences of the French language being tossed around old cobblestone streets, observing the beautiful architecture found on every city block.  Perhaps later you wander through an outdoor market with fresh flowers and produce, then take in a beautiful view of the city from the very top of la Tour Eiffel, and top off your day with a warm crepe and a walk around le Basillique du Sacre Coeur at dusk.

When I think of Paris (especially when I’m lounging here in our sitting room at A French Touch!), I think of the effortless, clean, stylish elegance that French culture exudes.  The French have always commanded a great deal of respect and influence when it comes to fashion and make-up, but only gradually are cultures like ours starting to pick up on the wisdom and sophistication of their skincare philosophies, as well.  

Lucky you, though, because A French Touch seeks to embrace all of these beauty secrets, out of a desire to help you maintain and reflect your natural beauty and to help your skin age gracefully.  

So let’s begin first with the concept of a skincare salon.  Skincare salons are as common in France as hair and nail salons are in the US.  The idea of a skincare salon might sound suspiciously like a spa, but the ‘salon’ part is supposed to emphasize a regular treatment of the skin to maintain a healthy appearance, rather than a once-in-a-great-while treat for oneself.  In France, the skincare salons are known as “Les Instituts de Beauté”, institutes of beauty, where skin is therapeutically nourished and refreshed.

The French do not believe in heavy make-up application, and therefore emphasize maintaining the natural beauty and balance of your skin so that excessive make-up is not needed.  The trick to make-up is to make it look as though you aren’t wearing any, rather than  looking like a five-year-old who went rummaging through her mother’s vanity drawers!  Foundation, blush, eye make-up and lip products are only to be used to create an I-am-this-beautiful-after-just-waking-up look.

From fashion to make-up to everyday life, the chic French femininity we love conveys a sense of effortlessness, of simplicity, of pink masknatural beauty.  However, when it comes to the skincare ritual behind the effortless beauty, the opposite couldn’t be more true; French women dedicate a great deal of time to applying quality products that ensure the health of their skin.  They generously employ moisturizers, serums that stimulate collagen production, and liberally apply their sun protection on a very frequent and regular basis.  All of this stems out of a longing for natural beauty, not a false, cakey, make-up induced appearance, and out of a love for their skin.  

I know you might be a bit tired of my “Show your skin some love” theme from this summer, but I mean it in earnest when I say that it is the absolute best way to give yourself that extra bit of ‘me time’, that ten minutes of pampering and unwinding to begin and end your day with.  I know since I stepped up my skincare routine after starting at A French Touch, I have come to look forward to cleansing and soothing my face at the end of a long day, almost like I’m exfoliating and moisturizing and nourishing all the stress away; that time is just for me, and I love it because I deserve a few moments to feel beautiful, even after the make-up comes off!

Alors, mes amis, I hope these thoughts find you happy and leave you happier.  Stay beautiful, because you are, and because you deserve to feel like it, too.

Bisous,

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Emily Katz: Make-Up for the Stars!

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

Emily Katz HeadshotWe have a very exciting event coming up for you next week, mes amis!  One of Elle’s Beauty Genius MakeUp Artists Emily Katz is coming to A French Touch Salon this Monday, the 23rd, to discuss how to maintain a beautiful you with skin care and make-up tips adored by Hollywood’s most glamorous.  

Over the past 20 years, Emily has become the biggest and best in makeup and skin care by working with the stars of Lost, Big Fish, Nine Lives of Chloe King, 24, and Anger Management.  She also provides skin care consultations and classic makeup styles for some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, always emphasizing healthy skin and a natural look.

Her simple message, “Stand in your Beauty”, describes a natural and healthy sense of beauty and self that we strive to impart at A French Touch; she describes it perfectly, saying “I strive to bring out the beauty that is in each of us, without creating a mask so that a woman feels like she’s expressing her inner beauty as well.

mitchell

Even a full-on glamour makeup still allows a woman to feel gorgeous and be herself when she knows that sometimes less is more! I love skin, and prefer to let it show through a makeup without looking cake-y or dull.

Beautiful skin…or the impression of it, without heavy looking coverage is what I always strive for. I find it important that we feel beautiful inside and out, and want to support women in doing just that.”

You hit the mark, Emily, we couldn’t have said it better ourselves!  Please go to her website for a fuller appreciation of Emily’s talents and philosophy at http://www.ektruth.com/.

So, be sure to join us at either 11:00 a.m. or 5:30 p.m. for one of Emily’s talks and demonstrations, as she shares her favorite skin care products (she loves Jan Marini, too!), and some age-defying makeup tips that keep your skin looking young, fresh, and naturally beautiful.  She’ll also be offering discounted private consultations, to help you capture the glamour and youthful beauty of the stars for yourself and make it reflect the true, beautiful you.  Call us or email us if you’d like to reserve a seat for you and the special women in your life (and really, what better way to spice up your Monday!).

