Dermalogica Beauty Junkies’ Group Therapy

Thanks to Faulhaber PR team, Al and I were invited to participate in Group Therapy at Dermalogica’s International Dermal Institute in Toronto. Having read numerous articles on the merits of Dermalogica’s skincare, I’ve always been curious, but not enough to actually venture out and try some. Well, last night I finally got a chance to try the full 5-step program!

The event brought together over twenty different fashion, lifestyle, and beauty bloggers, and it was really cool to meet some faces behind the awesome blogs! So after a bit of mingling, prosecco, and MACARONS (on which I could subsist for my entire life), we settled into our chairs (just like at school), put our white headbands on, and began our skincare lesson. I won’t get into too many details of what went on, apart from the fact that everyone had to remove their makeup and no tweetpics were allowed (though I must say that everyone looked great without makeup), but if you want to read about the products we used during our lesson, the full list is after the jump!

1. Precleanse – olive and apricot kernel-based oil product, designed to remove even the most stubborn oil-based debris from the skin’s surface. I was terrified on application, as Precleanse really is very oily! I was worried about breakouts, but to my surprise, two days later – my face has not reacted. Hooray! Precleanse is hydrophilic, and washes off easily with water.

2.  Special Cleansing Gel – soap-free, foaming get designed to thoroughly remove impurities without disturbing the skin’s natural moisture balance.

3. Daily Resurfacer and Daily Microfoliant – obviously it is very important to exfoliate your skin in order to get rid of any flakiness and keep your skin smooth, and both of the above exfoliants do the job. I especially liked the resurfacer for its portability and handiness – it’s literally a tiny finger mitt, with which you can gently exfoliate your face, neck, and even ears! Love!

4. Multi-Active Toner – spritz your face and neck to hydrate and refresh your skin, while smoothing the surface. This toner helps condition skin to prepare for proper moisture absorption.

5. Skin Smoothing Cream/Sheer Tint Moisture – as important it is to exfoliate, this last step is probably the most important (at least to me). I’ve spent a lot of money on various moisturizers that either do the job ok, or not at all, and with the Skin Smoothing Cream, I am actually seeing the difference in as little as 2 days! Of course, the overall change is probably attributed to other Dermalogica products I’ve used lately, but I am betting my money on this moisturizer (maybe because I might’ve skipped a few steps in the routine – bad me). This moisturized is rich, but not heavy. It absorbs quickly, and leaves my skin baby soft. No joke! By the end of the day, I usually notice a bit of flaking around my cheeks, but that hasn’t happened in the last 2 days I’ve been using this cream.

6. MAP-15 Regenerator/c-12 Concentrate – these two products are supposed to be miracle potions for the skin. MAP-15 (otherwise known as Face Crack) is a powder-to-emulsion treatment that works to improve skin firmness and clarity, while c-12 brightens, helps treat cellular discoloration and improves skin clarity. I checked price lists of these two items, and each goes for almost $100! Very pricey, but I might just shell out, seeing how other Dermalogica products are living up to their expectations.

I might do another post a month or so later, after the continued use of the 5-step program. I am a lazy ass, so I cannot promise that all 5 will be used all the time. But I will do my best. In the very least, I’ll use the cleanser, exfoliant, toner and moisturizer…and precleanse when I am not in a mad rush in the morning.

Huge thanks goes out to Faulhaber PR for making this happen, and of course, to the very knowledgeable Dermalogica educational team. They made this a fun and hands-on experience! Look for a follow-up report in about a month.