Philosophy The Microdelivery Detoxifying Oxygen Peel

Philosophy The Microdelivery Detoxifying Oxygen Peel is a fun way to really give your skin a deep cleanse, and all in under 5 minutes too, and at home!  This is a very quick and easy 2 step system that is really simple to do. First of all, you use the charcoal paste, which is almost black, and smooth a thin layer over your face.  Leave this to work for one minute.  Now the fun part starts to happen.  Apply the second step, which is a like a white paste, on top of the charcoal paste, and massage it all over your face.  The paste will now fuse and become a pale grey in colour, and will start to bubble up on your skin and you can see it actively working on your skin.   The results are good, your skin will be thoroughly and deeply cleansed, leaving your skin clean, fresh and invigorated.  It is great for oily skin, pimples, pores and general dullness, skin looks so much more radiant, and makeup looks fresher too. 

Usually, I love Philosophy products, but this duo didn't really work for me. I do like the way it feels after you wash it off. If my skin had not been stripped of its natural oils and broken out in acne from another product, not from this brand, this detoxifying set could have worked for me. I would give it another go once my skin is back to normal.

The Philosophy Detoxifying Oxygen peel is a 2 step facial peel with a detoxifying activating charcoal mask and a brightening oxygen foam booster for dull, clogged and stressed skin. The charcoal mask in the black tube is black in colour and feels like a bouncy gelee. The oxygen foam booster in the white tube is a white, lightweight cream that foams up right after you apply the product to your face, similar to shaving cream for comparison.  Step 1 is to detoxify by applying a generous amount of the activated charcoal mask to freshly cleansed, damp skin to lift away dirt and impurities. When they say generous, they were not kidding. The gelee textured charcoal mask is a bit slippery and you have to get a good amount to form an even layer on your face. If you don't get a generous amount, the charcoal mask will apply in a patchy, uneven layer.. I was surprised at how non-drying this mask is compared to traditional clay based charcoal masks I have used in the past. On the contrary, the mask felt soothing and hydrating on my skin. Once the mask is applied, proceeding with step 2.  Step 2 is applying the oxygenated foam booster in a thin layer over the charcoal mask. Massage the oxygen facial booster in a circular motion until it foams up. The bubbles feel airy and lightweight infusing the skin with a burst of fresh oxygen. You let the booster sit for 3 minutes and then use the exfoliating derma blade/spatula-like thing the products come with by moving it along the skin in a shaving like motion, scraping away the mask. Rinse any remaining product with warm water.  My skin feels soft and hydrated after masking with the 2 step products. My skin is brighter and radiant looking and the gentle exfoliation the derma blade provides makes my skin feel baby smooth. I'm unsure if I would call is a peel though as apart from the physically exfoliating derma blade, the product itself did not provide any chemical exfoliation. However, if you want to revive dull, tired skin especially before a big event, this is a good option for you.   

Pros Short wait time - 3 minutes Doesn't dry out skin Skin feels fresh and clean Pore size appeared smaller Cons Black component of mask stained porcelain sink (my fault though I guess) Price Overall the mask is good. Not a holy grail or life changer though. I felt as though it calmed my acne a little and did shrink my pores without making my skin feel tight but the next morning it was back to normal. Tried the mask a few times a week with the same immediate improvements but nothing over the long term. It would be great before a special event but not worth the price in my opinion.

I loved the way this product worked. I first applied the charcoal portion of the mask and then applied the oxygen portion as explained in the directions.  I then left it on for approximately 3 minutes and then used the plainer and plained the mask off. I then rinded off the remainder of the mask. My skin looked brighter and felt so velvety soft. 

I like trying new products so when I received some samples of Philosophy's Microdelivery Detoxifying Oxygen Peel I was pretty chuffed.  Let it be known that I'm a big fan of everything Philosophy - their skincare, their Amazing Grace perfume-it's all wonderful.  A Philosopher I am!  And my face was definitely ready for a good exfoliation.   The peel is a two step process.  Step one is the Detoxifying Charcoal Gel.  Step two is the Oxygen Foam Booster.  I'm usually a one step exfoliator sometimes while brushing my teeth but I thought I'd be able to work this out eventually. Ok  first the charcoal gel.  I applied a thick layer to clean skin and oh my this is really BLACK!  We're talking full camo.  I really feel like I'm  preparing myself for jungle warfare but whatever...I resist the urge to rinse as instructed. It says leave on for a moment but I leave on a little longer than that because just as I finish smearing on the last of the gel, the kitchen timer goes off and it's time to put on the rice (I loves me some multi-tasking).  Back to the bathroom and it's time for step two. The instructions tell me that I should apply a generous amount of this white cream ON TOP of the charcoal gel and massage it in and then leave for three minutes.  Pretty easy.  I pop the cream on my face and start to massage in a circular motion as instructed.  First it goes kind of grey, then sort of duck-egg blue.  It foams up and spreads quite easily.  I would say it smells a little like clay if I had to describe the scent.   Then I leave it for three minutes.  A lot can happen in three minutes really.  You can fold quite a few socks in that time really.  I also managed to scare the pants off both my husband and my daughter in two separate corridor incidents the latter asking me why I looked like a smurf.  Beauty darling, beauty. Ok three minutes is up and I rinse off.  The mask has gone a little hard and it does take a while to remove so I use my trusty makeup removing sponge.   Fresh faced now I can feel that the peel has really worked wonders.  My skin feels clean, smooth and subtly hydrated.  I look in the mirror and see that my skin has a glow and even feels a little firmer.  Wowza!   It was quite a journey but it was thoroughly worth it.  And I have found my new Philosophy fave now (sorry Amazing Grace-just kidding I still love you too).

