La Mer - The Radiant Facial

There I was last week, wondering why I looked dull and seriously drab. The onset of the drabs was sudden, and I didn't think it was simply fatigue.

I knew I needed to exfoliate because my skin seemed dry, so I did that. I still looked drab. That called for desperate measures. I figured my miracle cream company, La Mer, had to have a product for my issue, so I headed over to the department store to see how I might energize my skin.

Years ago (when I was rich), I used the miracle "invitation-only" one-month treatment. Does anyone remember that? It cost somewhere in the neighborhood of $2100.00 - I can't remember exactly (it's the kind of expense best forgotten). What I do remember is that the effect was incredible. My complexion was remade.

This time, I decided to go with something radically less expensive, but, I'll warn, not inexpensive. The Radiant Facial ($320) seemed to fit the bill, since I felt I looked anything but radiant. One would probably pay that or more for seven weeks of facials, and I liked the do-it-yourself approach.

What do you get in the box? Eight treatments, each consisting of a primer and a two-piece cotton mask. The top mask has eye slits and covers from the hair line down to the cheekbones. The bottom mask has nose and mouth slits, overlaps the top, and covers the rest of the face. Each of the mask pieces is saturated - almost dripping - with what I understood to be The Radiant Infusion, or something like it, a product meant to deliver extreme radiance, clarity, and tone, while minimizing pores. It is infused with antioxidants, specially harvested marine extracts (the basis for Creme de la Mer), and tourmaline, which is said to help the ingredients penetrate the skin.

The scientists at the Max Huber Research Labs (Max Huber created Creme de la Mer) recommend using this express mask system as an evening treatment followed by Creme de la Mer. That's exactly what I did. When I started, the directions seemed awkward, but it was easy to apply. The mask was cooling and actually relaxing. I left it on for eight minutes because the directions say eight minutes for dry skin. After I removed the pieces, I used the excess product (and there was a lot left) to drench my neck, chest, and arms, as the reps had suggested. The directions say to use the mask twice the first week and once a week for the remaining six weeks.

Did it work? A resounding YES! I awakened the next morning to find my skin back to its regular decent-looking state, and that was after one treatment! My skin was less dry, and the blahs were gone. Am I nuts? Don't think so - a good friend with whom I spent the last drab day and the first not-drab day noticed the overnight change. Will I be finishing this routine? Absolutely! Another time this week and once a week until I have used up every last drop of this wonder-stuff.

Update on August 20: I did my second mask last night. It was just as cooling and relaxing as the first. This morning? Wonderful results! Not only that, the product is taking the red out of my face and chest.

Photo courtesy of La Mer.