I was very excited when I got chosen for this trial. And was keen to find out if it really worked. There were 5 different products
Cleanser - it has a nice smell, easy to put on and spread, and you only need 2 pumps to do your whole face and jaw/neck. I didn't have any tingling but apparently some people do. Use it morning and night, it does a great job of removing all traces of make up and grime
Serum - this was in a smaller bottle and had a small dropper attached to the lid, didn't have much smell. I used about 3-4 drops to cover my face and jaw/neck. The only thing that I don't like about it was that it was smaller than everything else so it would be the first to run out and the dropper isn't long enough to reach to the bottom of the bottle.
Cream - it was lovely and smoothing, it was easy to spread over your face. It had a lovely smell and a different kind of lid that you push down and the cream comes out the middle. I really love the cream!
Peel - I used the peel every second day. It was very easy to put on and you only need to put it on for 20-30 mins. You put this on after the cleanser. After washing it off with warm water, your skin feels like it has had something good done to it.
Mask - the mask was a light purple colour, easy to spread and didn't have that tight feeling that some masks give you
All in all I loved the whole regime. My skin hasn't felt this soft for a long time. I didn't notice any reduction in lines, but I have always had high colour in my cheeks since childhood and I have noticed that half of one cheek is fading and I can only put it down to this! It is on the expensive side, but I was over in Sydney at Christmas and Priceline had it for 40% discount, so do some searching on line and see if you can get it cheaper anywhere else that may be cheaper than where you get it in NZ
After accepting this trial I had a case of butterflies - my current skincare works for me, what if i was about to mess up my face? Words like 'acid' and 'peel' are kinda scary when you're talking about your face. But, accept it I had, and so I was going to do it.
I started this on the first of December which made it way easier to track the schedule - i think in future i'd try and start on the first of the month to make sure that I was keeping track of which days to do the peels and masks, because the second session, with it beginning after Xmas and happening while I was on break, confused me.
This range comes packaged as a range, in a variety of white bottles, tubes and pottles with metallic blue and black writing. It looks classy, slightly medicinal, and expensive.
The GLYCOLIC CLARIFYING CLEANSER is actually far more of a mild product than I was anticipating. It comes in a sizeable bottle equipped with a pump action dispenser This is the only dispenser that got messy, but this could be due to the fact that you use this one twice a day. The cleanser lotion is white, medium thickness and has a faint scent - nothing I can put my finger on, it just smells clean and fresh. You massage this onto damp skin for 30 seconds, leave for a couple of minutes and rinse off. This doesn't feel like it's stripping anything out of skin and it certainly doesn't feel like there is acid in it, which I was worried about. It does tingle (note: not hurt, but it's a sharp tingle) when you use it the day after a peel/mask), which can be disconcerting, but the tingle is only momentary. This also didn't remove my makeup - so I used a cleansing oil first.
The TRI-COLLAGEN ACCELERATING SERUM is the most expensive feeling product in the range. It's extreme luxury, from the dispenser being a wee dropper (implies that you should only use a little) to the luxurious feeling of this on skin. This is probably my favourite in the range - it literally feels like its rejuvenating my skin from the moment i put it on my face. It's hydrating without being at all greasy (the word 'serum' usually makes me feel oily without even touching the product!) and super lush and divine on skin. It's a thick-ish white cream with a lotion-type scent - really fresh and luxurious.
The ANTI-OXIDANT REGENERATIVE CREAM comes in some of the coolest packaging I've seen yet. It's a pottle, but with a pump lid that you simply push down on to have product pop up. It DOES dispense more than I feel necessary so I try and only 'pump' it very lightly. This is a very thick, off-white cream with a typical face cream scent. Its spreads well and hydrates beautifully, with no residue and fast absorption. When combined with the serum it genuinely feels like you're gifting your skin with a wee mini facial a couple of times a day.
Tips: But wait, there's more!
The MICRO-CELLULAR AGE CORRECTING PEEL was probably the one that was scaring me the most. I felt like it was going to be a microdermabrasion, remove layers of skin, leave me red and sore kinda deal. I was so wrong. It's a frosted thin gel that you cover your face with and leave for about 20 mins. The first few times (this is an 'every second day one) I didn't feel it at all, for the second week it's definitely more noticeable, because you're putting it on fresh skin. It has a strong chemical smell that you get used to really quickly. This is the one that really feels like it's 'working' in that my skin always feels fresher following this - and you know what? It's not red, scary looking or sore. The serum and lotion soothe any tenderness instantly but it's minimal anyway, and the fact that you use so little product means this will last for ages. This is used more as a mask - put it on, leave it 20-30 mins and wash it off. There's no visible 'peeling' involved!
Speaking of lasting for ages, the ENZYMATIC DETOXIFYING MASK, which you only use twice per cycle,for 15-20 mins per time, is an investment product really - you use such a small amount so infrequently that the cost per use isn't actually that bad. This replaces two of the peels per cycle and has a similar effect. The mask is a gorgeous pale purple shade, and is enriched with macadamia oil and saffron. It's a different kind of mask to the peel - less chemically smelling and more sort of a hydrating and replenishing feel; skin afterwards feels incredibly plump and hydrated. This is meant to detoxify and I definitely feel like my skin glows after using it.
As a whole, my skin has exhibited visible improvements over each two week cycle. I DO break out using this, from the detoxification, but apart from that the remaining skin is clear, radiant, hydrated and healthy - and the breakouts settle quickly. Moving forward I think I'll use this every few months for a skin rejuvenation, timing it so that I can be at home while doing so.
The cost will be the prohibitive factor from buying it again, and what stops me giving it a 5 star rating. It's a truly lovely range of products, which work well in conjunction with each other, but I don't honestly know if I can justify the replacement cost, which is a shame.
FINAL TIP: For the love of all that's good in the world, use sunblock. I used the Neutrogena Beach Spray and it made such a difference. I can't imagin putting the peel on sunburned skin (ouch) and sunburn on the fresh new skin would be awful too. if you're investing in this range invest in facial sunblock if you don't already have a good one!