My skin is dry and sensitive. It’s noticeably red on my thirstiest areas (a.k.a. around my nostrils, forehead, and eyebrows) and any spot I happen to accidentally knick with my press-on nails. So Darphin’s Intral Rescue Super Concentrate seemed like the perfect solution for my particular complexion woes. The brand advises that their potent treatment—which is meant to be used twice a day for 28 days after your serum and before your moisturizer—can help soothe redness, hydrate, and may even promote a stronger skin barrier (the outermost layer of your skin) with diligent use.
I tested it out with a simple routine: I applied the treatment, along with the brand’s Intral Redness Relief Soothing Serum, and Hydraskin Light Gel Cream every morning and evening. After just one use, it made my skin look slightly more radiant. (More on that later.) In just three weeks, my complexion looked refreshed, glowy, and less red in certain areas. Dermatologist Jeannette Graf, MD, and cosmetic chemist Ginger King break down the treatment’s supercharged effects.
Everything about using it feels luxe as hell.
Using the Intral Rescue Concentrate felt indulgent. It’s packaged in iridescent, pink vials with pump dispensers that reveal its luxuriously light formula. I’d sweep the milky white liquid across my face and neck and it would melt into my skin in less than a minute. The immediate result: a slight, non-sticky shine.
It made my skin glowy (but not greasy).
The immediate shine that I saw post-application was dewy, fresh, but not-at-all tacky or greasy. King explains that its featherweight seed oils—particularly sweet almond and camellia japonica—are responsible for this. To my surprise, with consistent use of the product, I found that the glow lasted for even longer, making my complexion appear more even (which King attributes to the various flower extracts in the formula).
It soothed my red, irritated splotches.
The most pleasing result was the reduction of my complexion’s redness and dryness. “There are a number of ingredients in the formula that are hydrating, soothing and anti-redness,” says Graf, pointing out the Intral Rescue Concentrate’s use of humectants (ingredients that attract and retain water) and dipotassium glycyrrhizate (which has anti-inflammatory properties). The brand adds that this effect might be created with its Calm Complex—a blend of botanicals (chamomile, hawthorn, and peony) and protecting additives (D-panthenol and polysaccharide).
Graf goes on to explain that those with skin types similar to mine—dry and prone to redness—can benefit from using these ingredients, as well as those who may have over-exfoliated (leaving them with a dry, red, and irritated complexion).
My skin looks so good—I’ve been skipping my base makeup.
My go-to look each day is no-makeup makeup, and I didn’t think I’d ever feel comfortable enough to move my complexion routine to no-makeup at all. I was used to diligently hiding my splotches with a few dabs of concealer or a light coat of a bb cream each day, but I now feel confident enough to attend back-to-back virtual meetings without it.
There are more skin improvements ahead.
It has only been three weeks of working the treatment into my daily routine, but the brand claims that the skin-improving effects become even more dramatic with 28 days of use. The brand even says that this product will ultimately promote a healthy microbiome, which King says says would be thanks to its probiotic ingredients. They “feed off your skin’s good bacteria to protect it and reduce skin sensitivity,” she explains.
Graf and King agree the product will further soothe sensitive skin and keep it hydrated—meaning, less angry skin in the long-run.
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