Hey guys! It’s Mi-Anne and this is Beauty With Mi. It’s been a minute since I’ve done a crazy facial on Beauty With Mi. Remember the good old days of getting bird poop smeared all over my face and the crowd favorite, vagina facial? Well in my opinion, this one takes the cake because it gave me a glimpse at what I might look like if I ever reach 100 years old. Give me my dentures! Except for I’m going to be a very virile 100-year-old. I first saw the facial in an article on Cosmopolitan and flipped because the Beauty Director there did this facial. And it literally looked like her face was about to burn right off. And the entire effect just looked like White Walker meets House of Wax victim meets decrepit old lady. Cosmo called it the Game of Thrones facial, but I’m calling it the Grandma facial. So I zipped over to New Jersey to meet Lora Condon, licensed physician and founder of Beauty Buster to see what all the buzz is about.
Hi! Hi! How are you? I’m Lora. Nice to meet you. Hi! I’m Mi-Anne. Welcome to the spa. Are you ready to get started for your Beauty Buster experience? Yes, I’m a little bit nervous. No. There’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re gonna love it. You’re going to be relaxed. You’re in really good hands. Alright. I trust you. Okay. Come on. Let’s get started. The treatment itself is called the oxygen enzyme facial. It costs around $150 and it’s meant to brighten, tighten, and smooth the skin. The facial started off pretty normally with some gentle cleansing and a little bit of extractions. Then Lora moved onto an exfoliating peel. The peel itself smelled like cinnamon and not gonna lie, it kind of tingled and burned. I’m gonna have baby skin after this! Once it had sat on my skin for a few minutes, Lora started to dry rub my skin, removing all these little bits of skin and product away with it.
I don’t really feel this thing coming off. It just kind of feels very warm. It was gross! But satisfying. Afterward my skin was feeling pretty dry so Lora put a facial oil on my face and whipped out these two weird-looking tubes. I’d heard of facial cupping before but I’d never experienced it. So I’m going to be honest when I say that I was pretty nervous. Is it going to leave bruises like traditional cupping? No. So because they are constantly moving on the skin, they do not leave any marks. Feels like a face massage but with little kisses. Then Lora used LED devices on either sides of my face to improve a number of skin issues.
So she used red light, which is going to help with inflammation and blue light to kill acne causing bacteria. Then came the Pièce De Résistance. I’m French now, guys. The oxygen enzyme mask from DMK. This is the mask. This is the mamma jamma. Lora mixed the powder with some herbal water and then applied the goo all over my face, neck, and décolletage. And then told me to sit tight for 45 minutes while it dried.
It feels good. It feels like I have a bunch of glue on my face. This is where things got really, really, really weird. Am I beautiful yet? The mask dried down to a thick, hard crust that made it really hard to move any part of my face, let alone speak. I know what you’re thinking. What the hell does this mask do? I’m no scientist but anytime I do any new beauty treatment, I always do my due diligence. So I asked Dr. Joshua Zeichner, a dermatologist here in New York to weigh in. He said the mask contains albumin, which is a protein found in blood and egg whites, which helps promote the movement of blood toward the skin, thus helping oxygen get to the surface. More oxygen can do a lot for your skin like boost hydration and brighten. The enzymes in the mask also work double-duty to eat away at dead skin cells. The mask also contains antioxidants and amino acids that help protect the skin and boost collagen. So all of this is to say that I didn’t really have anything to worry about.
It looked weird, but it was totally safe. After what felt like hours, but was really only 45 minutes, Lora began to remove the mask in circular motions using water. As it started to breakaway, I started slowly getting mobility back in my face, which was honestly a liberating experience. My skin feels really good. And I was left with brighter and super, super smooth skin. After the facial, my complexion looked much more even. That being said, did it solve all my skin issues? No. But what facial ever really does? For those of you who: A. don’t live in the tri-state area and B. don’t want to fork over $150 for a facial, I have a few other products that can give you a similar effect. Now DMK, the brand that makes the enzyme facial, actually has an at-home enzyme mask that you can use. It’s the same powder, you mix it with water, toner, whatever you want. And you can put it on your face and it does do that kind of hardening effect. If you don’t want this, you can get a mask that’s high in acids.
So this one from StriVectin has glycolic acids and some AHAs. You put it all over your face. Leave it on for like five minutes. And then wash it off. It’s going to really help exfoliate your skin and get away all those little dead skin cells. If you’re not into acids, which not everyone is because it can be a little bit intense for some skin types, you can use a hydrating and brightening mask like this one from Farmacy.
Now this is the little mini version that I have but they make a bigger version as well. It’s called Honey Potion. You put it on your face and it warms as you rub it in. So it’s going to help. You can do a little bit of a facial massage. You can do a little bit of lymphatic drainage. And then once you rub it off, it’s going to A. help with hydration and B. just brighten and lighten up your skin. So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed this video. But let me know what you think in the comments below and if you would ever try this weird Grandma facial. And I will catch you guys next week. See ya later, Sonny! Thanks so much for hanging out with me, guys! Let me know what you want to see next on Beauty with me in the comments below. And click here to subscribe to Refinery29. And click here to watch more videos. Bye! .
