GOING FACE TO FACE CREAM
Chesterman explores skin-care industry
It’s a quiet morning in downtown Montreal. At the Crescent St. branch of Mandy’s, some 20 women gather for a Tata Harper skin-care master class. Harper is a hot name in skin-care circles, and we’re going through the entire line of her Vermont-made, all-natural and rather pricey products.
We begin with the requisite double cleanse, followed by masks, toners, serums, hydrating sprays and moisturizers, in order to exfoliate, decongest, purge and, most importantly, moisturize. The skin care specialist talks about texture, glow, clarity and skin tone. Concerns like dryness, redness and enlarged pores are discussed. A vitamin C serum is distributed, which we are told is made with plums. The ladies ooh and aah. An eye mask made with sea buckthorn oil is slicked around the eyes, followed by a face oil made with brown algae. Known for its reputed brightening effect, the oil is lauded by the specialist as “a personal trainer for your skin.”
Once it’s all washed off and the last cream is spread lovingly over my skin, I look in the mirror and admire the new me — a bit red, granted, but with skin far more luminous than when I entered an hour before. I may not look like Gwyneth and J-Lo, those goddesses of glow, but hope springs eternal. Frankly, I was hooked after the first cleanser.
Plumped, moisturized, young, fresh-looking, lush — these are the catchwords on the skin-care scene in 2018. And those goals are gaining popularity here and in the U.S.
According to the global information company NPD Group, sales in the prestige beauty industry in the U.S. more than doubled from 2010 to 2017.
The Canadian beauty industry is going gangbusters as well, growing by 9.4 per cent From cleansers to serums, masks to moisturizers, skin care is a booming business in Montreal and beyond. Lesley Chesterman comes face to face with an astonishing range of products. to $1.13 billion for the year to date. Skin care seems to be the biggest focus this year for consumers and retailers alike. The makeup category came up strong with an increase of 8.1 per cent, for $485 million, but skin care came in at 12 per cent growth (to $409 million). That’s a lot of moisturizer.
The skin-care scene is ablaze on social media as well. Influencers — called (sk)influencers — host YouTube channels, Instagram pages and Facebook communities, with followers in the hundreds of thousands. Gurus like Caroline Hirons, Nadine Baggott, Trinny Woodall and Stephanie Nicole share their “skin journeys,” along with product reviews and advice for conditions ranging from acne to rosacea, pigmentation, puffy eyes and fine lines.
You’ll find in-depth interviews with estheticians and industry bigwigs like Kate Somerville, Tiffany Masterson (Drunk Elephant skin care founder) and Paula Begoun (of Paula’s Choice skin care and the review website beautypedia.com).
Star dermatologists like Davin Lim and Sam Bunting are getting in on video tutorials as well, covering topics such as which acid is best for which type of skin, how to build a proper skincare regime, the importance of double cleansing, microneedling, and mineral versus chemical sunscreen.
The powerhouse retailer Sephora is ground zero for highend cosmetics in Montreal, with two stores on the island and one in Laval. They even set up kiosks at this year’s jazz festival. You’ll see novices alongside beauty junkies at their stores, sampling products from lip scrubs to retinol eye creams. Skin care accounts for roughly 40 per cent of the brands carried in store and online at Sephora.
“You can look matte when you’re dead,” says Kate Somerville skin-care representative Annie Bessette, while treating me to a full-on facial in the middle of the downtown Sephora store. Bessette is layering on the products: cold cream, exfoliating cleanser, plumping serum, tightening gel and wrinkle reducer.
We’re a long way from the three-step skin-care system (cleanser, toner, moisturizer) introduced in 1968 by the world’s first dermatologist-driven line, Clinique. Most every product used on my face hovers around the $100 mark. Though there are budget options available, high-end and medical-grade skin care (with studies to back their claims) do not come cheap. That said, price doesn’t seem to be deterring customers. Around me, women of all ages are snatching up high-end products sold at eyebrow-raising prices.
“We have definitely seen an increase in client interest for the skin-care category over the last year across Canada and in Quebec,” says Jane Nugent, vice-president, merchandising at Sephora. “Additionally, the growth in sales coming from the skin-care category in Quebec has been exceeding our national average.”
