Beauty

Review: Skin renewing facial at Biologique Recherche, Mandarin Oriental KL

A luxurious treatment

13.03.2017

By Gwen Ong

Review: Skin renewing facial at Biologique Recherche, Mandarin Oriental KL

Biolo-what? Pardon my ignorance; that was my initial reaction when I was assigned to check out Biologique Recherche. A quick Google search resulted in a piqued sense of curiosity. This French skincare brand has been around for over 35 years and it counts a list of A-listers as their fans. Also, Biologique Recherche has a reputation for delivering immediate and long lasting results with its personalised treatments – I was really intrigued!


The story

Biologique Recherche is the brainchild of Yvan, Josette and Philippe Allouche – a biologist, a physiotherapist and a doctor, who each combined their passion to develop formulations that will deliver outstanding and long lasting results. The clinical approach to beauty care means only pure, concentrated and raw ingredients are used in addition to a set of meticulous protocols and procedures. This was evident as I was put in the hands of Monique Terol, Master Trainer of Biologique Recherche from France for my facial session at The Spa, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur.

 

Monique has been a therapist with the brand for over two decades and she truly has the skills of an aesthetic expert. Sharing in the founders’ philosophies, she takes care of each guest with the same holistic approach to understand our needs and tailor the treatments to each skin concern. This is accomplished from the Skin Instant analysis that is done before the facial to ascertain skin type, hydration level, trans-epidermal water loss, elasticity, pigmentation and sebum levels. From here, a recommended selection of Biologique Recherche products and treatments will be given. 

My story

All these years, I thought I had combination skin but in actual fact, my skin was quite well balanced with just a slight sign of dehydration around the cheeks. The Skin Instant analysis showed that this zone don’t hold moisture as well as it should. What a surprise! From the analysis, Monique was able to prescribe a few Biologique Recherche products to address this problem and to target my open pores as well as a few sunspots on around my eyes. She also pointed out my dark circles that needed attention! I guess my late nights are showing. Sigh.

 

With that, she began the ‘Sur Mesure’ or ‘Custom Made’ treatment with the Initialisation Stage where the skin is thoroughly cleansed. Featuring a combination of highly concentrated natural, biological active ingredients and fragrance-free products, the initial whiff was raw and strong. As Monique worked Biologique Recherche’s iconic Lotion P50 on my face, she noticed that my skin was turning red. (Lotion P50 works like an exfoliator to balance and fortify the epidermis layer.) I was alarmed because I had forgotten to mention that my skin is sensitive and it tends to react during most facials. But she reassured me that this is a good sign because my skin cell is active and it would receive the unique benefits of Biologique Recherche’s formulations.   

 

Here, she applied a purifying and stabilising mask to soothe and support the skin for the treatment stage. Then, a customised cocktail of serums was massaged onto the skin to address all the skin concerns highlighted earlier. Monique was gentle yet firm with her techniques. The deeply restorative therapy was meant to help my skin recover to what it was before in its best state. For the finishing touch, Monique nourished my skin with a rich moisturising cream that has a blend of botanical, biological and marine elements.

 

The verdict

The Biologique Recherche facial was a thorough treatment in which the therapist, Monique took the time to find out my current skin condition and concerns, and apply the most suitable products for my face. She explained every step in detail and the function of each product she used. At the end of the session, I was pleasantly surprise to find my pores have shrunk considerably and my dark under circles has diminished significantly. My skin took on a glow that my teammates remarked I looked fresh and bright upon my return to the office sans makeup. Talk about instant gratification! 

 

 

The Biologique Recherche Custom Made treatment is priced at RM625 for a 1.5-hour facial session. It will be available at The Spa, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur beginning this March 2017. The Spa also offers the 2-hour Biologique Recherche Second Skin treatment (RM990) that is designed to act on the extracellular matrix of the skin to accelerate the healing process and achieve immediate results. 

 

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