Sherman's Travel

International Orange isn’t just the name of the paint color on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge, it’s also the moniker of one of the city’s best day spas. You can tell a lot about a spa by the products used in treatments – just like you can tell a lot about a boutique by the designers they carry. And the natural selection of high-quality skin-care products offered at this one-off, seven-room spa is one of the best in its class.

The Astara masks are excellent, I like REN’s serums, and I’m a fan of Arcona’s fruit-based line from Los Angeles. But it’s the facials that use In Fiore at International Orange that really deliver spa-going wow factor.

In Fiore, an old-world apothecary-style line of beauty products, are handmade, all-natural, and locavorean. That is, founder Julie Elliot whips them up right in San Francisco and culls many of the ingredients come from Napa and Sonoma – just like the city’s best restaurants.

Sometimes indigenous spa treatments can feel contrived. But International Orange’s approach doesn’t feel at all forced. In fact, its organic, close-to-home choices make it skin-care equivalent of an authentic local dining experience you can’t wait to tell all your friends about.

International Orange, 2044 Fillmore Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94115, (888) 739-3552, www.internationalorange.com