Bridal Skin Prep: Products & Treatments That *Literally* Took a Year Off My Face
Jas is the Senior Content Specialist at Adore Beauty. A beauty admirer turned certified addict, she brings a sharp editorial eye and pop-culture pulse to everything she creates. Her words have appeared in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, and Broadsheet. When she’s not producing viral content or podcasting about skincare, you’ll find her thrifting for vintage treasures or binging Bravo (strictly for research, of course).
I can’t believe I’m typing this… It’s officially less than six months until my wedding. (!!)
It’s equal parts thrilling and mildly terrifying. My Pinterest board is thriving (642 pins and counting, yikes), but my sleep schedule? Not so much.
With so many decisions still on the table — seating chart? Wedding party outfits? Why are there so many napkin colours?? — one of the easiest calls was handing my face over to the professionals.
One of the perks of producing Adore’s podcast, Beauty IQ Expert (besides getting to yap about beauty with some of the best in the biz), is having direct access to co-host and skin therapist extraordinaire, Tegan Mac.
If you’re in Melbourne, you might already know Tegan. She’s been part of the Adore Beauty family for years and runs her own clinic in Brunswick West. She’s the kind of skin therapist who can turn complicated dermal science into metaphors you actually remember.
TL;DR: my kind of person.
Step One: Facing the Truth (Literally)
When Tegan suggested I come in for a VISIA scan, I felt a mix of excitement and dread. We’d spoken about the skin scanning machine on the pod before, and I’d been slowly working up the courage to face one.
The VISIA takes a brutally honest, high-res image of your face and reveals everything happening beneath the surface: pigmentation, redness, texture, UV damage… the works.
(Side note: Adore Beauty's physical stores are fitted with a similar skin analysis system called OBSERV520X that's completely free to use. Head here to see where your closest store is – with more on the way soon!)
It can even simulate how your skin will age over time. Not for the faint-hearted, and, to be fair, Tegan doesn’t usually show this part to clients… I now understand why.
Confronting? Absolutely. But fascinating. It’s like glimpsing a crystal ball version of yourself decades into the future. The point, of course, is prevention, because by the time you see signs of ageing, much of the damage is already done.
Note to self: We can minimise, but can’t reverse.
My main concerns (aside from the existential crisis about mortality) were pigmentation, dullness, fine lines, and a general lack of glow.
The wedding brief? Vacation fresh.
Step Two: The Game Plan
Armed with my scan results — and a good year up my sleeve— we mapped out my bridal skin strategy:
- Four rounds of Clear & Brilliant laser treatments, spaced four to six weeks apart.
- A new cosmeceutical-grade skincare routine to maintain results between sessions.
Clear & Brilliant is like the “polished” younger sister of the more intense fractional laser, designed to improve tone, texture, and radiance without a week of downtime. Perfect for a wedding countdown because you’re not walking around with raw, peeling skin.
The longest my skin felt sandpapery was about a week, with redness fading in a day or so, but it’s worth it for the baby-soft, fresh-skin feeling once it regenerates.
Step Three: Skincare That Actually Works
Tegan was clear: in-clinic treatments only go so far without the right home routine.
Translation: Some of my old ride-or-dies had to make way for more active, targeted formulas.
Here’s the streamlined lineup I’ve been on for the past six months:
- Cleanser – Aspect Purastat (AM/PM)
- I also added in Aesthetics Rx Anti Pollution Cleansing Oil for my first step
- Pigment Serum – Aspect Pigment Punch (AM/PM)
- Vitamin B – Aspect Extreme B17 (AM/PM)
- Eye Cream – CosMedix Opti Crystal (AM/PM)
- Moisturiser – Ole Henriksen Strength Trainer Peptide Boost Moisturiser (AM/PM)
- Retinol – Cosmedix Define Age-Defying Treatment (PM only)
- SPF 50+ – Every. Single. Day. (Currently: Ultra Violette Queen Screen SPF50+ 50ml Luminising SKINSCREEN™)
Before & After: VISIA Scan Insights
- Spots: Up 12 percentile points (80th → 92nd) — meaning fewer visible spots overall, from 204 down to 164. This was one of the clearest signs my skin was evening out and looking smoother.
- Brown Spots (Deeper Pigmentation): Improved from the 51st to the 64th percentile, with the biggest difference showing on my forehead, cheeks, and under-eyes. Clear & Brilliant definitely pulled its weight here!
- Wrinkles: Slightly increased, but after reviewing with Tegan, this is likely due to dehydration rather than an actual ageing jump. I’ve been diligent with my eye cream, so this was a surprise. But perhaps also seasonal?
- UV Spots: A big win: up from the 25th to the 41st percentile = a significant reduction in underlying sun damage showing through.
- Redness: Slightly reduced in my forehead, which Tegan attributes to the calming effect of my skincare routine (niacinamide ftw!).
- Texture & Pores: Largely unchanged, but still in the healthy range. Which makes sense, as Clear & Brilliant is designed to target pigmentation, tone, and overall radiance rather than directly treating pore size, redness, or deeper textural changes.
Bonus: My “TruSkin Age” dropped from 31 → 30 — perfectly timed with my impending 30th birthday. Cosmetic magic or cosmic timing? I’ll take both.
Final Verdict
Six months in, the results speak for themselves — both in the VISIA data and in the mirror.
My spots are visibly reduced, deeper pigmentation has softened, and UV damage has gone down significantly. My skin looks smoother, brighter, and more even-toned. Exactly the kind of glow you want for wedding photos.
Some areas, like wrinkles, texture, and pores, haven’t shifted dramatically, which makes sense; this treatment is really designed to target pigmentation, tone, and overall radiance rather than structural changes. Even so, my skin feels healthier, plumper, and more awake, and my makeup sits beautifully without needing heavy coverage.
For those areas, I’ll be layering in targeted treatments and ingredients — like ceramides, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and retinol — which is perfect as I’ve just started road-testing the Laneige Bouncy & Firm Serum and Liberty Belle Rx STAR QUALITY® Rich Wrinkle Defence Cream with Ceramides & Brightening Peptide.
Perhaps I’ll let you know how this duo goes in a future Beauty IQ…
Want more bridal content? Check out the BeautyIQ articles below:
