All about: Ashleigh Scott, bespoke facialist

It’s widely known that celebrities and ‘it’ girls have facialists on hand to deliver bespoke treatments according to their skin’s whims where and when they need it, and international beauty names like Eve Lom and Kate Somerville kicked off their careers through word of mouth from some very influential clients.

Now Ponsonby and Grey Lynn have their very own bespoke facialist just a phone call or email away, in the form of petite blonde aesthetician Ashleigh Scott. When I visited Ashleigh at her Grey Lynn clinic at the end of January she had only been open a week, but word was already spreading about her presence in the ‘hood.

Her background as a facialist is international, and she refined her knowledge and experience through working with top facialists and professionals in an exclusive clinic in Knightsbridge, London. “I only returned to New Zealand last December,” she says, “but I knew straight away that the Grey Lynn/Ponsonby area was where I wanted to be.” It didn’t take her long to find a quiet, private space beneath Loxy’s hair salon in the Summerfield Villa block on Richmond Road, where she delivers facial treatments particular to each and every lucky client.

“Everything I do is completely bespoke,” she explains, “and is about what your skin needs at that time, your lifestyle, the weather that may be affecting it. I then use different combination of very high performance products to treat it accordingly.” Ashleigh takes a natural approach to skin, believing it is a reflection of your lifestyle, internal wellbeing and environment. She takes also into account your individual skin concerns and tailors the treatment to get the best outcome for you. Using her extensive knowledge of skin, she cleverly merges active skincare with facial massage, to lift and firm the facial contours while expelling toxins from the skin. The end result? That all-too-elusive ‘glow’ that we all want but are often not exactly sure how to achieve.

Her philosophy is to work with the skin using non-invasive methods but very high performance formulas to get the best outcome for every client. “I really take it back to basics,” she says to me, “and don’t use any machines or needles. I work with the skin and not against it and have spent time researching the very best product lines to deliver enhanced results.”

Her product lines of choice are Skinceuticals and some favourites from the Medik8 line, which are used together to get the best result for you. The combination could include deep cleansing using clay, paraffin and extraction, with exfoliation coming from chemical and enzymatic peeling along with face lifting and contouring coming from a deep facial massage and lymph drainage. “The products I use are designed to really make a change in the skin and are full of the likes of antioxidants and AHAs,” explains Ashleigh to me, “and contain some pretty amazing ingredients.”

After our chat I spent an hour submitting to Ashleigh’s hands for a Signature Facial ($140.00). It incorporated manual skin and muscle softening techniques that instantly released any tension held in my face, which as well as enabling unrestricted flow of oxygen to all areas of the skin and muscles felt like pure heaven. The aim was to bring clarity, luminosity and tone to my post-holidays dehydrated skin, and a neck and soldier massage with pure coconut oil that my skin drank up was the absolute icing on the cake. The products were used in such a well balanced combination that I left without a hint of redness or having been pummelled into submission, and the next day my skin really did have more than a spring in its step.

Ashleigh also has the option of a 90-minute Super Facial ($180.00), which she says is a restorative treatment featuring a plumping, brightening and hydrating collagen mask for added skin radiance, a full upper body massage and more time to focus on your individual concerns. There are also the likes of eyelash and eyebrow tinting, waxing and tidying available add ons, so you can just lie back and wake up truly transformed.

Traditional with a twist - Ashleigh Scott does it extremely well.