Sylvie Grateau is a woman of luxury. She adores five star hotels, designer fashion and a glass — or bottle — of white wine with lunch.
So it’s no surprise the character, played by Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu, went to Carita Maison de Beauté — a revered beauty haven that’s hosted starlets, socialites and royal heiresses for the last seven decades — in the latest installment of “Emily in Paris,” which premiered on Dec. 18.
A rendering of inside Carita’s Maison de Beauté.
Courtesy of Carita
Located in the Triangle d’Or on 11 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the three-floor atelier, also known as the House of Beauty and the Hive, was inaugurated by Toulouse-born sisters Maria and Rosy Carita in 1952, in the presence of the Duchess of Windsor. The Carita sisters had opened their first salon seven years prior after working as apprentices to the legendary Parisian hairdresser, Gervais.
The Saint-Honoré flagship was one of the first beauty institutions to employ makeup artists, hairstylists and masseurs under one roof. Where others offered a mix of skin or massage services only, Carita served a full menu of treatments spanning all categories of beauty. The approach was informed by Maria and Rosy’s belief that if women are servicing at least one aspect of their appearance, they should service it all. “If your hair is beautifully styled, but your skin and makeup are neglected, the effect fails. Beauty should be global, from head to toe,” they would say.
The Carita Maison de Beauté store on Rue Saint Honoré in Paris.
Carita has also been the birthplace of many trends. It was where Françoise Hardy got her bespoke fringe cut for the first time and where Catherine Deneuve’s soft blond coloring was invented. And if it wasn’t for a Carita stylist, Mireille Darc may have never made the switch from dark brown hair to platinum blond in the early 1960s before she became Hollywood royalty.
The A-list clientele undoubtedly put the House of Beauty at the vanguard of culture in the late ’50s and ’60s. Photographs of Hardy and Darc under the portico and inside the main entrance hall are still admired today. “It was a place where everyone wanted to be seen,” Charles Finaz de Villaine, Carita international brand director, previously told WWD.
Others such as Jane Fonda, Barbara Streisand and Sophia Loren have since become de facto influencers, supporting the business and frequenting its salons.
Portrait of singer Francoise Hardy in her hotel during an interview with Women’s Wear Daily in 1966.
Fairchild Archive/Penske Media/PMC
Indeed, the 19,375-square-foot flagship has undergone quite a few updates over the last 70-plus years. The institute, which fosters the next generation of estheticians and experts, was reimagined in 2020 by architects Christiano Benzoni and Sophie Thuillier, who studied the Golden Age of the one-stop sanctuary to create the contemporary hive it is today.
Upon entry, clients are ushered through a tunnel of golden arches that lead to the main hall, where skin diagnostics are made in three separate alcoves. The achromatic design aesthetic marries traditional luxury with modern-day technology. Tall ceilings and marble staircases snake across the room, connecting archways opposite to one another on each level. Imagine the moving staircase in Hogwarts Chanel-ified.
A studio space inside the House of Beauty.
The first floor consists of 11 black-and-white studios — five for skin care, four for body care, one eye enhancement room and a double studio space, measuring 108 square feet to 183 square feet.
In episode eight of the fifth season of “Emily in Paris,” Leroy-Beaulieu’s character, Sylvie, is filmed inside a room featuring Carita’s signature marble cavity flanked by black paneling and side-by-side leather lounge chairs separated by an oval-shaped side table.
The second floor is home to a 915-square-foot hair salon, a 302-square-foot private salon and a 1,345-square-foot restaurant named Rosy. The final level is where The Look Studio is situated, offering semipermanent makeup, lash lifts and brow shaping. Also on this floor are more treatment rooms and a private apartment with a hairdressing and double treatment suite.
Maria and Rosy’s mission to cement Carita’s position as a global leader in beauty remains at the heart of the business today. “We really want this address to become the worldwide landmark for beauty, to develop the Carita experience as far as we can and to push the boundaries of luxury in everything we do,” Finaz de Villaine said.
