About two years ago I was reading in Vogue, and again in Allure magazine, about a skin specialist in Hollywood who gave phenomenal facials. Although he doesn't like to associate his business with famous people, both articles hinted that you shouldn't be surprised to run into Winona Ryder and other well-known actresses. I decided to make an appointment on the off chance that I could end up with her poreless, perfect skin. Over the years I had become wary of skin salons, from one too many visits to salons under the name of some great facialist (who was never around unless you were a celebrity), and his dozen or so disgruntled, underpaid, inexperienced facialists who often had no concept of whether "to extract" or "not to extract". Steven was just what I was looking for. He does his own facials, leaves barely a mark on my skin (so much so that I can go straight back to work and not have to hide in a closet for a week), and has the best skin care products from a number of product lines.

Without going into what would be a very long story about Steven and his very small, personally run salon, let's just say I think he is fantastic! After my first facial he suggested I purchase the three basic skin care products from his SMSC house line. They were: Mint Souffle Cleanser, Ginseng Toner with AHA 5% and Granular Scrub. My first reaction was, of course you would suggest that I use your private label! So upon purchasing them, I had no expectations. I figured they would be like everything else I've tried. Average.

To my surprise, I used all three products for 6 months and still use the cleanser and toner now two years later. After three months I noticed that my skin looked dramatically improved. Overall I had a 100% improvement in surface oil, pore size, blackheads, blemishes, and flakey patches. While I cannot surmise what brought about the most improvement - his products or his facials (which also use his products) - I can say that I noticed immediately that his products were very different than anything I had ever used. Steven is also very generous with free samples when you go for facials. He really wants you to know that you like the product before you buy it. I generally walked away each month with 3-4 products that I had purchased and 2-3 samples of something new to try. These products are very high quality, and some are actually quite expensive compared to mall or drugstore prices, but I feel that they are worth it.

On his website, Steven recommends cutting some of the products in half with water. I rarely do that but on occasion have done so with his Ginseng Toner. When I asked him about that, he said the products are concentrated enough to handle being cut with water and that doing so will simply make them last longer.

SMSC Private Label is Steven's brand of core products. They don't have a brand name label or fancy packaging but they are among my all time favorites. I did notice recently while visiting the BeneFit Cosmetic counter that BeneFit's "Mint Souffle" appears to be the same product as Steven's "Mint Souffle", and BeneFit's "Alpha Smooth" toner is virtually the same as Steven's "Ginseng Toner with AHA 5%", except that the Ginseng Toner has lemon juice in it. In both cases I found that Steven's Mint Souffle and Ginseng Toner were more effective and concentrated compared to BeneFit's respective products.

Mint Souffle/Camphor Souffle ($29 for 4 oz. or $65 for 16 oz.)
Steven has two versions of this light, fluffy, low sudsing cleanser. The Mint Souffle is for normal/combination to oily skin types, but I would suggest it's best for oily/combination skin types. I also noticed its cleansing effects greatly increased the longer you allowed it to sit on your skin before rinsing. The Camphor Souffle is different from the Mint Souffle in that its main ingredient is camphor, hence the name. It is my favorite and is fantastic for oily/blemished skin.

Both cleansers smell terrific and left my skin feeling very clean and refreshed without feeling tight and dry. They did a great job of removing makeup and oil. While I normally prefer a very sudsy bubbling cleanser, both of these cleansers do have a substantial lathering effect that completely blankets and penetrates your skin. I used both products over a year period and still use them. I've noticed that on some days these cleansers feel strong, especially in the winter, which in California means dry and 55 degrees. As a result, I usually use these cleansers at night and use another cleanser for normal skin, like Facial Shampoo by Dermaculture in the mornings. In the summer or if I'm traveling to a humid area, I'll definitely use Camphor Souffle twice a day.

Ginseng Toner with AHA 5% ($18 for 4 oz. or $36 for 16 oz.)
This toner is by far my favorite of Steven's products. There is nothing special about the packaging, smell, or initial application, but over time I noticed how fantastic my skin looked. When I tried to switch toners or quit using it all together, just to try something new and different, my skin started to get flakey dulling patches again. It is supposedly for dry or sensitive skin but I think it's more suited for normal/oily skin because of the lemon juice and alpha hydroxy acid level, although it is alcohol free. This might be one case where you would want to cut this product in half with water. It really depends on the climate and your skin type. Overall I would highly recommend this toner.

Granular Cleanser ($30 for 6 oz. or $70 for 16 oz.)
When I first started going to Steven's salon, this was his favorite facial scrub. I don't know if that's still the case, but I never became a big fan of this product. It comes in a tub and separates almost overnight so I found myself getting tired of having to stir it every morning. I'm also not a big fan of scrubs with lots of honey and ground-up nut shells or, in this case, wheat and rye. Also, I found that the ingredients that surround the wheat/rye scrubbies dissolved or rinsed away too quickly leaving me with a face full of the wheat and rye. I really prefer the feeling of a paste or gel base that stays with the scrubbies until I rinse it off. So I only used this scrub for about three months. For my oily skin, I prefer a gel-based scrub with fine-shaped scrubbies.

Azulen Day Cream ($16 for 2 oz. or $34 for 16 oz.)
This day cream is ideal for normal, oily, and sensitive complexions. It's light and packed with azulene, one of the active substances of chamomile. It's a very direct, no frills product. The cream is blue (azulen) and smells just like chamomile. I was an avid user of this moisturizer for almost a year because it was so calming and light. I've since stopped because I'm bored with it and find that I rarely need any moisturizer at all anymore due to the effects of Steven's toner and cleanser. I do keep it in my cabinet for those few days in a year when my skin is feeling irritated.

For more information on Steven Miller and his products, you can email him directly at stevencosmetics@adelphia.net or telephone (323) 683-1149 in Los Angeles, California.