MELANIE GRANT, SKIN WHISPERER

Written by LAURA REGENSDORF
Photography by BEN HASSETT

Even in Manhattan, where it’s easy to remain anonymous to those in your five-block radius, there is nothing like a good neighbor. They have your spare keys and vice versa, should one of you need a plant watered or package received; in due time, they’re stopping by for tea and fizzy gossip. At VIOLET GREY’s new Madison Avenue store, the neighbor one flight up is none other than the spectacularly talented aesthetician Melanie Grant—a Sydney native by way of London, who counts this as her first East Coast location. As for the proverbial cup of sugar one might need in a pinch? It’s the very best skin care: downstairs on THE SHELVES, upstairs on the luckiest faces in town.

It’s not the first time that Grant and VIOLET GREY have practically shared an address. In 2019, then still based in Sydney, the aesthetician opened a jewel-box space on Melrose Place, steps from VIOLET’s Los Angeles flagship. The two worlds overlapped (Grant’s regular clients include Victoria Beckham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and she works with both Chanel and Augustinus Bader), and soon Cassandra Grey stopped in for a treatment—and left a friend. Years later, when considering who should take the space above the Upper East Side location, Grey floated it to the aesthetician in a catch-up call. “It was very serendipitous,” says Grant, who had New York on her list. “It was now or never.”

Grant’s path to becoming a skin whisperer of global renown began straight out of school. “It’s the only job I’ve ever had, actually,” she says of her single-minded pursuit. Two trainings—with Biologique Recherche in France, and Valmont in Switzerland—proved formative, guiding her approach to intuitive, individually tailored treatments that skew elegant and high-tech. A decade ago, Grant began hosting appointments during Paris Fashion Week (“Not many people come to Australia, so you've got to go to them,” she says), which cemented her name in a beauty industry that’s both tight-knit and globe-trotting. It only makes sense to have a foothold in the cities that roll out the red carpets for the Oscars and the Met Gala. Famous faces seek out the best.

But the most fruitful part of this upstairs arrangement is the Melanie Grant Edit: a rundown of her most-reached-for skin care picks, including VIOLET GREY favorites alongside four brands debuting on THE SHELVES. There is Biologique Recherche, known for its cult following and results-oriented products—among them the obsessed-over P50, an exfoliating lotion, plus a lineup of skin-reviving treatments (Crème Masque Vernix, Biomagic Mask, Masque Vivant). Valmont, the ultra-luxe line backed by Swiss R&D, is here with its standout cream mask, called Prime Renewing Pack. “It just feels expensive—I can’t describe it,” says Grant. She is also bringing in Auteur (the Definitive Hyaluron Activator Serum is “instant gratification for really juicy skin”) and Noble Panacea, whose “delivery systems are exceptional,” she says, singling out the Chronobiology Sleep Mask.

At VIOLET GREY, there’s no shortage of expert opinions—a chorus we hold dear. But this one is worth the extra shelf space. We know you’ll agree.