The 10 best beauty and wellness spots in Paris right now
Since moving to Paris from London, I’ve noticed that although so-called ‘French girl cool' might be a low-key look, it’s far from maintenance-free. In fact, Parisians are more likely to dress up, and favour looking pulled-together more highly than Londoners, for whom eclecticism and individuality are watchwords. While Parisiennes keep make-up and hair dialled down, subtlety is far from maintenance-free, and well-groomed hair, nails, brows, and keenly looked-after skin are non-negotiable. Women are tapping into the demand for naturally focused or organic brands, but are not willing to compromise on results. Parisians expect the best in all things, and beauty is no exception.
Beauty
L’Espace Beauté, La Samaritaine, 1st arrondissement
Cross the Pont Neuf from Saint Germain, or take a few steps along the Seine from the Louvre, and find Paris’s most elegant and talked-about grand magasin, La Samaritaine. Housed in an 1870 Art Nouveau building, it reopened in 2021 after a huge refurbishment. After a ride up to the fifth floor to admire the restored glass roof and decorative frieze, take the riveted steel staircase down to the basement, where shining counters from brands you know and love – Tom Ford, La Mer, Darphin – sit alongside those you’d like to get to know. Wander past manicure stations by Kure Bazaar, and if you’re not dipping into the Les Cinq Mondes spa, carry on to the rue de Rivoli side of the store and uncover smaller beauty and wellness brands to fill your case. Don’t forget to swing by the tax-refund area, where travellers from outside the EU spending over €100.01 can receive around 10% back on most purchases – even receiving funds instantly, using in-store machines.
Must buy: Indulge in the Aromatic Cleansing Balm with Rosewood, £38, by French skincare powerhouse brand Darphin, for the squeaky clean skin that the relaxed French cool girl look relies on. Worth leaving your usual cleanser at home ‘by mistake’.
Address: L’Espace Beauté, La Samaritaine, 9 rue de la Monnaie, 75001
Website: dfs.com/samaritaineMuse, 16th arrondissement
As discussed, Parisiennes know how to do polish. That’s why in the double-digit arrondissements of Paris – those more known for their plentiful residential buildings – there’s a nail bar on almost every corner. In the elegant 16th arrondissement (and with a branch in the hip 17th too), Muse is one of the best of its type. On Avenue Victor Hugo, a smart tree-lined street of boutiques and cafes that stretches away from the Arc de Triomphe, a tiny but perfectly formed location serves up fast-but-flawless manicures to elegant locals and lunch-break drop-ins. While Parisian women are more likely to opt for noir or khaki on their short tidy nails, there’s also the option to add nail art.
Must-try: Since everyone dresses up a little bit when they visit Paris, a Flash Mani with nail polish is a good way to smarten up – and for less than the price of a mousse au chocolat.
Address: Muse,140 Av. Victor Hugo, 75116 Paris, France
Other locations: Muse, 73, avenue Niel 75017 Paris
Website: musenailsbar.com
L’Institut 68, 8th arrondissement
You probably know the Champs Elysées, and you may even have noticed the flagship Guerlain store, resplendent with the brand’s luxury perfumes, make-up and skincare – but do you know about the indulgent spa upstairs? Most visitors to Paris don’t, which is why Parisian women make up the majority of its clientele. The spa, with its huge windows and nine treatment rooms, opened in 1939 in the grand apartment of the Guerlain family, with the panelling, marble and even light fixtures still intact: one 98-year-old local has been visiting since the age of 14. Today, the brand uses this elegant space to deliver treatments which mix modern skincare know-how with traditional techniques such as its 80-year-old 19-minute facial massage technique. Filled with light, this is not a locked-down, retreat-style spa, and that’s exactly why busy Parisians love it here, the spa’s director tells me – they never feel too out of touch.
Must try: Le Soin Sur-Mesure, £260 for 90 minutes, is the spa’s most popular choice. Unlike some ‘personalised' treatments, which are only adapted, Le Soin Sur-Mesure is created on the spot with you and the therapist, and can comprise whatever you need that moment, day, month or season. The ultimate luxury.
Address: L’Institut 68, Avenue des Champs Elysées, 75008 Paris
Website: guerlain.fr
Nose, 2nd arrondissement
In the second arrondissement is Nose, a wildly stylish perfume concept store. Sitting at a sleek black bar with a petit cafe, I use an iPad to input my last three great perfume loves. Nose’s algorithm – created in tandem by AI and perfume experts – throws up five new scents I might like. The store staff spray them onto five sample strips so I can sniff them and rank them, blind to their brand or name. This information goes back into the algorithm, and so it goes on until I have three perfumes to try on my skin. My final three are all hard to resist. The team, who know the 500 perfumes stocked at Nose from base notes to top, throw a fourth into the mix, too. Of course I leave with a tissue-stuffed bag, samples of the ones that got away, and my olfactory profile saved on their site. Unmissable.
Must buy: Parisian Musc by Matiere Premiere, a modern French perfume using raw materials from fragrance mecca Grasse, is figgy, woody, and will forever remind you of your trip.
