We Tried It: The Facial You Can Eat

Orange Blossom & Grapefruit Facial

Be spring-ready. Energize your skin with a nutrient-rich facial, beaming in anti-oxidents and vitamins. Grapefruit invigorates your skin with exfoliating action, while an orange blossom mask composed of essential oils, orange peel and honey perfectly balances and revitalizes your skin.

I was so in.

So here’s how it goes: The facial starts with a heavy dose of steam to fully open pores. That’s followed by a jojoba oil cleanse. Nothing too crazy yet. But then, as facialist Mallory and I chatted about skin and makeup philosophies, she casually mentioned that everything she’d be putting on my face today would be edible.

Whaaat?!

Yep. “If you can’t eat it, I’m not putting it on your face,” Mallory said. That’s a mantra I can get behind.

The lengthy steaming and cleansing session is followed by a white honey, orange blossom, and grapefruit scrub made with pure honey so it has a little grit to help break up discoloration. Then, rather than using a harsh exfoliant, she swiped my skin with lemon peel (a natural exfoliant because of its enzymes) and lavender.

Next were extractions. OH, THE EXTRACTIONS! Confession: I have problem skin and I’ve got a long history with facials. I get them seasonly to aid in decongestion, and I’m no stranger to metal tools, vacuums and prongs digging at my pores. I’m usually white-knuckled during this part, digging my nails into the massage bed, fighting back tears. I’d begun to think my pores—and my facialists—hated me.

But Mallory used gentle cotton pads infused with citric oils (no scary metal tools in sight) to tease out accumulated dirt, and it didn’t hurt at all. Nothing. Nada. It was so wonderfully, blissfully pain-free, I could have taken a nap. In fact, she says she regularly has clients doze off during services, which might be the ultimate compliment to an aesthetician.

Next was a calming facial spray (witch hazel, rosewater and lavender) to help reduce redness. Then she liberally applied a yogurt mask combined with lemon juice (basically what I had for breakfast) and orange oil for brightening. The service was capped off with a smear of shea butter and beeswax moisturizer.

But this is the best part: After my treatment, I actually stuck around Old City for a bit, grabbed a coffee and perused some boutiques. Normally, I turn into a hermit for a solid 48 hours following facials because my skin is so red and irritated. Instead, my skin looked so bright and moisturized, I was completely comfortable running errands post-facial sans makeup.

The treatment is available through the rest of spring and runs $100 for a one hour treatment and $75 for first-time clients. No time for the facial? Swing by for a customized orange blossom and grapefruit oil-infused roll-on perfume. The scent is so refreshing and quintessentially spring, it’ll be your go-to fragrance this season.