Their facials are out of this world. Raquel New York — a trendy Tribeca skincare studio beloved among boldfacers — is making waves in the beauty world for combining high-end aesthetics with astrology. Founded by Raquel Medina-Cleghorn, whose fans include Jennifer Lawrence, Emily Ratajkowski and Claire Danes, the pampering parlor housed in a sixth-floor loft on Walker Street is offering clients the option of birth chart readings from esthetician Monica David, along with their luxury facials.
“It opens your mind because we’re talking specifically about that person’s very personal life without me knowing a thing about them,” David, 33, told The Post. According to a Harris Poll earlier this year, 95% of Americans know their astrological sign, with 70% believing in it, saying they seek out readings for entertainment, self-understanding and self-care. Three in 10 Americans polled said they splurge on astrology-related services every month.
At Raquel New York, that splurge costs $150 — on top of fees ranging from $500 to $1,350 per appointment. For their money, guests receive a 25-minute astro analysis, which David promises can be eerily on point. “People are usually very surprised how much you can know by looking at their chart,” she said.
“Some of these readings have been creepily accurate, to the point of goose bumps on both of us because we don’t know each other and I already said something that was huge in this person’s life,” David recounted. The talented multitasker said she spends hours ahead of each appointment dissecting a client’s birth chart, writing what feels like an essay about their house placements, planetary alignments at their birth and what it all could mean — before giving them a “mini reading.” “It was this thing that I just started doing for fun,” she said, recalling the many times she sat in silence while her clients basked under the LED light for 15 to 20 minutes at a time.
David’s passion for both skincare and astrology was not inborn — as a teenager, she remembers struggling with acne and writing off astrology as nonsense, when her zodiac sign didn’t resonate with her. It was only after investing in her complexion and learning about complete birth charts — not just her singular sun sign — that she discovered her interest in both aesthetics and astrology. “I started to, over the years, dissect my chart,” said David, who spent years studying astrology in her free time.
“The more that I dug, the more that I learned about it.” Her time investment appears to have paid off — David’s astro-facials are “super popular” among clientele, Medina-Cleghorn told The Post. Since opening the studio in March 2023, the stylist-turned-esthetician has attracted so much business that she books out a month in advance.
While some devout clients followed her from her prior stint at Joanna Czech, she has captivated A-list clients as the hottest “it” facialist with downtown cool allure. The loft is a peaceful oasis of wellness, just a jade stone roller’s throw from the hubbub of Canal Street. “The beauty industry can feel really exclusive and I don’t like that.
I want people to walk in here and feel like they belong and feel welcome and not feel intimidated,” Medina-Cleghorn said, adding that she would never close her books to new clients. Her most loyal regulars frequent anywhere between once a month to once a week — and one even flies in from Bogota, Colombia — many of whom have developed “intimate relationships” with the experienced esthetician after years of services. “Some people have therapy, like traditional therapy,” Raquel New York regular Edward Barsamian, the editorial director for the Michelin Guide, North America, told The Post.
“For me, facials are therapy.” And facialists are therapists, studio stylist Mary Reinehr Gigler told The Post — saying that the dual role is an inevitabilty, considering how much time she spends analyzing pores, wrinkles and complexions. “It’s kind of like seeing your friends getting to play catch up,” Medina-Cleghorn explained.
“I see my clients way more frequently than I see all my friends.” The studio offers tiered services based on the duration of any given appointment, with personalized facials starting at $500 for a 75-minute slot and going up in price for longer services. Raquel also offers cutting-edge treatments like micro stamps, peels and photodynamic therapy.
“You want somebody who is still intellectually curious and so dedicated to their craft that they want to continue to refine and get better,” added Barsamian, who championed Medina-Cleghorn’s constant pursuit of industry education and knowledge to keep up with new technologies. In the TikTok age, it could be easy for her to offer the sexiest, buzziest treatments to a swath of clientele, but she prefers to modify services for individuals’ skin concerns — rather than make a cash grab for “clickbait.” “I really like working with technology because I find it fun and I like to see the face change in real-time,” she explained.
“It’s like every facial is a science experiment in a way, which I love.”.
