Travel: 24 Hours in Paris With Christophe Robin

24 Hours in Paris With Christophe Robin

Last week, I was invited to spend 24 hours in Paris with world-famous hair colourist, Christophe Robin. Our day started early with a Eurostar to Paris; we dined on croissants and coffee as we travelled through the channel tunnel, chatting about our favourite spots in Paris and shopping in Chanel (Jane is a real enabler). Upon arrival in Paris, we headed to our hotel and had a quick freshen-up, before meeting up with Christophe to have a quick explore of the area and go for lunch. There’s no such thing as a light lunch in Paris, so we ate oysters (I skipped the oysters, but Christophe can apparently eat 20 in one sitting), steak et frites and coffee et petit fours. Once we finished our leisurely lunch, we headed to Christophe Robin’s salon and the fun really started!

16 rue Bachaumont

The Christophe Robin salon is located at 16, rue Bachaumont, in the Montorgueil / Les Halles region of Paris, this area is a little like Soho or Shoreditch in London, or the Meat-Packing district of New York. It’s filled with hipsters, cute coffee shops, artisan bakers and independent boutiques. It has a very charming feel to it, very historical and right in the thick of it all, is Christophe Robin’s Salon.

Hair Care

Christophe Robin is the colourist to the stars, he has worked with the likes of Vanessa Paradis, Kristin Scott Thomas, Catherine Deneuve, Kylie Minogue, Claudia Schiffer, Faye Dunaway, Jeanne Moreau and Emmanuelle Béart, to name just a few. They love him for his ability to create natural looking tones and colours which help to emphasis their natural beauty. It’s all about the detail and Christophe Robin has a way of analysing a woman’s face to create the perfect shade and light for each woman. Over the past few years, Christophe Robin has created a hair care collection which uses natural ingredients which are so pure, many of them can be used on skin as well as hair. In the UK his collection is stocked at Space NK and Look Fantastic.

Salon Session

We spent our afternoon in the pretty pink chairs at Christophe Robin’s Salon, having our hair coloured and sipping on his own personal blend of herbal teas. The atmosphere in the salon is warm and friendly, Christophe is charming and his team are skilled and welcoming. I had my roots done, normally I would just paint the bleach on at home, but they did my touch up’s balayage-style which perfectly blended my natural roots with the bleach blonde bulk of my hair. I usually avoid highlights as I hate any streaks and the regrowth can look dreadful, but sometimes they managed to achieve the perfect result, a root retouch which doesn’t look either ‘painted on’ or ‘highlighted’. If I could, I would rebook to get my roots done again in 6 weeks!

Salon Decor

The salon itself is a visual treat, it’s the perfect blend of old-fashioned Parisian charm, modern design and playful kitsch treats. There are many rooms, some tucked away for private clients and others more open, filled with comfortable sofas and chairs. There are glamorous drapes, fresh plants, flamingo oil paintings and Lanvin figurines. Scattered in between the hair care products I found seashell encrusted dog statues and poodle pottery. As a lover of all things adorably kitsch, I was smitten! However, the creme de la creme of the store, for me, has to be the giant open seashell clam, which is actually a basin where clients can get their hair washed. It’s pretty much the greatest thing ever and when I shared photos of it on my Instagram stories, I got a flurry of ‘OMG’ messages!

Dinner Date

After we had our hair done, we went back to Hotel Bachaumont for a rest and refresh, before we headed out for dinner. We had been expecting something low-key and local, but instead we were whisked off in cabs to the Trocadero where we dinned at the stunning Cafe de l’homme. It has the most beautiful view of paris, it over looks the Eiffel tower and we got there just in time to see the 7pm sparkle! Over dinner Christophe told us more about his life and his work and shared some fun stories about his experiences. We all went to bed that night very full, happy and tired. Ready for an early Eurostar Train back in the morning.

♥

A huge thank you to Christophe Robin and his team for doing my hair and inviting me to see his salon, I had the most wonderful time and I can’t wait to share some more thoughts on his hair care range in a few weeks once I have used everything for a little longer! Disclaimer: All travel & Expenses paid for by Christophe Robin.