David Mallett — Local services in Paris

I really bought into the hype surrounding this salon. I think you are fine to go here if you have straight, fine, or slightly wavy 2a-2c type hair. Also, do not go here expecting to find a good colorist! I moved to Paris in 2022 and was looking to fix a bad blonde balayage I had gotten in London. TBH it wasn't even a balayage, it was basically lazy highlights. I first went in to get a cut and blowdry and I should have listened to my gut and found another salon. I have thick, curly hair - 3a to 3b with some 2c waves mixed in. The stylist who did my cut and blowdry (Alain) did not seem to understand how to cut and style curly hair. First, he cut my curly hair WET which is a big no-no due to hair shrinkage. Then he figured out halfway when another stylist told him that he needed to blowdry and straighten my hair before cutting it. After that my cut was fine but the side he did was extremely frizzy at the roots while the side that the other stylist did was smooth. When I got back to my apartment I had to go over my hair with a flat iron as my hair was getting poofy/wavy from the humidity.

Again, I didn't listen to my gut! I booked a balayage treatment for April as they all claimed they had the "best stylists in Paris" and how all these celebs go to the salon, and I really had to fight with them to lighten my hair. The colorist, Evelyne, claimed she specializes in "blonde" hair and if that is true, I really do think she needs to go back to cosmetology school to understand how to tone and lift hair. She was incredibly rude and hesitant at doing a balayage during our consultation, even though she could see I had really bad regrowth and that I did not have a dark base. My hair lifts well and she saw that after I finally managed to convince her to lighten my hair so I have no idea why my coloring went so wrong.

However, the next issue came with how she toned my hair. She initially said she was going to give me a light beige blonde, and that was around the color my hair had lifted to before they washed out the developer. Then, they toned my hair down to this horrible brassy brown/caramel color...it was not beige! I also had chunks of light hair around the root and my ends where she did not tone my hair properly, lots of streaking on the left side of my head, and straight up orange bits. It was awful. I think they knew it was bad and were worried I was upset (I was) but not wanting to cause a scene, I just smiled and trucked through it as best as I could. After returning to the USA for the summer, I spent $800 to correct my hair and get it to the color I wanted/knew I could be.

Honestly I am baffled at how bad my two experiences have been at this salon, especially considering how highly this salon and the owner are spoken of in the fashion industry. I spent the equivalent of $700 to have orange brown hair when I was promised a neutral light beige and it was obvious that my stylist deliberatly darkened my hair for some odd reason known only to her. I wish they had been more honest and said that they couldn't do it for whatever reason, which I find weird considering how busy this place is and how much business they seem to get. As other reviewers have mentioned, the atmosphere of the salon is cold, stuffy, and pretentious - they have a constant loop of Bach on in the background, never smile, and are incredibly unwelcoming. I know better now and I suggest if you want to be blonde, go to a salon that specializes in blonde. Also, if your stylist seems clueless get the owner or just leave. The stylists at David Mallett are incompetent at best and clearly...

I have lusted after the idea of being able to have David cut my hair for the 5 years I've been in Paris, given all the articles I've read about him, on top of the fact that he's a fellow Australian. However I was under the impression he worked mostly with VIPs and celebs... Finally I plucked up the courage to send them an email asking if I could come in for a consult to see if he'd be happy looking after my hair - and what a great move!

The fact that he has a brilliant eye and feel for the cut that suits the client, face, age etc means that each time he tweaks something the hair looks amazing - my first cut was 2 weeks ago, and my complimentary fringe trim was today. Don't hesitate to get him to cut a fringe for you, as he WILL trim it in between cuts - and he totally rocks at fringes!

But hair cut and colour aside - as I couldn't be happier - what I really need to tell those considering this salon, is that in my dozens of years of seeking great hairdressers around the world, I have never felt as at home in such an amazing space as I do at David's. Salon isn't the word for it - it's a total experience... the decor is incredible, the history and beauty of the space is amazing, the terrace such a fantastic zen space filled with gorgeous plants, the classical music soothing (I'm so over thumping rock songs when I spend hours in a salon) and the staff are...incredible!

From the minute you enter the welcoming faces of the guys at reception (one of them another fellow Aussie :) ) to everyone you pass in the various rooms who greets you means that, from the first moment, you feel you've come home.

For me this is more than a haircut and colour - this is a welcoming space of warmth; somewhere you feel totally at peace. The personal feeling, attention to detail, integrity and elegance mixed with the total cool is unparalleled. Do yourself a favour and treat yourself to...

The host at the Notre Damn location was extremely rude. I made my appointment on the phone. I did not receive any confirmation texts or call follow ups. Turns out the reception gave me the incorrect time, and I arrived 30 minutes late. Worst, there was no confirmation text that I received or any phone call to confirm this appointment. With a luxury service, confirming appointments is the bare minimum expectation. I am greatly disappointed. I had an event tonight I wanted to look great for and they turned me away. Although I know the stylist are the best in the city, the aggressive, eye rolling manor of reception, failing to confirm an appointment and delivering with such attitude makes me question if this is worth coming for. I came here before and loved it, but honestly this person made me feel horrible, clearly did not care about the time I took to get there and the time of mine that was wasted. Very disappointed...