Reveal sparkling new skin and a refreshed mind with the ultimate Alpine pick-me-up
From the niche new beauty brands doing something different, to the industry’s evergreen icons, Sophie Bew opens up AnOther’s dream vanity in a new series…
- Who should use it? Someone with 15 minutes to spare for reborn pre-party skin.
- How long until I love it? Providing you use it properly – and enjoy it – 15 minutes.
- How planet-/people-friendly is it? Kaufmann sources ingredients locally and bottles products in her own entirely wooden factory down the road from her spa at Hotel Post in Bezau, Switzerland. Packaging is almost all recycled glass (with some recycled plastic).
- How do I use it? Slather the face and slow down (fanning the face enhances the experience too), remove with a clean warm flannel.
Some products require several meetings before I know we’re going to get along. Susanne Kaufmann’s Enzyme Peel is one such example. A loyal fan of many of her organic, Alpine herb-laden concoctions that positively fizz with skin-plumping actives, this particular pot left me cold. Having applied it unthinkingly (I never read the instructions if they’re not printed on the jar because I always bin the boxes immediately – it’s a bad beauty habit that’s got me into many a fix), and pottered about my bathroom with it on for an unspecified, though probably inadequate, amount of time. When I washed off the clear jelly mask, I felt a whole load of nothing – the pot slowly wound its way out of the treasured cabinet above the sink and into the neglected Muji drawers in the corner.
It wasn’t until I tried a facial at the brand’s regular Liberty pop-up that I understood this product’s understated excellence. Once applied to my skin, the therapist gently fanned my face and the glacial gel came alive – becoming icy, cooling and utterly enlivening. Left on for a full 15 minutes and swept off with a warm flannel the cooling peel reveals glittering reborn skin, not to mention a feeling of mental clarity: cue visions of crystal-clear mountain streams detoxifying all bad thoughts and muddy feelings. As if with a gust of fresh air, I was reminded to dedicate a bit of time and attention to myself in order to really reap the benefits of a beauty regime.