Best Face Forward

By Lisa Arnett
November 2023 View more Shop

New Naperville spa focuses on services from the neck up

What if treating yourself to a spa visit was just as convenient as ordering takeout? That’s what Face Foundrié aims to provide in downtown Naperville, with same-day bookings for facials offered every day of the week. “We work from the neck up—we are all things face,” says Nicole Delahanty, who opened this locale in July at 225 South Main Street and also operates two Chicago locations, in Bucktown and the West Loop. Services include facials; eyebrow waxing, tinting, and lamination; and eyelash enhancements. “On the lash side, we do lash lifts and tints. They can last six to eight weeks, and you can be mascara free and not worry about it when you’re out in the heat or the pool.”

Face Foundrié was founded in 2019 by a Minnesota mom of three who wanted facial services but booking an appointment weeks ahead of time didn’t jibe with her hectic lifestyle.

Delahanty first visited Face Foundrié in Minneapolis as a client and fell in love with both the services and the convenience. “I had an exceptionally busy schedule given that I was a mom, had a big career, and traveled a lot,” she says. “I had a wonderful experience and knew the brand owner, Michele Henry, personally, so when she decided to expand through franchising, I was one of the first people she reached out to.”

And so Delahanty made a career change and became a Chicago-area franchise owner, starting with the Bucktown shop in August 2021.

The Naperville space has 12 salon beds separated by curtains. “The open concept creates a little more of a social environment, which is why some clients come with a friend, or their mom, or their [adult] kids—and they pull the curtains back and they’re all together,” Delahanty says. Five or more friends who want to visit together can reserve a Face Party, with 10 percent of the total price of services back on a Face Foundrié gift card to the host. “We have thrown up to 30-person facial parties as a fundraiser for schools.”

Face Foundrié clients forgo the typical change-into-a-robe routine. “It saves them a lot of time to not have to get undressed and redressed and mess up their hair and things of that nature,” says Delahanty, adding that the reduced fuss makes it easier for customers to book a slot over a lunch hour on a workday. “At the same time, even though it’s efficient, we start every service with guided breathing and essential oils and a wonderful weighted blanket. So it might be a 50-minute service, but people think they’ve been on the table for two hours.”

The spa’s basic facial menu consists of five options that range from the Cryo Queen ($79, featuring cold therapy and an LED treatment) to the Firm AF ($99, featuring a peptide-packed firming facial mask). You can customize your facial with pampering add-ons such as a scalp massage ($15); LED light session ($30); or dermaplaning ($35), a procedure that can help skin look temporarily brighter and smoother by removing the top layer of dead skin cells and vellus hairs—a.k.a. peach fuzz—with a surgical blade. “It’s our most sought-after treatment,” Delahanty says.

You can book services as you go or sign up for a membership, which includes one facial with an add-on service per month at a discount ($89 and up) and 10 percent off other services and products. If you’re really pressed for time, there are also 20-minute mini-facials ($45 to $55). Brow services range from $25 to $75, and lash services are $25 to $80.

At its Chicago locations, Face Foundrié has about 1,100 members who visit for monthly facials. The spa also features a retail section with its own brand of skin care products as well as popular lines such as PCA Skin, Grown Alchemist, HoliFrog, and Bioeffect.

Photos: Ashlee Cole Photography