The one who founded the house
Angélique. Seventeen years in luxury spa houses. An at-home massage practice, chosen, in La Ciotat. A house that looks like her, at last.
I began in the spas. Several years as a practitioner in luxury houses, learning the slow gestures, the silence, the listening to the body one welcomes. That is where I understood what "to care for" truly means — not a protocol applied, but a presence offered.
I then wanted to carry that practice beyond the spa walls. To come to people's homes, into their interior, into their rhythm. Working at home removes every friction from the ritual : no journey, no changing room, no reception, no hurried return into traffic. Just the ritual, and then your sofa.
A ritual is not a performance. It is an appointment kept, a gesture laid down, a shared silence. Everything else — the decoration, the vocabulary, the promises — can fade away.
Maison AV was born of that choice. A travelling house of care, anchored in La Ciotat, moving along the coast. Six signature rituals, built on the luxury spa heritage, open to your singularity. No endless catalogue. No miracle promise. Time, gesture, and the possibility of returning.
Career
Seventeen years, six houses.
From Riviera palaces to five-star seaside maisons. A long, patient, demanding apprenticeship.
Six signature rituals, at home, along the coast. The sum of the houses she has passed through, carried in her own name.
A return to advice, to dermo-cosmetics, to ingredients. A useful pause before rebuilding her own house.
Hotel spa. Dr. Hauschka protocols. Holistic approach, respect for the skin's natural rhythms.
Boutique spa. Augustinus Bader, Cellcosmet, HydraFacial protocols. High-end facial treatments, international clientele.
Summer season as an independent practitioner. Treatments in cabin and in villa, in one of the last Palaces on the Côte d'Azur.
Spa practitioner. Signature protocols Valmont, Thalion, Sothys. Long rituals, loyal clientele, exacting standards on gesture.
The method
What returns, from one ritual to the next.
Technique matters — but it does not do everything. I was trained, I practised in demanding spas, I refined gestures over several years. What changes a ritual is what one brings to the moment the hands are placed. A right presence, neither distant nor intrusive.
At home, because the context should ask for no effort. You welcome, I set up, the ritual begins. You stay at home afterwards. No transition to manage, no traffic to face, no glances to meet. Care is lived more fully when it asks for nothing but to be received.
A short consultation before each session. A few minutes to listen to what your body is asking for that day. The ritual adjusts to what is received — pressure, areas worked, tempo, music or silence. Nothing is set in stone.
An exacting standard on products and equipment. Pure plant oils, linen washed at 60° between each appointment, professional table, disinfected equipment. The same standards as in the houses I have passed through.
An editorial restraint on the word. No therapeutic promise, no spectacle, no medical vocabulary. The ritual speaks for itself. Maison AV is my house — I wanted it sober, precise, equal to the trust placed in me when someone opens their door.
Training & techniques
What I carry in my hands.
GESTURES & MASSAGES
- Californian & Swedish massage — foundation of luxury spa practice
- Traditional Japanese Kobido — natural facial lifting
- Lymphatic drainage & Brazilian modelling — silhouette and lightness
- Japanese Head Spa — scalp, nape, crown
HOUSES & PROTOCOLS
- Valmont · Thalion · Sothys — long-duration spa rituals
- Augustinus Bader · Cellcosmet — high-end facial care
- HydraFacial — device-based protocols
- Dr. Hauschka — holistic cosmetics
- Spa manager training — overview, operational rigour
Non-exhaustive list · Certifications available on request
A question, a doubt ?
Best to speak to one another.
If you hesitate between two rituals, if you have a contraindication to mention, or simply wish to exchange before booking — write or call.
