Chantecaille Energy Spa

Profile

Rumor has it that Frenchwomen don’t get fat or wrinkled thanks to a cadre of high-tech machines designed to lift and firm the skin. These Gallic gizmos have found a Stateside home at this easy-to-miss location, created by the mother-daughter beauty moguls Sylvie and Olivia Chantecaille (best known for their makeup and skin-care line). Their petite fourth-floor spa provides Barneys customers with a posh respite from dressing-room dramas as its sole employee, a Russian-born, German-trained aesthetician clad in stylish black, administers one of a half-dozen treatments utilizing hands-on strategic acupressure and those aforementioned gadgets. Along with a bit of shut-eye, sessions are apt to result in the diuretic release of stubborn fluids, decreased puffiness, and, in the case of the signature Energy Lift Facial, a noticeable if sadly temporary blurring of lines. The spa also offers an energy-balancing psychic consultation–cum–chakra release performed by the French-made Energy Analysis Machine. — Karen Tina Harrison