The Fashionable Facial

By Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni/Paris

IN PARIS, BEING ECO-FRIENDLY is hardly associated with elegance, but Stephane Jaulin, 35, has changed the concept with L'Appartement 217, his "organic only" beauty spa whose holistic treatments are a favorite among fashionistas.

Jaulin, a beauty-world veteran who has worked at Guerlain, Kiehl's and Vivienne Westwood, where he helped launch the designer's fragrance Libertine got his most valuable training from the esteemed beautician Joelle Ciocco, who taught him about skin. The fashion flock got to know him as the beauty buyer for the trendy Paris boutique Colette, where he developed a beauty corner into a 38-line-strong department.

At L'Appartement 217, with the fresh aroma of rosemary tea brewing in the waiting room, Jaulin has created a calm atmosphere that feels, not surprisingly, almost like a private apartment.

Jaulin's goal is for his clientele to acquire "a natural and harmonious beauty" by "respecting the skin." "There are so many different energies around the face, and if you destroy them by using the wrong products, you weaken the skin." To avoid that, he uses only Dr. Hauschka's line, agreeing with its philosophy that products work internally and externally. He also offers his alternative on the antiaging process--the Laser Aramis 2. "The word laser makes everyone nervous," he admits. "But this doesn't affect the epidermis--the first four layers of skin--but affects the dermis [underneath], which then stimulates the collagen that gently plumps out the face." The procedure has to be performed once a month for four months and then once a year after that. Other highlights include sliding into the body-length Lyashi Dome--a Japanese invention--which rids the body of toxins and is offered as a weight-loss and cellulite treatment. Jaulin also features Ayurvedic massage using warm sesame oil as well as traditional facials, pedicures and eyelash tints, which come with soothing hand massages.

L'Appartement 217 was renovated by the architect Arnaud Montigny (who did Colette) to appear loftlike and informal. Everything is organic (apart from the furniture--"I couldn't find anything stylish," he says), ranging from the naturally pigmented paint on the walls to the mineralized water to the terry-cloth robes made from organic cotton. Nevertheless, Jaulin has avoided the Zen music trap, dismissing it as "not very Paris" and opting instead for a mix of rhythm and blues played, sotto voce, over the speakers. "The point of this place is to experience well-being, lightness and joy, and I want the music to reflect that."