And there’s a lot to choose from. Between in-store and online channels, there are roughly 100 skin-care brands, some of which are exclusive to Sephora stores in Canada and sephora.ca. In stores, there are roughly 50 brands, with more on the horizon.
Skin-care aficionados are also drawn to an even more personalized sales approach, which can be found in Montreal stores like Dermalogica, La Chambre des Dames and Etiket, which offer more rare (and therefore sought-after) products, as well as services like facials. Navigating through dozens of cleansers, masks and serums can be daunting, and these professionals not only recommend products, but use them in treatments. At La Chambre des Dames, esthetician Christelle Archer uses Biologique Recherche, the ne-plus-ultra line of French products sought out by the most devout skin obsessives, in her facials. At Dermalogica, facialist Jessica Mambro builds “skin fitness plans” for her clients after an initial treatment using their products.
Simon Tooley and Steven Polegato are partners in Etiket, a chic downtown skin-care/fragrance store and online retailer. Etiket stocks 16 skin-care lines, including cult brands like Tata Harper, SkinCeuticals, Vintner’s Daughter (a Gwyneth Paltrow fave), Environ, Elta sunscreens and the Canadian brand Huna. They also offer treatments and organize events like the aforementioned Tata Harper class.
Tooley and Polegato aren’t surprised by the upswing in the beauty sector. “When economic times are tough, we can always afford a lipstick,” says Tooley, who worked for 25 years in the fashion business before opening his store. Tooley and Polegato are seeing most interest for cleansers, products with retinol and serums, especially those that treat pigmentation and sun damage.
Natural products are popular, but Tooley believes that moniker isn’t always clear. “Truth is, you’ll get faster results with chemical products. The importance is to tell the difference between what’s highly marketed and what’s effective, as in products with studies behind them.
“But there’s no need to be so black and white about it. What’s important is what’s going to work for you. The condition of your skin is not only hereditary, but affected by whether you sit in the sun, drink or smoke.”
Which product do they recommend above all others? Says Tooley: “No matter what, the most important product for skin is a good, broad-spectrum (UVA and UVB protection) sunscreen, with an SPF of at least 30.”
“And hydration,” adds Polegato, “but avoid essential oils. A serum is good, and always layer it on before moisturizer.”
When building your skin-care routine (which, by the way, can include a variety of brands), gurus recommend avoiding abrasive, exfoliating scrubs (especially those that contain apricot kernels, which can cause microtears in the skin) and foaming cleansers, which are drying. Look for airtight containers (pumps are ideal), which prevent products from oxidizing. Avoid fragrance (natural or organic) as well as alcohol, witch hazel and essential oils, which can be irritating. Natural or organic is not better than synthetic or chemical, as many natural ingredients can be irritating to the skin (such as citrus or lavender).
Avoid spray-on sunscreens, which are not as effective as spread-on creams. Better to use a tinted sunscreen with SPF. And always reapply during the day.
And finally, avoid products that claim to work as well as Botox and fillers, which do not affect the health or quality of the skin (since they are injected underneath).
So, in the end, once you’ve covered your face in creams, acids, serums and vitamins, can you see a difference in your skin? Can they really make you look younger, smoother and fresher?
After three months of testing dozens of products, I’d say absolutely. You can improve the quality of your skin by consistently using a thought-out daily skin-care regime. My pores are smaller, fine lines are diminished, and on mornings after a good sleep, I do see a new-found glow. The key is to be mindful, respond to your skin’s needs and not just plaster on the products.
But I’d also say a lot of the appeal of skin care is about pampering. Just the feeling of taking care of your skin from that first cleanse in the morning to the last slick of night serum is incredibly soothing, I’d even go so far as to say it’s therapeutic.
Tooley sums it up well: “Skin care is about finding the right product, of the right quality, with the right concentration for you. We have to look after ourselves first. As RuPaul says: ‘If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?’ ”
Skin care is about finding the right product, of the right quality, with the right concentration for you. We have to look after ourselves first.