As a beauty writer, trialling and reviewing beauty products is the crux of what I do. I insist on trialling skincare products for a minimum of three weeks at a time, in as controlled an environment as possible (ie. only changing one element of my routine at any given time so I can pinpoint which products are delivering specific results), however even with that level of control, the regular changes to my regimen have a tendency to throw my skin out of whack. I’ve long had a selection of skincare stalwarts- the products I revert to pre and post trial to return my skin to the state of a clean canvas, however those products had grown tired, as though they were sick of having to swoop in during a skincare emergency.
Champagne problems.
My interview with Rationale’s Richard Parker (which you can read here or listen to here and here) came at a time when my skin confidence was at a low. I’d been hit with a hormonal breakout around the jaw line- something that had once been a real rarity but had started to become more frequent. I still had dark post-inflammatory hyper pigmentation following a previous breakout, and while these imperfections would have looked minor to onlookers, I no longer felt content going makeup-free- something I’d once prided myself on being comfortable doing.
I went into the interview with high expectations, given the almost cult status the brand has reached. Richard proved to be a wealth of information, and roughly one week following the interview I visited the brand’s Canterbury salon for a skin consultation, EpiNova Photosonic Facial and to be prescribed a Rationale regime- something I made a commitment, to myself, to follow exclusively for at least one month. The end goal? Healthier skin that functions as it should and, ideally, a new failsafe routine to revert to before, during and after trialling products from other brands. An update on my previously controlled environment.
I was prescribed the #1 Immunologist Serum, #3 PhotoDynamic Day Cream SPF15 and B3-T Superfluid Sunscreen SPF50+ for morning, PreCeramide Pre-Cleanse Oil, #4 ProCeramide Cleanser, #5 Catalyst Serum and #6 DNA Night Cream for evening (alternating between #5 and #6 for the first two weeks to ease my skin into the routine, then layering them following that initial period) and the Immunologist Mask for use once a week.
I began my four week commitment on Thursday, October 27. My skin was already at the end of a breakout, and the lovely Erin from the salon informed me that my EpiNova treatment would cause my skin to purge. It did this for exactly one week.
One week, in the grand scheme of things, is not a long time, particularly given that I am acutely aware that the skin functions on roughly a 28 day cycle (hence why you cannot review a beauty product after one week and anyone who claims otherwise is not to be trusted). Even though I knew my skin would purge and that a week is not very long at all, this first week was rough. I felt self conscious applying my makeup and attending beauty events and, more importantly, my spots were painful- something I wasn’t used to.
On day eight, I woke up to almost clear skin. Seemingly overnight, my skin had taken to my new routine and let it work its magic. From there, there’s not a lot more detail I feel I need to add to this review. I didn’t suffer a single breakout during the month, even in times of immense stress of lack of sleep, and the only spots that popped up occured after false tanning and over indulging on sugar and alcohol (all factors that I know are of detriment to my skin), and even then, the spots were minor. I have not skipped a single morning nor evening of my routine, and after just over a month when I needed to work a new product into my routine to review later in the month, my skin continues to function healthily.
I understand that these products and treatments come at great expense, and while I was gifted them for work purposes, I have spoken to many friends and family who use these products and ordinarily wouldn’t justify spending so much money on beauty- however, they have all iterated that Rationale products last for months (most have said between three and four, as you’re prescribed only a few drops/a pearl sized amount of each product per day) and, more importantly, they work.
I have posted a photo of how my skin is looking, after five weeks of Rationale, sans makeup on my Instagram, which you can view here.
Does Rationale skincare really work? Is it worthy of its cult status?
Absolutely, unequivocally yes.
While these products were provided courtesy of Rationale, this article is not sponsored, there was no obligation from me to post and all views are, as always, entirely my own.