I have used a couple of peeling products from Philosophy and I really enjoyed them. Philosophy's new Microdelivery Detoxifying Oxygen Peel is not an exception - the system does not only deliver instantly visible results, it is also very fun to use! I am not quite sure if "peel" describes the product accurately, as it is more like a 2-step mask system.  The first step is to apply a charcoal gel onto clean,dry skin. As opposed to a lot of the other charcoal products which can be quite thick, I find this charcoal gel is quite thin, easy to apply and it does not have any unpleasant smell.  The gel does tend to stick to the fingers a little bit so it is probably more efficient to use a brush or spatula. Apart from a slightly cooling sensation, my skin does not react to the charcoal gel at all.  After waiting for a minute or so, I apply the second step which is the oxygen booster.  This is when the fun begins: upon the oxygen booster contacting the charcoal gel, the mask turns into grey colour; my skin also feels the tiniest "heat" which indicates that something is happening. Upon continuous mixing of the two products, a foam appears which is, to my surprise, quite dense but at the same time fluffy! The sensation is difficult to describe in writing and you really need to experience this for yourself. I continue to apply the oxygen booster until all the charcoal gel are converted to this lovely foam. After leaving the foam on my skin for only 3 minutes, the foam can be removed from the skin. I would recommend using a face cloth and it can be slightly messy to splash water onto the skin to rinse the foam off. With a face cloth the foam comes off the skin effortlessly.  My skin feels very clean afterwards, and I can also see a good glow in it.  For me, the result is very instant but it does not seem to last until the next day.  This is something that I would use immediately before a special occasion rather than as a regular weekly treatment. Although there are two steps in the whole process, the wait time is very quick (that is, a minute after the first step and 3 minutes after the second step), making the overall process relatively efficient compared to other masks which usually need to be left on for 10-15 minutes.

Gentle but clarifying. I bought this because I have a break out currently and because my skin tone is blotchy and uneven. The instructions are to first apply the black gel. I found this a little hard to apply as it stuck more to my fingers than my face, so I would suggest dampening your face first before applying it. Then you wait for it to dry for a few minutes and apply the white cream. It bubbles up sightly, making a fluffy feeling under your feelings. You then rinse it off. Afterwards my skin definitely felt ‘cleaner’. I couldn’t see an immediate difference in my acne but it did seem to be calmer and a little bit less red the next day. My skin did look brighter an more even immediately after, so the peel definitely fulfils its claim of brightening skin. My skin also didn’t feel tight at all, which is a huge feat for dry skin after a charcoal mask!  I would repurchase this.

This two product skin detoxifying set was so easy to use.  I applied the black coloured formula generously and evenly over my entire face, being careful not to get it into my eyes, as per the instructions.  This is called 'Step 1' and I only needed to wait a few seconds after applying this before I layered the 'Step 2' over the top.  Step 2, which was a white formula, also was applied generously and then I massaged the two formulas together,  in gentle circular motions for a few moments.  The gentle bubbling up of the products straight away created a fine foam which I felt really working to push fresh oxygen into my skin.  It felt so gentle but also refreshing at the same time.  I left that combined foaming mixture on for a further three minutes before I rinsed my skin clean.  It was very easy to rinse off but I also found using a face washer handy to gently remove all the product especially from around my hairline.   There was barely any scent at all to either formula and they were light in texture.  After I'd rinsed my face clean, my skin felt fully detoxified and refreshed.  Straight after using this, my skin felt like it was breathing in big, deep fresh breaths of air and my pores felt so clean!  My skin was not stripped at all - this is so gentle and I think even sensitive skin would love this because it left my skin feeling soothed, renewed and relaxed.   It felt like someone had opened a window to some fresh mountain air and my skin was breathing it all in.  I've never experienced a product like this before - I was very pleasantly surprised with the results.   I wasn't expecting such beautiful results and I was quite taken aback at how well this worked for me.  I didn't wear any make-up after using this as I didn't want to ruin the fresh and detoxified feeling plus my skin looked more even, fresher and even-toned so I didn't really feel the need to put make-up on anyhow.   I simply applied a moisturiser and got on with the day. My skin looked great the following days after this treatment too - I expect this would be great to use once a week.  As I've only tried this duo in a trial size I now will be buying the full size product.   I am planning on using this regularly and am looking forward to it's accumulative benefits for my skin, which I believe it will have now that I've tried it.   I loved the way this purged my skin of any impurities and also how quick and easy it was to use.  In just a few minutes this oxygenating duo was all done, the treatment was fully completed and the effects were instant and very noticeable.   I have an oily combination ageing skin type with some normal and dry areas too.  This duo worked superbly over all my different skin types so I believe any skin type could benefit greatly from this duo.