Review: Philosophy Microdelivery Peel

I've been on kind of a skin care kick lately and tried Philosophy's Microdelivery Peel after hearing rave reviews from others.

Microdermabrasion is increasingly popular among plastic surgeons and their patients. Thank goodness we now have a DIY option that's also pocketbook friendly!

The Microdelivery Peel is a peptide/vitamin C peel that I tried last night before bed. It really is a super-easy two-step facial regimen that literally takes no more than 5 mins. Here's what I did:

After you wash your face with your favorite facial cleanser,

Step 1: Apply about a teaspoon of the bicarbonate vitamin C crystals (sounds scary, but it's not) to a clean, dry face. Gently massage using circular motions to buff away dead, dry skin cells for 1 - 3 mins (this is key, don't scrub too hard). Here I am, I hope you can see the small crystals on my cheek!

After doing this, I actually feel like you may need more than a teaspoon to properly exfoliate your face but I wanted to follow their exact instructions the first time to get a real sense of the product.

Step 2: Then, apply a generous teaspoon of the lactic/salicylic acid activating gel (again, don't be scared) in the palm of your hand, massage gel onto fingertips and apply over the vitamin C crystals on your face. A warming sensation will occur and a white foam will appear indicating that the vitamin C and peptides are now active. Leave the foam on for 2-3 mins and then rinse.

Now, I don't know if I used enough of the gel, but I never really got the foam part. All I got was a little bit that made it look more like I had some cleansing soap on my face. Don't laugh, but here I am again, can't see the foam, can you? It did start to warm up on my face which felt nice, but I was still disappointed because they didn't deliver the foam like the packaging said.

You also have to rinse well afterwards; I had a lot of the little crystals wanting to hang out around the sides of my face and it was hard to get out of my hairline.

Immediately after the peel, I was so so about it - I guess I was irked that I still had crystals in my hair. But once I sat down to apply my night moisturizer and looked closely in the mirror, I noticed that my skin looked really smooth and it felt super soft. I put on my moisturizer and my face just felt so nice overall! You can see and feel the results immediately and right then and there, I changed my mind about the Microdelivery Peel and I am now a believer!!

You can pick Philososphy's Microdelivery Peel at most department stores (I'm going to get mine at Nordstorm) and it retails for $65 US. I remember asking one of the girls at the counter about how many uses you get out of it and I think she said 10-12. Directions on the box say that you can use the peel once or twice a week so you'll definitely get your money's worth - see if the plastic surgeon's office can beat that price!

Let me know if you get to try this peel and if you like it as much as I do!