I’ll see you there, mes amis!

Bisous,

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Exfoliation: Smooth and Refresh your Skin

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

I hope you’ve all had a lovely and relaxing weekend, and got to enjoy our extended summer weather a bit (wearing your sun protection, of course)!  I know that nothing leaves me feeling more refreshed and renewed like a long weekend of reading, relaxing, and doing nothing!  Which got me thinking, doesn’t my skin deserve a little time to refresh, too?

Young woman applying exfoliating gel to face, portrait, close-up

So, let’s talk about exfoliation!  We are all, no doubt, familiar with the concept of exfoliation (let’s face it, it’s not exactly new to the world of skin care!), but just to recap, Exfoliation is defined as the act of removing that top layer of dead skin cells and debris that we accumulate over time, which cause our skin to look dull and matte.  But I want to dig a little deeper.  How does one go about exfoliating?  As it turns out, we have three options:

  • Mechanical Exfoliation:  This implies the use of simple friction, by implementing either a tool (a brush, loofah, etc.) or a product with a coarse ingredient (sea salt, sugar, crystals, pumice, etc.) to knock this top layer loose and wipe it off of the skin beneath it.  This is the most basic form of exfoliation, and is an excellent step to incorporate into your weekly skin care regimen.
  • Enzymatic Exfoliation:  We borrow very specific enzymes (all natural proteins) from fruits like pineapple and papaya that are specially wired to break down and digest dead skin cells.  Unlike mechanical exfoliation, using enzymes to resurface your skin actually penetrates much deeper and works to clear debris out of your pores and deeper layers of your skin, as well.

exfol mask

  • Alpha or Beta Hydroxy Acid Exfoliation:  This may sound a bit scarier, but Acid Exfoliation uses naturally-derived acids, like Salicylic Acid (from willow tree bark), Lactic Acid (from milk), and Glycolic Acid (from sugarcane, and which many of us use in our Jan Marini Skin Care Management Systems, anyway!) to provide a deeper, more intensive form of exfoliation.  Similar to using enzymes, these acids (used in our peels and our home-care products) penetrate deep into the skin and pores to remove debris, while also stimulating the skin’s natural renewal cycle—your cellular turnover rate, which can slow with age—to stimulate cellular renewal on the skin’s surface. Glycolic peels have the added benefit of synthesizing collagen in the skin.

But, I have yet to mention the most important part: WHY should we exfoliate?

Exfoliation by itself can give your skin a youthful, healthy glow by removing the top layer of dead cells and debris, which makes your skin more luminous (because we see the living layer, full of natural oils, on top!) and provide a cleared path for oxygen to reach your living cells.  

Woman Applying Facial CreamHowever, exfoliation is, perhaps, even more important to your skin care regimen because it makes the other products you use—from moisturizing creams to anti-aging serums—more effective!

Yes, you read that right, it will enhance the benefits of your other products.  If you don’t exfoliate, the products you apply don’t always penetrate through that dead top layer, and therefore don’t do much for your skin.  However, removing this top layer regularly enables your products to penetrate the skin completely and really work their magic!  

Now that I’ve told you how wonderful exfoliation is for you, check back with me tomorrow to see what products we have at A French Touch to give your skin that easy, at-home renewal it needs!  Then on Thursday, I’ll send you off into your weekend daydreaming about our refreshing and anti-aging peels!

Alors, à bientôt!

Bisous,

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Back to School with Jan Marini!

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

I hope you’re all having a wonderful week so far!  But, even though we’ve finally made it to September, let’s back up just a bit to the end of August so I can share all of the latest-and-greatest in skin care with you!jan_marini jmsr

As I mentioned in last Tuesday’s post, Patricia went to beautiful sunny Southern California last weekend not only to enjoy the gorgeous weather (with proper sun protection!), but to attend Jan Marini’s annual Educational Forum to hear all about what’s new as we start heading into Fall.  Jan Marini, as I’ve told you in a few of my previous posts, is one of our favorite names in skin care because of her dedication to innovation and the science behind her products.  Jan Marini herself–looking lovely, as always!–was in front of all of the dedicated estheticians that attended, sharing her enthusiasm and excitement for her organization’s continued influence and success in the world of beauty and skin care.

