I had the opportunity to catch up with Kate Somerville at the Nordstrom Spring Trend Show in Bellevue, WA on March 23, 2013. Here’s the transcript… Enjoy!
Raging Rouge: You recently launched two new products, RetAsphere, and D-Scar. I just started using RetAsphere recently, and I LOVE it. Can you tell my readers what makes these products so revolutionary?
Kate: I’ve been practicing medical skincare for 20 years now, and we used to prescribe Retin-A, which is really harsh on the skin. We came across this incredible way to deliver Retinol without the irritation. This product melts into the skin, releasing the Retinol in its purest form in the layers you need it. It doesn’t oxidize and burn the surface of the skin. Many people who are sensitive to Retinols can use this product.
Raging Rouge: I have REALLY REALLY sensitive skin, and being a beauty blogger and testing out product is a big hazard for me. But I’ve always had such great luck with your product, so thank you so much! My sensitive skin thanks you!
Kate: Well, I have really sensitive skin, so when we do our formulations, so if it’s not working on me it’s…
Raging Rouge: Ditch it? Well, thank you for being a lab rat. Because sometimes if I have a reaction, I can’t calm it down for a month, and it’s so terrible when that happens, especially when it affects the face.
Kate: And by the way, the Retinol is 2-in-1, it’s your night cream and your Retinol.
Raging Rouge: And it’s only for use at night, correct?
Kate: Yes, only night.
Raging Rouge: Can you use it daily, if you wanted to?
Kate: You can, but you may start to see irritation and dryness.
Raging Rouge: Celebs are constantly walking in and out of your clinic. What are the most popular treatments among the Hollywood elite, thus far in 2013?
Kate: Three things. DermalQuench, which is still my top performer. A treatment called Laser Genesis, it feels like warm water going over the skin. There’s no downtime, and it enhances your collagen.
Raging Rouge: So it helps fill out fine lines?
Kate: Yes, exactly. It helps with enlarged pores, rosacea…
Raging Rouge: I have GOT to come down to see you!
Kate: It’s incredible. That’s my favorite treatment. Thirdly are our LED lights that really change skin, it’s called DermaLucent. We have a red light to increase collagen production, a white one that is our most popular that helps even out the skin.
Raging Rouge: And the lights are really effective?
Kate: Incredibly effective. We have a blue light that helps the worst acne you could imagine.
Raging Rouge: And you don’t feel anything during those treatments?
Kate: The first time I did the red light, I couldn’t even stay under it. It was so bright, even with goggles on! But now I go under it without goggles, it’s so safe. But, that first time, it was uncomfortably bright! The white, you don’t see. But the white is the most damaging on the eyes, so you have to wear metal goggles. We have safety buttons to ensure our technicians know it’s on.
Raging Rouge: Winters in Seattle are awful on the skin! What can Seattle customers do to revive skin suffering from what I like to call, “Winter Sickness”?
Kate: Winter skin here is dry. You’re going from cold and wet, to hot and dry. This leads to dryness. Three things: 1) Good exfoliation, so ExfoliKate twice a week. 2) Hydration, meaning Hyaluronic Acid, so our DermalQuench. 2) A moisutruzier that matches your skin, for most people here that would be Deep Tissue Repair. It’s super powerful as far as wrinkle reduction.
Raging Rouge: What’s coming soon from your lab? Any other tricks?
Kate: Yes, we have a new sunscreen coming out. It’s called WaterLight. It’s chemical-free, so it’s all topical. It doesn’t cause whiteness, and it’s super-light, it’s actually watery.
Raging Rouge: What’s the SPF?
Kate: 50! Yes, it’s strong. It’s great! We also have a CC cream coming out.
Raging Rouge: That leads to my next question! I was wondering when you might start easing into cosmetics, because it seems like a logical next step to me.
Kate: It is, and we are going to go there. Right now we’re focusing on the CC cream, and getting that down. It’s going to take a lot of development for me, and I’m not a makeup artist, so we’ll need to figure out who will be the spokesperson on QVC.
Raging Rouge: So are you going to dip the toe in, with just some foundation and concelaers first, or are you going to go for it and do color?
Kate: No, we’re going to dip the toe first.
Raging Rouge: What’s the timeline on the CC cream?
Kate: Sunscreen and CC Cream is coming out on May 1. We also have D-Lo Oil coming out. I found it on a trip to Fiji. It’s a grove that’s only produced on this particular island, it’s a reserve.
Thanks so much to the amazing Kate Somerville, for giving Raging Rouge readers the inside scoop on what’s ahead!
