A spa in the city: where to treat yourself to a break in the working week

Ritz Club & Spa con i trattamenti La Prairie. ©Jerome Galland

With an exclusive entrance from 17 Place Vendôme, the Ritz Club & Spa is the Parisian destination for discovering La Prairie treatments. The brand specialising in deep skin regeneration here offers seven facial treatments (including two dedicated to him), an exfoliating body ritual and a face and body experience exclusive to the Ritz Club & Spa: the Signature Treatment (90 minutes, €400) starts with a back massage with dumortierite stones (with anti-stress properties) and continues with the Skin Caviar ritual, a regenerating and lifting elixir that harnesses the benefits of caviar for radiant skin. For gentlemen, try the Treatment Signature Uomo Tech (90 minutes, €400) which combines the White Caviar line (extra moisturising and illuminating) with technology. In fact, double deep cleansing is followed by exfoliation with high-frequency vibrations from an ultrasound device that eliminates impurities (info, tel. +33 143163060).

SALERNO, THE HAIR CEREMONIAL

Il Sanctuary Hair Spa di Salerno

Sanctuary Hair Spa Privè offers a one-to-one service, welcoming only one client at a time into the salon. Here, hair care is a ceremonial that involves all the senses, a characteristic feature of Shu Uemura Art of Hair, the Japanese luxury brand for professional haircare. The process begins with a personalised consultation, followed by a scalp massage, shampoo and mask according to requirements. For example, if the hair is coloured, products infused with sake kasu extract and niacinamide will be used to restore shine, with rice water if the hair is thin and weak, with ashitaba extracts and ferulic acid to revitalise. Comfort is also guaranteed thanks to the micro-mist spray wash. It ends with rinsing, styling and hair fragrance (duration about two hours, from € 90 to € 110; info, tel. 089 753066).

FLORENCE, UNIQUE SERVICES ALSO THANKS TO AI

Un ambiente della Fragrance &Beauty Boutique di Chanel, a Firenze. ©MAX DE MARTINO

An oasis in the city centre where the codes of the Maison Chanel are reinterpreted in a contemporary key with minimal design and sustainable materials. The concept of the Fragrance & Beauty Boutique is to offer exclusive services, present only in Florence. Such as Rencontre which, thanks to a new-generation device, vaporises in blind fragrances in three consecutive sessions: the customer's preferences after each one allow the AI to propose new combinations, until arriving at the final choice (and only then is the name revealed). And, for the first time ever, Chanel Vitality Scanner: a diagnosis service in a reserved area that analyses the state of the skin of the face and then creates a personalised treatment protocol with Chanel lines. Both free of charge, like Les Quarts d'Heure, a 15-minute individual skincare, perfume, make-up consultation service. Then there is the complete make-up experience, L'Heure Iconique (60 minutes, €150. For info, contact the boutique or chanel.com).

MILAN, PHYTOCOSMETOLOGICAL EXPERTISE

Maison Sisley a Milano

Maison Sisley combines elegance and comfort in settings where every detail creates an atmosphere of intimate escapism. This is also the case in the Milan boutique, where one can discover all the products of the French brand with its great expertise in phytocosmetology (fragrances, skincare, make-up and haircare), while the four cabins are dedicated to facial and body treatment protocols (also for men). Among the signature massages is Le Soin Anti-Âge Sisleÿa L'Intégral (1 hour 45 minutes, €330) to reduce wrinkles and fine lines and reshape the face by improving skin elasticity. Thanks to the cosmetic formulas, but also to the massage gestures with Ginkgo Gua Sha, a beauty tool shaped like the leaf of the Ginkgo biloba tree (one of the brand's leading active ingredients), which thanks to its shape adheres perfectly to the lines and contours of the face and neck (info, tel. 02 49418633).

NEW YORK, WELLNESS AND TECHNOLOGY

Dior Spa di New York. ©Jonathan Taylor

First permanent spa in the United States for Dior, which has reserved an entire floor of the boutique on the corner of East 57th Street and Madison Avenue. Dior Spa is the destination for tailor-made treatments that combine the benefit of cosmetics with massage techniques and technologies. For example with skin diagnosis using Dior Measurements, a device to examine the skin in depth, measuring its collagen, hydration, pH, elasticity and sebum levels (30 minutes, $145). Depending on the results, the Golden Aura ritual, a complexion brightening and evening out protocol with oxygen therapy (90 minutes, $575), or Dior Powered by Hydrafacial may be suggested, hydrodermabrasion to intensely cleanse, exfoliate and moisturise (90 minutes, $575), or the iconic Kobi Dior (90 minutes, $575), plumping and firming using micro-suction and micro-stimulation. For the body, there is New Look (90 minutes, $625), which firms, drains and reshapes curves, partly through the use of icoone technology that stimulates microcirculation, elastin and collagen production and promotes lipolysis. The four treatment cabins offer infrared or re-energising mattresses, anti-stress blankets and a cryo effect sleeping mask (info, tel. +1 646 290 6699).

ROME, CELL COSMETICS AT THE CENTRE

The Eden Spa presso l’Hotel Eden.

Three suites with vaulted ceilings that recall the architecture of Roman baths: The Eden Spa at the Hotel Eden is the Roman location in which to try out the treatments of Valmont, the Swiss brand expert in cellular cosmetics, which has dedicated the signature La Grande Bellezza (120 minutes, €430) to the Eternal City. After a gentle exfoliation, a butterfly massage is performed. The experience moves on to the face area with an anti-fatigue mask followed by a collagen-based veil for a dermotensive effect. Another course is the Treatment Majestic - Elixir des Glaciers (90 minutes, € 380) which amplifies the nourishing and lifting action of the line's ingredients (glacial spring water, royal jelly, Swiss plant extracts and sturgeon DNA). Two cleanses, three massages (energising, firming and for the facial muscles) and finally a mask with hyaluronic acid on the face, décolleté and hands (info, tel. 06 478121).