Address: Nose, 20, rue Bachaumont, 75002 Paris
Website: nose.frPharmacy Du Forum Des Halles, 1st arrondissement
True, you didn’t come to Paris to go to a shopping mall. But if stocking up on French pharmacy brands was part of your plan, here’s where to go: Pharmacy Du Forum Des Halles, a superstore pharmacy in the first arrondissement. Of course, you can pick up La Roche Posay, Embryolisse, Caudalie, Bioderma and more at pharmacies on almost every corner, but here you can find every product from every brand you’ve been reading about, unusual categories from brands you know (think skincare by Klorane, bodycare by Avène) as well as hard-to-find French brands (Saeve Paris, Avril, Nubiance), at excellent prices. Look out for giant sizes and multi-packs of your favourites, as well as the pick-and-mix bins of minis. And give thanks for the leniency of the Eurostar luggage allowance.
Must buy: When the weather is warm, Parisians go nowhere without an aerosol bottle of cooling facial mist. Pick up Caudalíe’s upgraded version, Eau de Raisin, £7.84, for warm weather or central-heating skin.
Address: Pharmacy Du Forum Des Halles, 1 rue Pierre Lescot, Porte Rambuteau, Niveau -2, 75001, Paris
Website: pharmacie-forum-halles-paris.com
Wellness
La Boutique Aime, 11th arrondissement
Is it possible to channel that French glow in capsule form? Aime is attempting to do just that with its French-made food supplements, based on probiotics and the idea that a happy gut – or microbiome – means happy healthy skin. At its beautifully curated flagship store in the Marais, staff can advise you on how to choose between the array of capsules, powders and drops aimed to improve skin, hair, sleep, and digestion. You might also choose to stop by the brand’s Le Glow Studio, for a facial, scalp massage or session in the infra-red sauna.
Must buy: French Glow combines probiotics and essential fatty acids and promises to balance and fade redness in the skin.
Address: La Boutique Aime, 16 Boulevard des Filles du Calvaire, 75011
Website: aime.coLa Piscine Josephine Baker, 13th arrondissement
Earlier this year, the French government declared that the Seine will be clean enough to swim in by 2025. For those who can’t wait for the clean-up operation, there’s Piscine Joséphine Baker. Situated on a barge beside the river’s left bank, this city-run pool has all of the views, none of the ‘nature’. It’s far from the only outdoor pool in Paris, but it might be the most picturesque, with a glass roof that opens when the good weather hits: you’ll know when that is when you spot the queue. There are lots of municipal pools in Paris, many picturesque and all very clean, but like many areas of French life, rules are taken seriously – be aware that everyone has to wear a swimming hat and for men le Speedo is obligatoire.
Must try: Earlybird swimmers are not catered for at the weekend (this is not a city that is up with the larks), so instead swing by for an evening swim on a sunny day, and head straight on to your apéro.
Address: La Piscine Josephine Baker, Quai François Mauriac, Quai de la Gare, Paris 75013
Website: piscine-baker.fr
Spa Le Bristol, 8th arrondissement
Paris is good at the classics, whether it’s hotels, food, wine or spas. There is a slew of excellent, elegant and traditional spas in the city, many located within palatial hotels. Of these, Spa Le Bristol by La Prairie is the grand dame. Alongside requisite grooming services (which you might need to keep up with the celebrities you’ll inevitably run into in the lobby), there are Tata Harper and La Prairie facials and signature massages which use oils specially created by KOS Paris, a natural body care brand with its laboratory in the city. All treatments are bookable to non-residents of the hotel and offer a taste of true Parisian opulence.
Must try: The Relax & Regenerate signature massage, from £198 for 55 minutes, is perfectly personalised to you and should cure any travel-induced aches or pains.
Address: Spa Le Bristol, 112 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honorê, 75008 Paris, France
Website: oetkercollection.com/le-bristol-parisMaisie Café, 1st arrondissement
While the staples of the French diet are by no means just a cliché – six billion baguettes are sold every year in France – plenty of visitors and natives alike are keen to lighten up a little, and now there are plenty of vegetarian, vegan and wellness-focused menus to add to your itinerary. Maisie Cafe is a sweet vegan and gluten-free coffee shop right in the first arrondissement, between Jardin des Tuileries and Hotel Costes. Cold-pressed juices, energy balls, oat-milk Matcha lattes and banana bread are the fuel you need for a day of exhibitions or shopping.
Must buy: Choose a Go Juice, an energy boost – and delicious – a mix of beetroot, ginger and lemon perfect at petit-dejeuner.
Address: Maisie Cafe, 32 Rue du Mont Thabor, 75001
Website: maisiecafe.comYuj Yoga Studio, 7th arrondissement
Although Paris isn’t quite so saturated by yoga studios as London or New York, there are plenty of places to practice – though not many are quite as stylish as Yuj. There are six locations in the city, with the location in the 7th alluringly placed in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower. As with many things in Paris, the aesthetic skews smart, with each studio bedecked in striped awnings and navy and gold signage. The USP here is that classes take place under infrared light, heating the studios to a warm but not boiling 25 degrees. The soundtrack is carefully considered and the brand even has its line of activewear to check out as you leave.
Must try: In town on a Friday night? A 6pm Flowmix class brings all the good vibes you need to see you through the weekend.
Address: Yuj Yoga Studio, 11 rue Edmond Valentin, 75007
Website: yujyogastudio.com