Phyts is a French brand that I have started using over the past year. You may remember me mentioning their SPF here, as well as being a firm part of my morning routine here. Well, the lovely Niamh at Phyt’s Ireland invited me in to have a Phyt’s facial and it could not have come at a better time.
My skin is not happy at the moment. There is no other way to describe it. I have suddenly broken out in random places (like my right cheek and above my eyebrow??), and overall it just feels dry and tight. Makeup is not sitting smoothly on my dry skin, to the point now where over the past 2-3 weeks I have not been wearing foundation – only a primer and a BB cream as I don’t want it to gather or sit weirdly on my face. I thankfully do not normally have problem skin so this has completely thrown me.
For those not familiar, Phyts is a French brand which does use any of those nasty chemicals that you read about. They are a 100% Natural Certified Organic Skin Care Range and the brand was developed in France back in 1972. It is much more natural in its ingredient listing and that is what drew me initially to the brand. A brand that is more natural and still works is a winner in my books.
Virginie Claire Beauty is located in Harold’s Cross in Dublin and is so easy to get to from Dublin city centre. The number 16 bus stop is just beside the salon so as someone who didn’t drive – it was so straightforward to get there. The salon itself was beautiful, once you walked in that sense of serene that often comes with a peaceful and calming salon just washed over me. When I went up to the treatment room, I could not even hear the traffic which was wonderful.
Virginie, my wonderful facialist, gave me a version of their Phytssima Radiance Facial. I say a version as due to the dryness of my skin she wanted to really treat my skin and not give me the normal facial. I really appreciated this as taking the time to review my skin and then deem what is based is a sign of a great skincare therapist.
What was very interesting is that straight away she said I was using too many skincare products. I always double cleanse (as if not wearing makeup then I always wear SPF), and generally use two different cleansers (one for makeup removal and the other for skin cleansing), a toner, a serum, an oil, perhaps a facemask, a moisturiser and an eye cream (not to mention other products if I have a breakout!). I had never really thought about this as I use well-known brands and had not thought of the chemical effect of mixing so many chemicals on my skin. She has challenged me to a two-week skin challenge but I will share more on that next week!
The Phytssima Radiance Facial used Phyts products throughout and was one that did not just rely on the products, it involved plenty of massages and getting the blood flowing under my skin. It was intense in the most wonderful way. The products used in the facial are rich in Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids (argan and hemp oils) which help to regenerate and nourish the skin. While Ho Wood and Camphor soothe redness and sensitivity (and my skin is sensitive). What was also interesting was the time that she took on my eye area, it is the first time that it felt treated in its own right and proper time was taken with that delicate skin.
I thought that it might be interesting to read just what happened in my facial, sometimes I feel that I lay down and the facialist will work on my skin in the best way, but I don’t actually know what was used. So, for this reason, I asked Niamh to advise me just was used so that I could share with you!
- Cleansed with Lait Nettoyant to remove makeup, colourants, products and pollutants.
- Toned with Hydrolé Orange to soothe and rebalance the skin’s pH and remove any excess cleanser.
- Exfoliated with Gommage Contact+ to gently remove dead skin cells, hydrate and soften the skin for a better penetration of the active ingredients to follow.
- Toned with Hydrolé Orange to remove any excess exfoliant.
- Applied a 1/2 an ampoule of Serum Nutrition Extrême ampoule over the face, neck, eyelids and lips and performed the PHYT’S Revitalising Massage.
- Applied all of the Serum Nutrition Extrême ampoules over the face, neck, eyelids, lips, décolleté, chest, arms (wherever the skin needs to be treated for dryness).
- Used Phyt’ssima Soin Visage with the serum to enhance the effect of balancing dryness of the skin. (oh and by the way at this time also gave me a shoulder and neck massage!)
- Left serum on and applied 1/2 an ampoule of Mask Confort all over the face and neck, including lip line and eye contour.
- After 15mins she removed the mask and then toned with Hydrolé Orange.
- Finished with moisturising with Phyt’ssima Soin Visage
The facial itself was just fantastic. And I don’t say that lightly – when I went in my skin just looked sad, dry and had those annoying flaky patches which no amount of product would solve for me. But leaving the facial, my skin was certainly plumper and felt softer to the touch. A facial is not magical and cannot solve all skin issues so I purposely left this review for a week after the facial to see were there actually any lasting events. And I am surprised to say yes! Both of the dry and flaky patches are gone, and my skin just looks better – it has a better texture and I can only put that down to the facial.
It was so great to get an honest opinion from Virginie as well. She was blunt (in a good way) on the condition of my skin but also with regards facials. I did ask how often should I get them, and normally I expect to be told 6-8 weeks. BUT, Virginie advised every 8-9 weeks in Winter and then only once every 3-4 months in Summer. It was great to hear an honest answer and not one just to get a repeat customer, which by the way they have by not trying to sell me to sign up for X amount of facials on the spot!
In our Irish Spring weather, there is still cold and snow and along with that comes challenges for your skin. The new Phyts Phytssima line seems like it will certainly help my skin in this weather. The new Phytssima line claims to among other things to help to strengthen the hydrolipidic film of the skin and to restore fat and water content which sounds really promising. I am using the Phytssima in the evenings at the moment, and I will share my thoughts once my skin has had time to really adjust to it, and again I want to see what happens when I use it for a while and not just a couple of days.
And the negative, well Virginie Claire Beauty is based in Dublin and I am in Galway! I do intend to go back as the effects have lasted not just for that day and the day after, but up to a week later. The price range for the facial is not excessive and Virginie really gave me confidence that she knew exactly what she was talking about, not through reading the brochures but through her own experience over the past 25 years. And that sort of experience and skills that come from it, are not something that you can get in every salon.
Also, if you are interested in learning more about this French Skincare Brand – you can read more on their website, and they are also on Facebook and Instagram. I have also shared some of my favourite products below (not affiliate links) –
[shopr_shopthepost collection=”phyts-facial” size=”medium”]
Note; I was invited to try their facial, but this is not sponsored and is a true review of both facial and the lasting effects. Also, apologies for sharing so many product shots – I was so busy learning about skincare, that my camera stayed in my bag!
