Prisca Courtin-Clarins is living every beauty-obsessed girl’s dream. Having grown up in the lap of one of the best beauty brands in the world and now taking over the spa sector of Clarins, she’s constantly surrounded by products and expert insight. With the spa launching their first Indian outpost at the W Goa, we can now have a slice of that too. She fills us in on her family’s long-kept secrets.
ELLE: Tell us a little bit about the spa.
Prisca Courtin-Clarins: My grandfather started his first spa 60 years ago in Paris. He created a unique massage method with efficient movement that optimizes penetration of skincare products. It involves 100% manual movement – we believe that the hand is the best tool that therapists can have because a machine cannot measure what to do on the skin. Our Art of Touch face and body treatment is specific to W Goa, our first India spa.
ELLE: How often would you recommend someone to visit a spa?
PCC: Once a month if you can. The most important is what you do on a daily basis. If you have a good beauty routine and you apply your products well, one per month is enough.
ELLE: What’s your personal skincare regimen?
PCC: One of the most important steps is cleansing because you cannot apply skincare products on dirty skin. It has to be clean and polished, so exfoliating and cleaning your skin every morning and night is the best way to keep it beautiful. I also use a BB cream with SPF so the UV protection inside helps my skin.
ELLE: How do you keep your skin glowing all day?
PCC: Retouching for sure; it’s important to have long-lasting make-up but it’s not only about that. If you have a good skincare routine, your skin will be beautiful anyway because make-up cannot cover everything. I prefer to use more skincare to keep my skin beautiful naturally and glowing all day.
ELLE: What’s the best way to look after your skin in humid weather?
PCC: If it’s humid, that means there’s a lot of UVA and UVB exposure so it’s very important to protect your skin from the sun damage.
ELLE: Any beauty secrets you learned from your family while growing up?
PCC: There’s many because I grew up with my grandfather, telling me a lot of stories. When you apply your product, never stretch the skin. Always apply by tapping, because when you stretch you can add some wrinkles. Always take a cold water shower and then apply tonic oil to make your body firmer. He used to say that the best firming product after his will be cold water.
ELLE: How do you keep yourself in shape?
PCC: I do Pilates, a little bit of yoga, I love it. Beauty comes from the inside so you can put any beautiful texture or cream but you have to be aware that the skin you have is also what you eat. I eat only vegan and not too much oily food. Our family is very sports-oriented. My grandfather used to play tennis, I ski during the winter and every summer I play tennis, do Pilates and run – our whole family does these together.
ELLE: What does your ideal vacation looking like?
PCC: Goa. I love beach destinations where there’s no pollution, just a relaxing area with a focus on lifestyle.
