Face-to-face with John Nollette, the new Artistic Director of Maison de Beauté Carita

Once upon a time, two sisters full of daring and XXL dreams were ready to conquer the world… The story of Carita has everything from a fairy tale, a success story, and a Netflix series. At the age of 11, the Faubourg Saint-Honoré walked the entire elite of the planet to entrust their beauty treatments to the tandem of Rosie and Maria Carita. Duchess of Windsor, Sophia Loren, Catherine Deneuve, Madonna … The guestbook no longer counts its stars. In 2022, Sleeping Beauty is no more and intends to regain its rank as the definitive title in Paris. Forbes pushed the doors of this establishment on an owner’s tour with its new general artistic director, hairstylist to the stars, John Nollette.

You’re already on top of a business juggling many of your hats: movie sets, the red carpet, and hair studios. With Carita, the whole episode?

John Nollett: It’s even more than that! I have a metaphysical connection to this venerable house. I was not yet ten years old when I already knew my future profession: hairdresser. As a child, I looked up with great admiration for this brand which was the emblem of excellence and glamour. The most famous people frequented the address on the Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré. One day I expressed my dream to my grandmother of going to visit Carita’s shop in Paris… From the prime of my nine years, I was really the only one of my age in my provinces who wished to discover this place. And it was awarded! Sisters Rosie and Maria Carita agreed to my request and opened the gates of their kingdom to me. Even though they weren’t around that day, I received a royal welcome and made memories for a lifetime…

Also I’ll never forget Catherine Deneuve was there with a care team, I couldn’t get close to her but it was just so scary. I love going back to this anecdote because it so perfectly illuminates my motivations and my “very special” relationship with Carita.

For decades, Carita embodied this French essence of beauty until she became the “Sleeping Beauty.” This universe has seen equally adept newcomers since then… wouldn’t it be hard to get back to the top of the bill?

All the people who loved this brand, this place, never stopped loving it. And they are many. So yeah, we were sad to see her asleep, disembodied. The house must be maintained on a daily basis, you need a master or mistress of the house, as in the theater and at ceremonies there is a conductor, an instrument behind the curtain-raiser. With the acquisition of L’Oréal Luxe, Carita went through different phases because there was no rush. The group was aware that it had redeemed a name, a legend, a symbol.

Under the leadership of Elisabeth Santager and Charles Villenes de Villennes, everything has been cleverly thought out to revive the legend by anchoring it in today’s world and respecting its DNA. They both insisted on reincarnating Maison Carita and thus asked me.

What are your conditions for participating in this project?

It was important to me to have the overall artistic direction. I would say that life, the experiences that have marked my career have prepared me for this stage. I was given carte blanche to broadcast my vision and that included creating a poster. To revive the famous formula of the Carita sisters who repeated it: “ everyone [doit] To be greeted as a king or a queen [doit] It gets occupied every time. ‘I brought a person of ceremonies. She also collaborated with the talented architects Sophie Thuillier and Cristiano Benzoni to design furniture to accommodate all of her hairdressing paraphernalia. I decided not to hide behind the scenes color prepping lab, for example, and the experience is much nicer now.

Special attention paid to welcome, ‘starred’ arrival…

Entering the House of Beauty, you pass the emblematic porch sealed with the Carita seal, then pass under a series of arches to reach the foyer. The black and white marble decoration enhanced with pink onyx testifies to the prestige of this private mansion of 1,800 square metres. On the ground floor, behind the Carita skincare products bar, encapsulated cavities welcome customers to self-diagnose their skin. Stairs then lead to 11 beauty suites and a hairdressing salon as well as a stunning private apartment. I invite my famous friends to come and spot the house on Thursday, it’s the day I run.

Customized eye and semi-permanent make-up services are also offered, as well as the 35-seat restaurant and café “Rosie” by chef Amandine Cheniot. The renovation project has been completely ecologically designed using materials and technologies that comply with the most demanding environmental certifications.

John Nollett: Under the leadership of Elisabeth Santager and Charles Villenes de Villennes, everything has been cleverly thought out to revive the legend by anchoring it in today’s world and respecting its DNA. They both insisted on reincarnating Maison Carita and thus asked me.”

Before it was a luxury cosmetics brand, Carita was above all a well-known hairdressing establishment. What made the title this place you had to see and be seen?

The brand has revolutionized the world of hairdressing by offering exceptional expertise coupled with innovative techniques, by offering a true five-star experience. In the 1950s, a woman went to the hairdresser at least twice a week to maintain her signature Hollywood look with a very elaborate bun. Hair was pulled and painted, the women slept with their hair styled, and came back again for a maintenance comb-over. The Carita sisters perfected the bun technique to perfection with their unique protocol of 100 brush strokes, and even developed an innovative hair care at the time!

When a character wanted to radically change and surprise her world, she entrusted her head to Maria and Rosie Carita. Spontaneously, I will quote you the famous bangs of Françoise Hardy or the boyish cut of Jean Seberg. The entire elite flocked here, from the Duchess of Windsor to Grace Kelly and Madonna in the ’80s.

The Hundred Brush Strokes, explain to us.

There was always this prerequisite when you first started taking a head in your hand. Because it was the best way to detangle hair, stimulate the scalp, irrigate the bulb… The friction of the brush gave the hair a real boost, which subsequently thickened it.

What is Caretta’s hairstyle in the era of John Nollette?

I scoured the archives for all of Carita’s famous hairstyles and wanted to mix them up with my signature: the shag. I myself advocate the idea of daring to be daring sometimes by changing up my hair look. I cut Vanessa Paradis’ hair very short for a movie, and created Monica Bellucci’s bangs. For my introduction, I used all of Maison de Beauté’s signature looks and launched a campaign.

In this new chapter, Carita looks to be the Parisian woman of today, a woman very sophisticated, not glamorous, who will play on the details. Carefree beauty. We don’t want to think of inspiration. For us, it is Maison de Beauté that takes this role to perfection. Our mission is to encourage all the women who walk through our doors, women who are not necessarily introduced to an artistic career. The stars that frequent our address do not play divas.

We talk a lot about women and men in all this?

They are just sensitive to their beauty, to take care of them. The choice of black and white design speaks to them as much as it does to women, it’s unisex. Carita is also their universe.

In this world where beauty is totally embraced, where does skincare fit in?

For seventy years, Maison Carita has been promoting the idea of combining hair beauty and skin treatment under the same umbrella. Dreamers, the Carita sisters worked with beauty researchers with the goal of thinning out the creams that were thick at the time. They were also the first to use devices to accompany the magic of the hands. Early in 1962, they introduced the Pro.Morphose Revolution and invented the lifting, radiance-enhancing ampoule. In 2023, Carita continues to be a pioneer in the field of beauty technologies and launches the seventh generation machine. The brand has recently enriched its anti-aging protocols and formulas thanks to the long-term work of L’Oréal’s scientific department.

Here we make all the beauty dreams of women and men come true.

For more :

Carita Beauty Center

11, Faubourg Saint-Honoré

75008 Paris

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