So, (aside from all that I heard about some really cute shoes!) here are some of the new, exciting products and treatments you can expect to see at A French Touch soon, merci à Jan Marini Skin Research:

  • Marini BioShield: Rapid Recoverybioshield

“Until now, the post-procedure market was seriously lacking in immediate post-procedure products that offer positive user experiences to patients. Marini BioShield is the first product of its kind. It is a silicon-based, non-petrolatum product for advanced post-procedure barrier protection and repair. This patent-pending formulation combines targeted growth factors and peptides with hyaluronic acid and CoEnzyme Q10 to reduce downtime and enhance treatment results. BioShield’s near-invisible matte finish protects the skin, speeds recovery and significantly increases user satisfaction by minimizing or eliminating the objections and social impact common to post-procedure recovery.”

  • ret plus maskRetinol Plus Mask:

Due to recent studies that have come out stating that, contrary to popular belief, Retinol products are safe to use during the day as well as the night, Jan Marini has just introduced their new Retinol Plus Mask.  Retinoids work absolute wonders in anti-aging, as they give the skin a younger, softer feeling by speeding up cellular turnover rates.  Jan Marini says that the results from this mask are remarkable and that it’s already “one of my must-have products.”  But we’re going to talk about Retinol a bit more later this week, so stay tuned!

  • Anti-Aging Facial Treatment:mask

Inspired by Jan Marini’s new Retinol Plus Mask and the fact that the majority of dermatologists recommend Retinol as the most effective anti-aging ingredient in home skincare, A French Touch is adding to it’s fine list of services the Retinol Boost Facial, an all-new, all-Jan Marini anti-aging facial. The Retinol Boost facial will include a professional application of Jan Marini’s new Retinol Plus Mask, while incorporating clinically active Jan Marini anti-aging accelerators.  We also incorporate the Retinol Plus Mask in our Brilliance Peel Series, which couples with glycolic acid to refine, soften, and refresh your skin while providing extra collagen synthesis.

We at A French Touch are so excited to be working with such noted pioneers as Jan Marini in the beauty and skin care field, not only because of the fun, enthusiastic energy everyone at Jan Marini wants to share, but also because of the continued improvement and clinical validation of their products.  So, with names like Jan Marini Skin Research, we can say with confidence that you are receiving the very best that we can treat you with!  Alors, merci à Jan Marini, for their wonderful products, et merci à vous, mes amis, for showing your skin some love.

Bisous,

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Among the Stars in Beverly Hills

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Bonjour, Mes Amis!

Sun.  Sand. Stars. Sothys!  This past weekend on a trip to sunny Southern Califonia, Patricia had the opportunity to visit another prominent esthetician’s salon, which has risen in popularity in the L.A. area to talk about balance, brows, beauty, and the powers of SOTHYS.  

AnastasiaHeadshot2012

Meet Anastasia Soare, who has made quite an accomplished name for herself with her innovative brow styling technique, attracting clients including Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Naomi Campbell, Jada Pinkett Smith, Penelope Cruz, Sharon Stone, and others.  Her popular salon in Beverly Hills, aside from featuring  Anastasia’s Golden Ratio brow shaping (which emphasizes proportion and balance to enhance natural beauty), also almost exclusively features SOTHYS facial treatments and products.  

SOTHYS is a name that is near and dear to our hearts for it’s high quality and beautiful results; even the name “Sothys” is tied to the idea of supreme beauty through mythology.  SOTHYS tells us about it’s namesake:

“SOTHYS was the name the Ancient Egyptians gave to the brightest star in the sky; she symbolized to them eternal beauty…the brilliant and precious star shone brightly throughout the skies, grasping the awe of people on clear blue nights. She was the most beautiful and luminous star of them all. Her unique distinction, unlike the other stars, captured the admiration and fascination of all.  It is the name that the SOTHYS group boasts today, evoking eternal beauty and radiance. Faithful to its mythical muse, the SOTHYS group passionately dedicates itself to beauty.”

sothys rocks

For nearly 60 years, these luxurious products have kept our skin looking and feeling young, firm, and refreshed for many successful years, as evidenced not only by it’s numerous and international clientele, but also by it’s high-society following.  Amid the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, L.A., and Beverly Hills, Anastasia’s salon is only one of many lovely high-in spas and salons that feature the smooth sensorial experience of SOTHYS skin care, and the stars that can be found in her salon are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to big names (not to mention their professional make up artists and skin care consultants!) and SOTHYS.  Like Anastasia, we at A French Touch want to offer you the absolute best of the best for your skin in all of our treatments, which is why we only carry names like SOTHYS to fulfill your beauty needs!  We want our emphasis in skin care to stay routed in a healthy idea of natural beauty, revolving around giving your skin the comfort, hydration, renewal, and love that it needs to keep you looking and feeling your best.

Stay beautiful, mes amis!

Bisous,

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