“I felt this partnership was the perfect fit and had the perfect timing. We are currently celebrating our 50th anniversary and Repêchage is on the heels of their 50th as well. The Repêchage brand has the highest-quality management systems in place as they are ISO 9001:2015-certified which fits seamlessly into our quality policy here at The Face Place. We have incorporated their product line into our back bar and for our retail. Though we do have our own product line, we felt Repêchage was a great inclusion as skincare is not a ‘one size fits all’ endeavour. We wanted the adoption and adaption of this quality product to be done properly and practically, thus I invited Antonia, and Vickie to lead the staff in a hands-on training to ensure they are properly equipped with the relevant knowledge, skills and ability to continue to deliver exemplary and quality service to our clients,” explained Marie Simone Hall-Smith, managing director, The Face Place Salon and Institute of Aesthetics.

Marie Simone Hall-Smith’s birth and foray in the beauty/lifestyle sphere are inextricably linked. Her mum, Elima Hall, the late doyenne of Caribbean beauty, started The Face Place in October 1973, the same year she was born. Hall-Smith, who it could be argued was weaned on beauty formula, took over the reins of the business upon the sudden passing of her mum on February 11, 2006, and has remained committed to not only the continuity of the business but its global competitiveness. To this end she, along with her husband Paul Smith, commissioned in 2010 architects Lisa Seivright and Brian Morris to modify, modernise and add Zen appeal to the spa’s 3 Carvalho Drive location. The wooden edifice designed with the dual purpose of affording a bold statement and lifting the slab roof’s flat appearance with a three-dimensional eye-opener provides the perfect backdrop for the menu options afforded its clientele.

Having recently attained a significant birthday milestone Hall-Smith has once again upped the ante by forging a relationship with Repêchage (French for second chance) and is laser-focused on giving our skin a second chance.

Hers is the Rock’s first but the line is in the Cayman Islands, Aruba/Bonaire/Curacao, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Bermuda. Repêchage also has a large presence in spas and distributors in Central America, including Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Honduras.

In an industry that some might argue is already product-saturated, SO asks Repêchage founder and CEO Lydia Sarfati what’s so special about this line of products. Here’s what she shared.

“Repêchage has had a strong global presence and appeal and is now available in over 50 countries around the world. I created the Repêchage line of professional and retail skincare products based on my experience as an aesthetician and skincare expert, formulated with science-based, high-performance, bio-active ingredients to create real, visible, clinically proven results at the spa and at home,” she shared.

“Its success, she posits, “stems from its dedication to quality and performance, combining the most advanced scientific research and ingredients with its unique, proprietary seaweed filtrate. We sustainably harvest our own pure seaweed off the coast of Maine, and then, by an exclusive process, create our nutrient-rich seaweed filtrate at our manufacturing facility. This filtrate contains the most active potency of 12 vitamins, 18 amino acids and 42 trace minerals to work most effectively on the skin. Today, together with my husband David Sarfati, COO, and daughter and co-partner Shiri Sarfati, we oversee a state-of-the-art ISO 9001:2015-certified manufacturing and distribution facility in Secaucus, NJ.

“The global success of Repêchage is also based on the unique unidose system of professional facial application, with each step of the facial opened at the time of the treatment. This assures the client of the highest form of hygiene, as well as consistency in results,” she added.

Face Place habituées have already begun basking in the Repêchage glow for a few weeks now and concur with Sarfati’s response. And we’re not the only ones. Repêchage products are loved by celebrities such as Jordana Brewster, Eva Longoria, Cher, Sienna Miller, Katherine Heigl and Simon Cowell. Rapper Jim Jones is a fan of the iconic Four-Layer Facial, and three-time Grammy Award-winning artist Wyclef Jean was gifted Repêchage products when he participated in the 10th Anniversary Lang Lang Music Foundation Gala, of which Repêchage was a sponsor.

The benefits of Repêchage products have also been touted by editors and influencers from NewBeauty magazine and Beauty Insider, as well as featured in Vogue, The New York Times, on the Today Show, CNN and Good Morning America. It has won multiple awards in industry-leading media such as Health.com, Dermascope and New Beauty and, too, the “Best of Black Beauty” by Essence magazine for the Hydra Dew Pure Elixir Balm.

What SO loves most about this line (apart from the goodie bag of leftovers that you leave the Face Place with) is the facial massage. The décolletage is not forgotten. Beauty experts have long expounded the correlation between facial massages and glowing skin. But, in an industry of fillers and indeed myriad of gadgets to stimulate, lift and tone Repêchage almost takes us back to basics. Sarfati fills us in. “When I launched the Repêchage Four-Layer Facial in 1980, I wanted to create a facial experience that would deliver real results without use of electrical devices that created the same high level of results so that anyone could perform this treatment anywhere in the world. The idea was to create consistently perfect results no matter where it was or who was performing it. That was the Four-Layer Facial.

“Today, we incorporate many modalities, including Galvanic, Iontophoresis, LED and the Ultrasonic Skin Spatula, to complement and augment spa services and at-home products. The at-home products are formulated to create spa-quality results on their own, including the express Sheet Mask Collection and the new Starter Collections for every skin type.”

Surely there might have been a moment of doubt. For Sarfati, however, research and preparation were key components.

“At Repêchage, we explore the scientific benefits of the latest modalities, and we continue to research the latest developments in skincare science to create the most efficacious treatments and products for our consumers and clients. We are continuing to explore advanced modalities to create practical devices that can be used in the salon and at home. We also work with dermatologists and plastic surgeons to create skin care protocols that help augment the medical aesthetic procedures such as dermaplaning, microneedling, laser therapy and plastic surgery. These partnerships have seen measurable results in benefits to the skin pre- and post- procedure,” she underscored.

Repêchage is French for second chance. It has two meanings—it literally means “re-fish,” as in the traditional practice of fishermen casting their nets out again after an unsuccessful first try. This has great affinity to the Repêchage heritage of Beauty From the Sea with nutrient rich seaweed. In sports, the word is applicable for when a losing team is given a second chance to win at a tournament. For the Lydia Sarfati team, though, “Repêchage means a second chance for beautiful skin. No matter what your skin condition, from bad habits, genetics, environment and the aging process, Repêchage can make your dreams of beautiful, ageless, radiant skin come true”.

As SO raises a Champagne toast to The Face Place at 50, we raise yet another in celebration of Marie Simone Hall-Smith and finally to beautiful, ageless, radiant skin.

This is the first in a three-part summer series on the business of beauty.