We Tried It: The Liquid-Gold Facial

Some things in life just beg for a touch of gold — arm parties, your New Year’s Eve dress, and, hell, even your mani. But, one place we never thought we’d see the shimmery stuff? On our face (aside from the occasional swipe of sparkly shadow, that is). Surprisingly, gold is having a major moment in the skin-care world, so of course we had to investigate.

After the Internet went abuzz about Bar Refaeli’s liquid-gold facial, we thought we’d test the precious-metal waters and see what all the commotion was about. Lucky for us, Labelle Day Spa in San Francisco (a favorite of Marissa Mayer) offers this nod-to-the-Gold Rush treatment, so we strolled right up and prepped ourselves to be doused in luxury. "Gold treats all the usual suspects: uneven pigmentation, loss of elasticity, inflammation, and bacteria. Aesthetics is never about exact science; like any art, it is about intuition and great traditions," says spa director Asya Komarova.

We received the Caviar & Carat Facial (ranging in price from $180 to $550), which is an integration of exfoliation and treatment with a liquid-gold mask, gold leaf, and caviar ampules. Read on to see how the glitzy process is done.