The Beauty Digest: The Foundation Using Exosome Technology, the Treatment That Transformed My Skin Texture—Plus, the Ever-Earlier Advent Calendar Race
A Beauty Director’s weekly edit of the launches worth knowing, treatments worth trying and industry talking points you’ll want an opinion on.
The Beauty Digest is my Beauty Director’s edit of what’s actually worth your attention. Each week, I’ll be sharing the new launches I’m using and loving, the viral treatments I’m putting to the test (and what I really think of the results), plus my take on the industry conversations everyone’s talking about.
The New Launches I'm Loving
I already love SkinCeuticals P-TIOX Serum, which complements and helps prolong the visible smoothing effects of neurotoxin injections, while also visibly softening expression lines in its own right. Now, the brand has launched P-TIOX Cream—the serum’s more intensive older sibling—designed to target deep-set static wrinkles and visible pores with a patent-pending dual-toxin technology. A 12-week clinical study demonstrated a 21% reduction in pore size, and while I'm only on week one, I'm loving how quickly my skin absorbs it and the immediate glass-skin effect it has.
When it comes to washing my hair, I’m an every-other-day kind of woman. If I dare try to squeeze another day out of it, my scalp looks slick with grease and, by evening, I’m scratching at my roots like some kind of flea-infested stray. I was already keen to try this exfoliating scalp treatment for its impressive detoxing credentials—it helps calm and clear flakes, while Baicapil™ is included to support hair growth—but what I wasn’t expecting was for it to extend my wash cycle by two whole days. The secret is glycolic acid, which the brand says reduces scalp oiliness by 25.7%. Looks like I’m an every-four-days woman now.
Westman Atelier can do no wrong in my eyes. Every product is a verified hit, from the Bronzing Drops and Contour Sticks to the Hydrobalm Tinted Lipsticks. You can tell from the moment you pick one up that every detail—from the design to the ingredients—has been painstakingly considered, with formulas refined until they’re about as close to perfection as it gets. Its latest launch, Suprême Bio-Complex Liquid Foundation, is no exception. Powered by Exosome Technology, the peptide-loaded formula is designed to kick-start skin renewal, mattify and absorb excess oil without causing dryness, blur pores and uneven texture, and soothe the skin barrier—all while looking totally undetectable. It’s a work of art.
The Treatment Trial: Matrix RF Microneedling
I popped by The Aesthetics Doctor clinic last week to see Dr Ahmed El Muntasar for a taste of the new Matrix Radio Frequency (RF) Microneedling treatment. The device uses tiny needles to penetrate the skin at varying depths, delivering RF energy to create controlled micro-injuries that stimulate the skin’s natural production of collagen and elastin.
Where Matrix differs from other RF microneedling devices is its Depth Intelligence technology and real-time impedance monitoring. In other words, it continually assesses how the skin tissue is responding and adjusts energy delivery accordingly, allowing practitioners to treat at different depths and energy levels in a more controlled, individualised way. This can also make for a more comfortable treatment—although, yes, I definitely opted for numbing cream beforehand.
Downtime was minimal. After 30 minutes in the clinic, I headed straight back to the office, albeit a little pink in the cheeks. I did experience a breakout across my cheeks over the following few days (although that could just as easily have been hormonal), but since it cleared, my skin hasn’t looked this smooth and clear in years. And because the collagen-remodelling benefits develop over time, I’m excited to see what happens after round two.
Beauty Buzz: The Great Advent Calendar Race
It feels slightly bizarre to be writing about advent calendars in mid-August, but then the beauty industry has never been one to let reason stand in the way of a good launch. Every year, the advent calendar race seems to start earlier, with increasingly extravagant editions landing while most of us are still applying post-holiday fake tan.
At first, I rolled my eyes. Come on. It's 38 degrees outside. There's not even a whisper of winter in the air. Let us be present and enjoy the summer! But then... I started investigating. And I folded. Because when someone offers you more than £1,000 worth of luxury beauty for £200, suddenly Christmas in August starts to feel remarkably reasonable.
My only remaining qualm with beauty advent calendars is the pretence that anyone is actually using them as advent calendars. I just refuse to believe anyone a) can wait until December and b) has the self-control to just open one a day. Personally, I'd have window 25 open within the hour.
