An interview with creator Annee de Mamiel

Anytime renowned skincare therapist Annee de Mamiel creates a new product, we're automatically in. Find out what makes her Overnight Exfoliating Oil so special — and how to use it — in her interview with Dara below.

Dara: I’m always excited about your new creations, but this one was particularly intriguing. What prompted you to create the Overnight Exfoliating Oil?

ANNEE DE MAMIEL: Overall, I wanted to give people a multitasking product, something that was gentle on the skin but really effective.

There’s been such a move towards products with a high concentration of strong acids. As a result, in clinic, what I’ve been seeing is that the skin’s natural oils are just stripped away and, with that, the microbiome and skin barrier decimated. This leads to other issues – increased sensitivity, dryness, redness, and possibly rosacea, as there is no protective layer to hold that moisture in. And then people get mega stressed, and it’s just this continual cycle where they’re constantly stripping their skin.

One of the big things I noticed on my last trip to the States is that a lot of people are no longer using oils, but I think the skin needs both oil and water to be healthy and glowing. This product is designed to nourish the skin with oils while gently exfoliating, too.

Dara: What do you think is the most exciting thing about the Overnight Exfoliating Oil?

ANNEE DE MAMIEL: Nighttime skincare is coming along in leaps and bounds. It’s so important to pay attention to your skin at night: that’s when it repairs and recovers, along with so many other functions in the body.

So I’m excited that this oil delivers so many things to the skin; it peels effectively and it also nourishes, treats, and soothes, and neither loses out to the other. You can breathe a sigh of relief because it’s one less thing you have to think about. I love that it’s multipurpose and delivers benefits in an unexpected way.

Dara: OK, tell me more about that!

ANNEE: The Overnight Exfoliating Oil is an exfoliating, nourishing, sleep-enhancing oil all in one. It’s a really gentle exfoliant, but it calms the skin, bringing it softness and changing its tone over time so that it’s clear and even. Loads of products promise an even tone, but this does it in a new way; you’ll see small changes over time, and then all of a sudden, it all comes together. You’ll have a wow moment when you think, “My skin’s looking really great; why is that?” Then you’ll think, “Ah, that’s what it is.”

Everyone’s looking for an instant miracle product, but when you want long-lasting results, that’s not going to happen. You can’t get an immediate, amazing effect and then have that continue every day — our bodies just don’t work like that.

Dara: Who would you say this product is for?

ANNEE: It’s for the person who’s really busy and always forgets to exfoliate. (I have a real mix of patients – from the over-exfoliators to people who just forget.) But it’s really for everyone; it’s a great multitasker, and it’s excellent for breakouts.

Dara: What are the key ingredients in its formula?

ANNEE: The main exfoliant is a new derivative of salicylic acid, called capryloyl salicylic acid — it’s a lipophilic acid (LHA), and it’s encapsulated. This makes it great for nighttime because it’ll continue to work all night, and it goes deep.

Along with that, you’ll find some enzymes – papaya and pineapple – to help give you that immediate softness. There’s also a triple blend of limes – desert, rainforest, and caviar – from the Australian rainforest, which provide citric and malic acids to help even the skin tone without stripping the skin.

At the same time, you’re nourishing with rosehip oil, brightening elderberry, and rice bran oil, which has a proprietary blend of anti-inflammatory herbs in it. So you’re calming the skin as well as gently exfoliating it on different levels.

The essential oil blend in it is also really active — it helps to ground us and enable a deeper sleep — but gentle on the skin.

Dara: I love that you’re working with salicylic acid, which is an unsung hero in skincare. What made you choose it?

ANNEE: I chose this derivative of salicylic acid specifically because it’s oil soluble. I really believe in the difference that oils make to your skin; this ingredient had been on patent so not available to be used generally, it gave me the ability to mix the two to provide a nice, gentle level of exfoliation in a nourishing product that also helps repair the skin barrier. It’s a single product that can cover multiple steps in your routine.

Dara: I’d love your thoughts on exfoliation in general. What do you usually suggest?

ANNEE: Overall, I think we exfoliate too much. So many products have low levels of acids in products, and so we are potentially using exfoliating ingredients without realizing it on top of the targeted products we might choose.

It also varies throughout the year; at certain times of the year, I think people definitely need some exfoliation. Spring and autumn, in particular, are the two times when people need it the most. In the springtime, you’re coming out of winter and there’s often a buildup; cell turnover has slowed down because other processes in your body have slowed down, too. And Autumn is about recovery from summer. Sometimes you haven’t cleansed properly and gotten all the sunscreen off — the buildup of sunscreen, the need to break that down and get it off the skin, can be a real issue.

The rest of the year, look for really, really, really gentle products when you’re exfoliating – products like this, or even Cecily Braden’s lymphatic brushes if you’re using those most nights.

And if you’re living a healthy lifestyle, you tend to need exfoliation a bit less. Cortisol slows cellular turnover; that’s one of the things we know about it well. If you’re stressed to the max, not eating properly, doing all the things that tend to upset our internal rhythms, you probably need exfoliation a bit more.

Dara: Can you share any usage tips for the Overnight Exfoliating Oil?

ANNEE: It’s in a dosed dropper, so I press it and get a dose for the face and a dose for the neck. (It ends up being about a half a dropper’s worth of oil. You press the button on the top, and it soaks up a dose.) If you use that amount, applying it 2-3 times per week is ample.

In the spring and autumn, when your skin needs the added exfoliation, you can use it every other night for a week.

Among all the people I tested with it, including me, about 20% felt a gentle tingling on the skin. You can put Skin Recovery Concentrate over the top if you want to help soothe it. But it’s funny, it might feel like it’s really, really, really tingling, but if you look in the mirror, your face will be as calm as calm. So it can be one of those “you know that it’s working” products — but that’s not the case for everyone.

Finally, I’d advise avoiding it on the same night that you use Gravity Fix or another retinoid. It’s so gentle that it would probably be fine, but in this era of caution, I’d advise avoiding it.

Dara: How would you suggest fitting it into a nighttime routine?

ANNEE: There are two ways I usually do it —

Option A

1. Cleanse with Restorative Cleansing Balm or Brightening Cleansing Oil

2. Mist with Multi-Active Hydramist

3. Exfoliate with Overnight Exfoliating Oil

4. (As needed) Layer Skin Recovery Concentrate over the top

Option B

1. Cleanse with Restorative Cleansing Balm or Brightening Cleansing Oil

2. Mist with Multi-Active Hydramist

3. Apply First Fix or Fatigue Fix

3. Exfoliate with Overnight Exfoliating Oil

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Thank you, Annee, for giving us this in-depth look at your newest creation! We love it for everyone; we stress-tested it with very acne-prone skin and are happy to report that it was a winner. Check it out here.