Monastery

Monastery is beauty in collaboration with nature and your skin's own healing and restorative systems. And honestly? That's not just marketing speak-this San Francisco-based brand has built something genuinely different in the crowded skincare world.

Founded by Athena Hewett in 2011, Monastery started as a skincare studio in San Francisco before evolving into the cult-favorite line it is today. Athena has been a certified esthetician for 20+ years, and her Greek heritage runs deep through the brand's DNA. Her passion for natural skincare began with childhood visits to Greece to visit her maternal grandmother, gathering herbs, creating healing remedies, and bringing her awareness to the idea of working with the body rather than against it.

What sets Monastery apart isn't just the backstory-it's the approach. The rarest ingredients. No fillers or preservatives. Made by hand. Every product is made by their team in their California headquarters. Making everything in-house is at the heart of putting out the best possible product and remaining aligned to their mission of healing. We're talking about a cleanser "made from 100 petals of Rose Bourbonia from the island of Reunion"-that level of ingredient sourcing is basically unheard of in mainstream beauty.

The brand's philosophy is refreshingly simple: Your skin has its own built-in repair and rejuvenation system. But too many products, even expensive ones, override or irritate this amazingly beautiful and powerful natural system rather than working with it. Monastery is made to help your skin do what it does best. Heal.

The before-bed Attar Wax Balm in particular gave me a glow that had me looking in the mirror and thinking, "I'll have what she's having." While at first, I was convinced this effect was a placebo, there have been three times in this past month alone that people have balked at my age and said, "Are you kidding? I thought you were 22!" That's from a Coveteur review, but it captures something you hear repeatedly about Monastery products.

The brand has quietly built a celebrity following-Sofia Coppola has been working with Athena as a client for just over a year, and the brand took care of skin backstage at Khaite's A/W 2025 show at New York Fashion Week this year, where Hewitt and her products were key in creating the runway beauty, which focused on matte, bare-looking skin. But Monastery isn't chasing the influencer game-it's building something more lasting.

The physical space matters too. Their spa at 4175 24th Street in San Francisco has become a destination, with Athena's brow shaping services earning her recognition as "one of San Francisco's best brow people." The studio itself channels minimalist interiors inspired by Cycladic architecture and wild flora, creating an environment that feels more like a sanctuary than a typical spa.