There are two major events happening in Los Angeles this weekend: The first, of course, is the 91st Academy Awards. And the second? The opening of Australia’s starriest skin-care guru Melanie Grant’s first location in the Northern Hemisphere. Located on an über-chic stretch of Melrose Place—where she can count The Row, Chloé, and Oscar de la Renta as neighbors—the new shop is a suitable spot for the facialist, whose Paris Fashion Week residencies in the Eighth Arrondissement see the likes of Karolina Kurkova, Caroline de Maigret, and Elena Perminova popping by for one-of-a-kind Chanel facials (Grant is a skin-care expert ambassador for the brand).
Like her locations in Sydney and Melbourne (go-tos for A-list antipodeans such as Rose Byrne, Lara Worthington, and Phoebe Tonkin), Los Angeles will have a retail space, four treatment rooms, and the feel of a modern Paris apartment. Grant sourced furnishings from Italy and France, including a pair of 200-year-old reclaimed doors from Provence, for the shop. “Interiors are my other passion,” she says. The studio will also offer more than 15 different facials to address issues ranging from collagen loss and pigmentation to dehydration and dull skin. The exclusive Chanel Sublimage Grand Soin facial will of course be on offer, along with completely organic versions of each treatment, using Eminence products.
Bespoke sessions with Grant, who will be in town every month, are two hours long and can incorporate everything from microdermabrasion, antioxidant infusions, and peels to custom face masks, LED light therapy, and lymphatic massage. Victoria Beckham recently raved that her custom treatment with Grant in Sydney was “the most amazing facial.”
As Grant’s approach is thoroughly holistic, each facial is also a wellness education session. Everyone leaves with a skin health plan that includes not just the usual serum and sunblock recommendations—Grant is a big fan of Cosmedix cleansers, Augustinus Bader moisturizers, and Chanel eye masks—but also her favorite inner-beauty finds like Sun Potion’s Ashwagandha, The Beauty Chef’s Glow Powder, and Progurt Probiotic sachets, which can be picked up post-treatment. “I’ve always been of the mind that great skin begins from within,” Grants says, “and what we eat can greatly impact our skin in the short and long term.”
A true Australian, she is also evangelical on the subject of sun protection and about to release her first product, a daily moisturizer with SPF 50 that’s been three years in the making. “It’s a lightweight, breathable, daily barrier against UVA and UVB rays, environmental aggressors like pollution, and free radicals, offering a three-in-one moisturizer that illuminates and hydrates the skin,” Grant says. “It works as a base for makeup, or it can be worn alone.” That in itself should have skin-savvy Angelenos lined up around the block.
