Beauty, Events iS CLINICAL SKIN CARE 30 September 2011

If you know me pretty well, or have read my blog for awhile, you’ll know that I specifically go after serums. I’m a little obsessed with skincare, so back in the day, I taught myself about particular chemicals that are good for the skin, what concentrations they should be in to be effective, etc etc. It’s served me well, because I frequently see skincare brands at shops selling, for example, face moisturizer that is meant to do this-and-that, but I know their active ingredient just isn’t potent enough.

In particular, I always seek out 2 active ingredients in my skincare:

  1. AHA (eg. glycolic acid) which exfoliates the skin. Similar to a facial scrub, but much better for me as because it’s a chemical exfoliator, it exfoliates much more evenly and less abrasively than a manual facial scrub that you rub in. I like this concentration to be 8%-10% in a product, preferably in gel/serum form. AHA is fab to make your skin feel renewed, smoother and clearer.
  2. BHA (eg. salicylic acid) which clears out oil in pores. A winner if you tend to have breakouts. It significantly reduces zits and, when paired with an AHA, does wonders. I like this concentration to be 1%-2% in a product, also preferably in gel/serum form.
Unfortunately, not many companies have a lot of (transparent) science behind their products. So I was pretty impressed at the iS Clinical event with their product know-how and no frills, open book approach.
At Orchard Hotel. Wearing Nanette Lepore dress, no-name crystal earrings, Chanel expandable lambskin tote, Hermes orange clic-clac, Christian Louboutin patent leather pumps.

iS Clinical pay more attention to product development and science, than they do to fancy marketing and pretty packaging. It was evident when I was chatting with their COO, Alex Call. He didn’t flinch and give me the standard “ohhh yes the products are really effective. What concentrations are the active ingredients? We don’t disclose that, but they really are effective!”  spiel. Instead, he was really transparent and let me know the various ingredients in their products and could answer all my prying questions 😛

It’s actually used quite widely by Hollywood celebs, but they don’t do heavy marketing which is why you probably  don’t know much about this brand. They also are only sold via consultation with skincare professionals (ie. dermatologists, aestheticians, physicians, etc) here.

Fact is, their official website looks and reads like a hospital/scientific forum with research articles and loads of detailed information, and the product marketing section of the site is only small. This impressed me, since most beauty sites are busy pushing their products and have little/no detailed information behind the ingredients. It’s a fantastic site for those of you that are pretty particular like I am, as it serves up a wealth of info for you to burrow through.

Alex Call, COO of iS Skincare

 

With my elegant date of the evening

 

There was a short presentation during dinner about the spirit of the brand. They focus quite heavily on the philanthropy side and in particular, work closely with breast cancer survivors in hospitals to run events and donate products. It makes sense, because patients have particularly sensitive and/or dry skin that these products help with. And now, the Cancer Care line is available!

What’s awesome is that their whole product range focuses on using pure, pharmaceutical-grade ingredients. This means their products are safe for nursing women (YAYYYYY!), pregnant women, and of course, people going through chemo treatments.

Presentation

 

The buffet line up

 

After filling our bellies, we tried out their Fire & Ice Facial. The most annoying thing? I can’t do this at home by myself! 🙁 They use an 18% glycolic acid/retinol/niacinamide mask (the fire part) as a powerful chemical peel before a hydrating mask (the ice part), and it left my skin obviously smoother afterwards. I’ve been suffering from some bad breakouts and found that those areas were looking a lot better too. Happiness 🙂 I can only do this peel at the doctor’s though, so I really wish they would sell it to individuals.

Fire & Ice Facial

 

Product lineup

 

Me getting pampered 🙂

 

After that, I tried out their VISIA machine. It takes some detailed photos of your face from various angles and shows you an image of your face. Then proceeds to decimate you 😉 Or, at least it did to me! Where I scored almost top marks for my lack of wrinkles (woohoo), I came in bottom of class when it came to UV damage. Yep – all my years of refusing to wear sunscreen and living in Australia has wrecked havoc on my skin. It’s not evident to the naked eye, but via this machine? HOLY CRAP. I think I came in on the ~30% mark or so, which is shocking for someone my age. Guess I really need to slip slop slap!

Taking a pic of my face

 

Sun damage on my skin. VERY BAD.

 

Their product range is not huge, and it’s not meant to be. They believe in focusing only on skincare (no cosmetics) that are botanically based, and can multitask. I was delighted to receive a box set with some of their products, in particular, the Active Serum that I was positively gagging to try out.

 

 

How do these products work for me? I’ll spill all in a later post 🙂

 

Let’s Chat!




Let's Chat!

Hey B,
Another cute, embellished dress. AH? 🙂
How come you don’t like wearing Sunscreen??? Have you tried Neutrogena’s line of Ultra Sheer Body Mist Sunblocks?
Off topic.
Just wondering, can you recommend a manicure set to buy i.e. Tweezerman / Zwilling??? I would like to take my own tools, when I get a manicure / pedicure etc…
Hope you, C & H are having a wonderful day
🙂

Heh no, by Nanette Lepore!

I just find sunscreen a bit of a hassle, and many go oily on me. Shu Uemura’s UV mousse is one of the very few, and I just blogged about iS CLINICAL’s powder sunscreen that I’m liking:)

I don’t do my own mani/pedi so I can’t recommend at all, so sorry! But why not get it done at a nail salon since it’s super cheap in Shanghai??

Hi
I’m a Melbourne follower of your interesting blog(esp your cute baby) & would
like to draw your attention to a new Malvern-based baby fashion range for BOYS ONLY in a market that’s swamped with girls’ clothes. Now the best part for you I’m sure is the name of the range, called HUNTER, yes…HUNTER gatherer. http://www.hunterbaby.com.au

I’ve always wondered how good iS clinical really is. It’s so pricy though – can’t afford it now as a student, maybe when I get a job! Hope you don’t mind me asking how you came to attend this event? Was it open to members of the public or do you need insider access? I live in USA, so not sure if they have any events like that here. But would love to go to one if I could.

Ooo so you’ve heard about them? I do think they’re pricey, but not as pricey as other cosmeceutical brands (*justifying*). The good thing is that serums last for ages since you only use 2 drops each time, so I don’t go through them as quickly.
I was invited via Innomed which is their distributor here 🙂 I’m not sure what they do in the USA, but since it’s available through physicians, perhaps you could check it out there?

Wow – that machine is amazing. I’d be rather afraid to try it, myself. Neutrogena actually had a facial wash and toner that had alpha-hydroxy and beads in it that actually worked quite well – obviously not as good as a clinic treatment, but it did seem to dissolve skin plaque. Typically, they’ve stopped producing the line.

Very interesting info!

Yeah I remember that! I’m personally not a fan of cleansers with AHA though, as it’s just too little time on the skin so I’m not convinced it’s effective. Or, at least, not as effective as when it’s a serum form 😛

I like fast-tracking things, haha!