LC Meets: Haute Custom Beauty

I am a bit of a skincare nut, always have been since I launched my own (very shortlived) bodycare brand back when I was 13 (I basically melted down some soap and added medicinal herbs from my mum’s herb garden!)

A couple of months ago I experienced one of the best facials of my life. I am picky, picky, picky about my facials and this one ticked every box: the products were amazing and bespoke to me,, the techniques used were performance focused and best of all it left my skin with a glow and a tautness that lasted for days. I had to find out more and I was lucky enough to bag a brief interview with the inspirational Co-Founder & Chairman, Haute Custom Beauty, Diego Mendez-Sabre.

LC: Thank you for doing this, I find the Haute Custom Beauty brand and ethos fascinating, could you tell me a little more about the history?

DMS: Our brand’s history is pretty romantic if I do say so! I have been always passionate about skincare but my profession at that time, and still is, a researcher living in Austin, Texas, which is one of the most progressive and entrepreneurial cities in the world. Gerard’s family has been in the skincare business for three generations in Barcelona. We met when he moved to Austin to earn his MBA at the University of Texas at Austin. What started out as a project for his graduate degree has become our shared passion.

LC: The first thing that struck me about the brand during my facial was the bespoke nature of the approach to treatment and the complexity of the combinations offered, I’d love to know more about this:

DMS: We define our brand as tailored skin wellness. Through our research we have determined there are actually over 800 different types of skin. In summary, people are different and a single or even 3 or 4 different options most brands offer doesn’t sufficiently personalise to most people’s needs so we have developed a proprietary analysis tool where clients answer questions about their current skin condition and goals. We use the results to determine the best plan for their skin.

We do keep it simple for our clients though - in our 30-day regimen we provide 30 individual ampules. You open one ampule a day in a pre-defined order. Easy!

So it may seem complex when I mention 800 skin types, but the reality is that the client who buys our product has a complete and simple regimen that we believe allows our clients to be the best version of themselves.

LC: The facial I enjoyed was amazing and complex, would you mind outlining the different stages?

DMS: Thank you for the compliment. Your positive feedback on our Haute Custom Beauty Signature Facial is consistent with what we hear over and over again. What excites us most is that we have many skincare professionals, spa owners, make-up artists and others with years of skin experience expressing their amazement at the pleasure and results of our facial. This is an exacting crowd and we are pleased at their reception to the facial and our products.

The 90-minute Haute Custom Beauty Signature Facial you experienced won the best facial concept in Spain this last year. You experienced a professional facial technician that has been specifically trained in our flagship Haute Custom Beauty Spa & Institute on Passeg de Gracia in beautiful Barcelona.

That said, high level steps of the Haute Custom Beauty Signature Facial are that your skin is cleaned, toned, a pearl mask is used, and a second algae mask is used (this is only available professionally). Of course one or more of our ampules will be used depending on your skin type. And we use our semi-precious stone dipped in ice to gently massage throughout. Clearly there is much more to the process but these are the key steps of our very luxurious facial.

LC: Your products are also fascinating, marrying cosmeceutical performance and botanics, how do you stand out from other brands?

DMS: Our product line differentiation is firstly, that our products work. The results are the primary reason people seek skin treatment so this has to be a priority. We are pleased we exceed most people’s expectations.

We have achieved this by creating products that mix dermatologically correct natural plant & marine extracts with the newest interactive and molecules without known and suspected harmful preservatives and chemicals such as parabens, silicones, sulfates, PEGs, phthalates, mineral oil or any other petroleum derivatives.

So while we aren’t the only brand to achieve positive skin results, we are one of the few that does rightly wave the “Clean Skincare” banner.

I think it is worth noting that many of the major luxury brands still include ingredients that we recommend they avoid, as do regulatory organisations. And I often get asked why those brands include those undesirable ingredients. In our view, it is much harder and more expensive to create an effective skincare line without some of the undesirable ingredients.

We view it as our responsibility to our clients to ensure that we do everything in our power to ensure their long-term health is not negatively affected by our products.

We would be devastated if that were to happen. We take this responsibility very, very seriously. So we are 100% committed to clean skincare.

LC: This may be a tricky one (I’m asking you to name your favourite child!), but do you have any hero products?

In addition to our 30-day Beauty Rituals (with fully tailored and ready-to-wear options), which is truly our “Hero”, we do have 7-day packages. We also have a new product which will soon be on the market called Jet Set Instant Glow which we liken to a Facial-in-a-box. It’s a great way to experience the full HCB product line from start to finish- with a one-experience wash, toner, pearl mask, ampule, and moisturizers. Take it with you to Ibiza or Mykonos this summer after a long day at the beach and look incredible as you walk in the party like you were walking onto your yacht!

We continually sell out of our Neck & Décolletage Ultimate Lift Treatment. We find that most people don’t focus on this area and the results of our treatment are outstanding.

As the sun is now shining longer each day we find our Radiance Suprerbe Day Cream with SPF 35 is also in high demand. In addition to shielding against UVA/ UVB, it also provides radiation protection and has anti-pollution properties will at the same time providing skin nutrition and anti-aging. And as an added bonus it comes in 7 skin tones so it’s great to put on after the gym without the need to put your full make-up back on.

We focus on producing the most outstanding products possible so we have clients that return again and again for our washes, toners, eye creams, and more.

As a tailored skincare brand we do have regimens for all skin types so we are working hard to ensure that our clients find all our Haute Custom Beauty products to be their hero products!

LC: That’s such a great point, what’s a hero for me may not be for other people. Finally, where can I buy the products and where can I find out more?

Right now we are available in select spas and retail locations in Spain, Mexico and the United States, with expansion planned globally in the coming years. And we are available globally on our website,

Haute Custom Beauty Institute & Spa Barcelona: spa@hautecustombeauty.com