Product Of The Week: Rodan + Fields Overnight Restorative Cream

After months of social distancing, ongoing mask wearing and often, days without setting eyes on another soul in-person has resulted in a slightly sketchy skincare routine. (Did we cleanse, smooth on lotion or none of the above…? It’s all a big blur). So we’re creating a new routine with actual skincare goals: to revitalize, refresh and reset our skin with Rodan + Fields three-step REDEFINE skincare line. Because when the world finally uprights itself, we want to reenter it looking at least five years younger.

This means visibly fewer fine lines and wrinkles, tighter pores, plumper and firmer skin and an even-looking skin tone to boot. No small feat. But after one week of consistently using the REDEFINE line, we’re seeing improvements, especially in our skin’s ability to retain moisture courtesy of our favourite product of the pack, the super-hydrating Overnight Restorative Cream.

“It delivers the best hydration throughout the night,” affirms Dr. Kathy Fields, a dermatologist in San Francisco and co-founder of the Rodan + Fields brand. “The nighttime is when we get to really dose our skin, because it won’t be rubbed off with the day’s wear and tear. So Overnight Restorative Cream gives us an important opportunity to do some heavy lifting to improve the quality of skin.”

Loaded with glycolic acid and backuchiol, a natural and plant-derived alternative to retinol, our sensitive skin not only remains calm it is simultaneously exfoliated and infused with the cream’s moisture. Plus, our luminous glow doesn’t swirl down the drain once we’ve had our morning shower either.

Now, as we’re entering our second week with our regime, we’re starting to see the collagen and keratin-boosting benefits of the cream’s inclusion of vitamin B3 and peptides as well. The collagen and keratin in our skin—you know, the proteins that give our face it’s stretchy newborn baby-like suppleness and protective barrier against the environment that, sadly, break down as we age—have been kicked into action. As a result, our face is beginning to look and feel smoother, plumper and firmer. The deep lines beneath our eyes are still there, but the crow’s feet that jump to life every time we smile are visibly fading and despite two late nights and three early mornings, we look more rested. So much so, that the aesthetician who has been dying our eyebrows for the last four years complimented us (without any prodding!) on our skin’s refreshed-looking appearance.

“The results are three times better and two times faster when it comes to reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles,” says Dr. Katie Rodan,who, liker her counterpart, is a San Francisco-based dermatologist and Rodan + Fields co-founder.“We’ve also added benefits of visible sculpting and firming. Each ingredient is carefully chosen to be the right quantity and quality to enhance the impact of all the ingredients within the formula.”

Particularly when the facial products are used in a thoughtful and systematic order.

The REDEFINE line observes a numbered, three-step regime with two types of cleansers (step 1), one toner (step 2) and four daytime and nighttime lotions and creams to choose from (step 3), along with a Multi-Function Eye Cream. Each product’s specific blend of ingredients aligns with and is used in conjunction with each other on a twice-daily basis and is the line’s recipe for success.

“Our formulas are like recipes,” explains Dr. Fields. “You can use the vanilla from Madagascar or cheap synthetic vanilla. The taste will definitely not be as good. Think of ingredients in skincare formula in the same way. The quality of the ingredients matters and how they are mixed together makes huge differences in the ultimate performance of that formula.”

Based on how our skin has benefit from the line so far, we’re looking forward to what weeks three, four, five, six, seven and eight will bring. In a recent clinical study, 94 per cent of participants using the Rodan + Field’s three-step line showed supple, softer and smoother skin after just eight weeks. Fingers crossed, because we want to be a part of that 94 per cent. Remember, we’ve got goals.

“A regimen-based approach is the best way of solving skin issues,” assures Dr. Rodan. “Every step counts and treats [aging] most effectively. It’s holistic and allows our products to give people the best skin of their lives.”

Rodan + Fields, Overnight Restorative Cream, $104; the REDEFINE Regimen set: the Daily Clay Cleanser, Pore Refining Toner, Triple Defense Cream SPF 30 and Overnight Restorative Cream, $255, both are available online at www.rodanandfields.com/ca.