Jon’s Skin Care at The Gendarmerie

Probably the best waxing treatment I’ve ever received! Jon is amazingly skilled and and very friendly. I got first class treatment! He uses great products and was incredibly thorough and focused. The hour flew by! Looking forward to coming back and trying some of the other services he offers: facials, body scrubs.
I highly recommend him!

Jon is simply amazing! His gentle demeanor, warm smile and sense of humor combined with an expert massage and facial made for a wonderful afternoon! I will be back for sure ;-)

Jon is simply wonderful! His body scrubs and treatments are first-​rate. Do yoursefl a favor and make an appointment NOW!

Clean, professional and my skin was amazing when i left… only wonderful things to say about the treatment and the esthetician.

An absolutely wonderful man, at an absolutely wonderful place, in an absolutely wonderful neighborhood. Here’s my justification for redundant adjectivication, in chronological order:
1. Parking. It’s a nightmare in LA, isn’t it? Ugh. I hate it. Hope they have a parking lot here, though that’s almost unheard of in… what? Valet parking? Nice, but I don’t want to spend… uh… oh, it’s free. Just tip the nice gentleman? Oh. Okay. That couldn’t be easier.
2. Walk inside and greeted by the manager, Noël. Big smile, he knows who I am before I even sit down (it was early and I was the first appointment of the day, but still…). I’m offered a soft drink and asked if I’d eaten anything. The owner makes sandwiches on the weekends. I was starved, and had a chicken salad sandwich and a Diet Coke (they were out of Mexican coke, my favorite). Hopefully they don’t do the LA thing and charge me a… what? Oh, it’s complimentary? Uh. Wow. Okay. I’ve now parked my car (free) and eaten lunch and had a soft drink (free). Am I still in LA?
3. The setting is beautiful. Combination of an old French provincial cottage and your uncle’s house and a little LA boutique. There’s original art on the walls, rich leather furniture, a functional fireplace (that wasn’t lit, thank God, it was 78F). I’m relaxed now and I haven’t even DONE anything yet.
4. Jon greets me and takes me back to another little cottage behind the front boutique. Mellow music, smells faintly of high-​end products. A couple lounges on the back patio, chatting and noshing. They look happy. I go into the room and lay down and we begin. Jon is conversational yet not obnoxiously so (like some aestheticians tend to do). We talk about my skin. I know almost none of his terms but me smiles and explains everything to me, without making me feel ignorant (though I am). He chooses techniques and products and tells me how to keep myself looking young. It may be too late for me at forty. I’m a gay man, they have special housing for people my age in this neighborhood… but the thoughtfulness was there. Regardless of my poor attempts at humour, the hour went by and I walked out and I just felt… refreshed. Relaxed. Mellow.
5. As I exit I’m invited to join the owner, a massage therapist, and two «regular» customers on the back patio who are now having a little wine. We chat and sip and nosh and my skin tingles in the afternoon air. It was lovely. I could have stayed for hours, and I was assured I was welcome to do just that. But life (and professorial duties) call.
6. I pay on my way out. And it’s maybe $ 10 more than other facials at «cheap» places. Unbelievable. It’s like I was seated in coach and the gate agent offered me a first-​class upgrade for $ 10. Kind of a no-​brainer. I almost paid $ 700 to get out of coach in Hong Kong last week… I’m willing to pay a little more to get a LOT more out of a service. Thrilled at the value for the money here.
7. I get my car and I tip the valet. Head to work. For the first time in my LIFE, after getting a facial, someone noticed. The exact compliment was «You look really good. You look all refreshed and happy». Never had anyone notice my post-​service refreshed look before.
Spoiled for life. I can never go back to «coach» after this place, and this facial with Jon.