“Busy B” is a new column where intrepid contributor Bianca Teixeira attempts to better herself through fitness classes, skin care treatments, and more. Follow along every month and judge for yourself whether or not Busy B’s experiments are right for you!
Not so long ago, I penned an essay detailing my obsession with preserving my skin. So, when I heard that the Miraj Hammam Spa at Toronto’s ShangriLa Hotel was offering a new facial intended to firm and lift the skin, I ran as quick as my kitten heels could go to try it out.
A few years back, when I was heavy into yoga (it was a very zen winter), an instructor attempted to teach me about facial stretching. The “poses” were all exaggerated expressions—arched eyebrows, a silent scream, the Joker’s smile—that get oxygen into the skin for a healthier looking visage. What I thought was a joke was, well, not a joke.
Slowly but surely, spa facials are advertising treatments that incorporate the same kinds of muscle pulling that my yogi tried to sell me on once upon a time. This time around, though, a specialist at Hammam is doing the work for me with deliciously intoxicating oils.
Right off the bat, I’m told that I’m a little younger than the ideal candidate for the Resveratrol Lift. It’s a facial designed specifically for mature skin that needs a revitalizing plump, but I’ve always believed that it’s never too early to start looking after our skin, in order to prevent wrinkles and dullness later on, so I lie down and prepare for my skin to glow.
The hour-long facial includes all the usual suspects: steaming, exfoliating, extraction, masks and moisturizers. The major difference with the Resveratrol Lift, however, is that instead of a gentle massaging of skin, the facialist firmly rolls and pulls facial muscles in an effort to re-sculpt them completely. The immediate result is a face that feels like it’s just been through a workout; it’s tight, but it feels great.
Repeated visits to this specific treatment room for a pulled facial would no doubt wield the preferred results, but the arsenal of anti-aging Caudalie products that accompanies the treatment certainly aids in the process.
During the facial, a mask is applied that hardens into place. But before it goes on, Caudalie’s Resveratrol Lift firming serum is worked into the skin so that the hard mask can push the ingredients deep into your skin. Magic, right?
As I said, at the end of it all my face felt worked out. The muscles were rejuvenated and my skin looked refreshed and glowing. I had a hint of redness in my cheeks, but it probably came from all the blushing I did after snoring myself awake—which is just another thing that reminds me of yoga.