Birth Chart Facial Experience With Photos

As a tarot reader, astrology enthusiast, and skin-care-obsessed writer, any opportunity where my interests blend into a single service or product? Hook, line, you got me. So, of course, when I heard about a holistic aesthetician in NYC offering facials based on her clients’ astrology, I simply had to try it for myself.

Amity Murray offers customized facials and massages both for her solo clients in her studio in NoMad and at the Spa at Hotel Chelsea. She uses a holistic approach to her facials, though it’s not just about the surface-level wrinkles or breakouts. It’s much deeper than that. Everything that affects our body and skin is connected with our emotional well-being and our astrology, of course.

“[It’s about] discovering the root,” Murray says to me after our session in her NoMad studio. “It’s a combination of many different things, and it could be emotional or spiritual. Because generally people are just running themselves way too ragged.”

The Zodiac Facial is a customized treatment that uses cues from the client’s birth chart to build a perfect regimen and uses specific products to energize, calm, or soothe. There are twelve possible facial directions — based on the twelve Zodiac signs – but nothing is set in stone, and Murray adjusts treatments depending on the skin’s needs. Among the possible treatments we have: radiance-boosting to match Leo’s love for attention; a focus on a strong skin barrier for Capricorn; evening out tone and texture for Gemini; and a calming and relaxing protocol for Scorpio.

“Honestly, it started kind of as a joke,” Murray says. She became obsessed with astrology when she had an astrocartography reading a few years back (where your birth chart is overlaid with a map of the world, and it tells you places that could hold significance in your life). What started as a fun way to offer a discount on her signature, intuitive hour-long facial became the driving force behind Gen Z and young millennials seeking custom facials, allowing her to delve deeper into a whole new holistic side. Plus, it’s an opportunity for her Magic Hands — the nickname Murray became known for thanks to her magical massages — to help more people, as she also donates one free facial a month to someone in need.

For the Zodiac facial, I first had to give Murray my astrological information. While she only requires us to choose one sign (our sun sign), I also shared my moon and rising signs with her. While the sun sign isn’t the entirety of what makes us usit’s still pretty important. It’s a shortcut to describe ourselves or our ego. Depending on your birth chart, it can be incredibly accurate to you or it can describe only a small side of you. I would recommend choosing the sign that feels more like you, whether that’s your sun, moon, or rising.

I went with Aquarius, not only is it my sun sign, but I also have a stellium in the sign, meaning I have more than four planets in Aquarius. In other words, I’m pretty Aquarius. “Your personality definitely gives Aquarius. Your skin could be considered Aquarian too, as in its combination. It’s a tiny bit sensitive,” she says. “So, for this treatment, I tried to focus it on a lot of grounding — a lot of soothing.”

For the facial, I laid on a bed with a crystal-infused, infra-red light warming mat under the covers. Murray started the session with a gentle massage and stretch over my body while we talked about my current skin-care routine and specific concerns. I’ve been really happy with my current regimen, but had just gotten a breakout on my lower lip. She commented that my routine was working because my skin looked really beautiful, which made me feel like I had just aced a whole semester of tests in school.

The facial officially started with a double cleanse, first with an oil and then a cream cleanser, before gently cleaning it off with a hot towel. Then, some exfoliation with a mask that had lactic acid, “which will help brighten and bring hydration to the skin.” The third step was extractions, which she did on my forehead, temple, nose, and chin. That’s usually my least favorite part of any facial, as it sometimes hurts, but my experience with Murray was nothing but a treat. The fourth step was an LED treatment.

“LED helps with your regeneration. It can really help with healing any kind of skin concern, breakouts, and anti-aging. It’s one of the biggest trends that I see in beauty lately,” Murray says. While the LED was working its magic, Murray did an arm and hand massage, which felt heavenly on my overworked fingers and wrists.

She used some hot and cooling therapies on my face, neck, and chest. First, she warmed the Imari porcelain massage tools by Shiseido. Now that was heaven on Earth. It felt so calming and exactly what my poor little neck and shoulders needed. Afterward, she applied some Manuka honey to my skin, particularly to those breakouts and acne scars. Murray recommended I use Manuka, as it’s very calming, soothing, purifying, and overall healing for the skin. Then she layered some products to finish off the treatment: Marie Veronique’s Barrier Restore Serum ($115), May Lindstrom’s Youth Dew ($185), and Cap Beauty’s Crema ($98).

By the end, it didn’t just feel like I had gotten a facial, but that my energy and spirit were cleansed.

Before leaving, I asked Murray if she had recommendations for my routine. She said my current lineup was working well for me, but suggested I add the Marie Veronique Soothing B3 Serum ($115) if I run out of my existing rotation of serums. “Over time, it strengthens sensitive skin. It really helps with post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, as well,” she says. She also suggested a red light mask or going to a center that offers full-body red light treatments.

As a whole, the facial attempted to ground my Aquarian traits, to soothe my Aries moon, and comfort my Taurus rising with that touch of luxury it so craves. Did it deliver? Of course. My biggest challenge as someone who has so much Aquarius in my birth chart is to come back to my body. I’m so in my head and so up in the clouds, that feeling grounded is the source of so many of my issues. This grounded me in the best possible way.

“You’re doing so much introspection, already,” Murray says as I was eave her studio. “So many young people, or just people in New York, are not looking inward. . . It’s [about] looking inward, and then giving back to the world, and seeing what others need around us.” And really, that’s the most important part.

Sofía Viera is a queer nonbinary writer based in Brooklyn who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. Their work has appeared in PS, Refinery29 Somos, Remezcla, and LatinaMediaCo.