[Above, the full Cle de Peau line with visual aids that show you how much to use for each application, a look at their sheet masks, and their new decadent foundation serum that I tried out.]
The first time I started taking skin care seriously was around age 24, in Chicago, at the sparkling glass countertops of the Saks Fifth Avenue cosmetics section on Michigan Ave. I opened my SaksFirst account that day and never looked back, beginning my long, winding skincare journey with a jar of Estee Lauder DayWear. I’ve since graduated from that jar to try zillions of products that I loved and those I didn’t, overusing the product just to get rid of it. By now, I quite consider myself an encyclopedia of product reviews. By age 36, with as much as I’ve tried, there’s no way you can’t be.
Anyway. Even when you think you’ve figured out the perfect regimen for you, I’ve found it’s important to stay open-minded. Afterall, your skin is always changing, the seasons demand different formulas, and you never know what’s going to knock your socks off. Which, incidentally, just happened to me the other day after a sumptuous 45-minute Cle de Peau facial at Saks Fifth Avenue in Richmond.
Maria, the Cle de Peau esthetician, was wonderful, and I had no idea Saks had that little treatment room tucked back behind the shoe department! I had had a little too much fun the night before, so my poor skin needed it—badly. We cleansed, exfoliated, toned, did some sheet masks, and she used these marvelous lymphatic drainage tools on my face that were the perfect massage. I got a good slathering of the body cream, some much-needed eye serum, and some emulsions and I was a new person.
Last night, I started in on the samples and have a few favorites right out of the gate:
- Intensive Fortifying Cream: This baby in the blue jar blew my mind. I need cream and eye creams that I really know are there—especially at night. I like to wake up and still be able to touch my skin and know that it’s there—it’s just what my skin (and eye skin) requires. This is the best heavy cream I’ve tried since the uber-rich Shiseido Wrinkle Resist eye cream I’m so devoted to. (Clé de Peau is under the Shiseido parent company, so I’m not cheating too hard.)
- Retexturizing Body Cream: Again, I knew this was still on hours later when I touched my forearms—a major problem area for me. But I also didn’t feel like I was rubbing off all over my car seats or clothing with it like I do with some coconut-based body creams I use. It’s divine.
- Le Serum: Hydrating, but light enough for days when I’m not having those “Oh, dear,” mirror moments, and it goes great under my tinted moisturizer without turning me into an oil slick.
Maria used the two below during my treatment, and I was glowing afterwards—which, after the day I’d had was a miracle.
Overall, I’m feeling like a convert. The products and the foundation seem tailored to my skin and more mature skin in general, and I’m incredibly impressed. Because honestly, it’s refreshing to find products that are there for you on your good and bad days.
[Is there any more refined shopping experience than a Saks? The truffles and champagne (I had Perrier) were divine, too.]
Thanks to Maria, Tara, and the Saks Fifth Ave Richmond team! You’ve made me a believer.
-C.
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