Blackburn + Sweetzer Has Moved

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— Text and photo by Nora Zelevansky

Usually when people quip that, “you need therapy,” they’re thinking more Dr. Phil and Xanax than rose quartz and crystals.

Fine. When people quip that I need therapy. Maybe it never happens to you.

Either way, tell those people to shove it and make a beeline instead for the brand new gem-infused Själ Blue Kashmir-Saphir Facial at The Mondrian’s Agua Spa. (That’s right, bypass Sky Bar just this once, drunky).

Själ translates to “spirit, mind, heart and soul” and the line (and resulting facial) combines Eastern traditions of fusing the mind and body with result-oriented western tools (like exfoliating fruit enzymes, for example). Gems involved range from pearls to gold to, well, blue sapphires (duh).

A bizarrely relaxing facial, involving strategically placed tourmaline, citrine, and other stones, and (finally) the attention your eyes deserve…

Now, I think it’s normal to feel a bit of cynicism when it comes to combining healing crystals with skincare, but many of the infused gems have physiological healing properties as well as spiritual or vibrational ones. “We’re water, tissues and minerals,” notes Själ’s creator Kristin Petrovich. “And the minerals in the ingredients resonate with your body. This is not a new theory. It’s age old. It’s like alchemy.” And, lest you believe that Petrovich is simply on trend, her mother has been involved in energy healing with crystals for ages.

But the proof is in the pudding, right? Well, the facial is bizarrely relaxing. I’m not generally necessarily a believer in the power of such things, so when they placed tourmaline, citrine, rose quartz and amethyst stones around my body, I wasn’t sure how this would all play out (especially because I arrived after a hectic day of meetings). In fact, the oils smell amazing and my body literally just melted into the whole experience (which also includes a foot, leg and hand massage).

It didn’t occur to me until after the fact that one hardly ever gets a full eye treatment during a facial, which is odd when you consider how many people worry about wrinkles, bags and dark circles in that area. During this treatment, these wonderfully cold stones are used to basically massage in infinity shapes around the eyes, which feels unbelievable and also totally takes down puffiness. Afterwards, my skin was all glowy and nice. Also, the Agua spa water is extra amazing. I have no idea why—maybe extra oranges?

Petrovich is launching this exclusive facial (which is priced a smidge higher than other facial offerings, and up until now, only available at Miami’s Mondrian and The Delano) in tandem with her two newest gem-infused products Pearl Enzyme exfoliating mask and Kashmir Saphir perfecting mask (available at The Mondrian, Apothia at Fred Segal, Barneys and soon online at DermStore.com). Each mask can be used for like ten-minute stints at home to recreate at least some aspect of the Blue Kashmir Saphir facial.

Which really gives new meaning to feeling “Blue.” Take that, Dr. Phil.