When Mila Moursi arrived in L.A. in 1979, there were facialists but it was a lacklustre scene. As an enterprising young French aesthetician trained in traditional European therapies, hydrotherapy and cosmetic chemistry, she seized the opportunity. Setting up her salon in Beverly Hills, Moursi imported a hydro tub and began offering treatments that were at the forefront of skin science. “We did treatments with the tub, cellulite massage, body scrubs and seaweed wraps. Back then treatments like these were cutting-edge,” she says. It wasn’t long before Hollywood’s biggest names, both male and female luminaries, started flocking to the salon. “It was the right place and the right time,” she says.
“I had Frank Sinatra, Gregory Peck, Robert Stack, Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner. Some of them I’d watched as a school girl in Paris, like Roger Moore!” A decade later, the name Mila Moursi was passed to a new generation of fresh-faced actors. Courtney Cox and Jennifer Aniston are long-time devotees, as are Ellen DeGeneres, Charlize Theron, Rashida Jones and Chelsea Handler.
“It’s not easy to keep a celebrity client because they are always looking for the next miracle,” Moursi says. “It’s an industry where appearance is closely tied to booking their next job, so they can become insecure. I don’t do quick fixes, so sometimes they leave, and sometimes they come back when they realise the quick fixes don’t work. Generally, our clients stay with us for years and years – we’re lucky that way. I commit to the client and give them the best product, equipment and service. So, it’s luck, but it’s also earned.”
Almost 40 years on, Moursi keeps up with the latest industry advancements while standing by European traditions; her nourishing, beautifying and anti-ageing skincare collection is, to this day, made entirely in France. The best part? All the products that keep A-Listers hooked are available at MECCA. Moursi, who visited MECCA HQ, shared some of her wisdom with us.