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Amal Clooney & Katy Perry Had an Intense De-Puffing Facial Massage Before the Met Gala

Behind the scenes with the fashion industry’s go-to same-day facialist, Thuyen Nguyen.

Skin
celebrity met gala skin prep

When celebs lie down for a facial with Thuyen Nguyen, they know they’re about to enjoy one last hour of relaxation before the craziness of hair, makeup, and wardrobe ensues. Nguyen, who has become a go-to for Michelle Williams, Jennifer Aniston, and Uma Thurman, and is known for turning hotel beds into impromptu spas—so his clients often nap while he massages their faces for their red carpet debut.

At this year’s Met Gala, the former masseuse turned skin magician was tasked with de-puffing the visage of co-chair Amal Clooney, in addition to Katy Perry and Cindy Crawford…and a few others. Here, Nguyen took us behind the scenes as he ran from one Upper East Side hotel to the next to give Hollywood’s best a heavenly glow.


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“What I do is universal—my clients range from 15 to 93 years old. My FaceXercise approach is very much centered around the same physiological benefits that working out has on keeping the body youthful.
“Because of water retention, clients come in and a lot of the times are unrecognizable; they have no cheekbones, and their faces are round. So for the red carpet I do a very intense lymphatic drainage to clean out the skin and to get rid of the puffiness. Then I do a very rigorous workout type facial that I developed to tone all the muscles. I do this back and forth with my skin-care line that was created to work with my method.
“I’ve worked with the most sensitive skin in Hollywood, from Michelle Williams to Natalie Portman. But I have a no-breakout record, which is very unusual for facialists.”
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