I had heard whispers about this amazing skin treatment for a while, a treatment that firms the skin and gives it that radiant glow that you get if you’re a newborn, or a celebrity. Then when I heard Madonna’s makeup artist, Gina Brooke, was in town with her role as Brand Ambassador for that amazing oxygen facial, I had to find out more. I have long been an admirer of Gina’s work, so I was completely intrigued to meet her in person.

Gina’s work speaks for itself – she has worked with Madonna now for a number of years, creating her latest iconic looks from her Reinvention Tour in 2003 to Hard Candy in 2008. Now in between working with Madonna she is booked solidly around the world handling big campaigns and other celebrity clientele (the day I saw her, she was about to fly out and give David Beckham a touch of the Gina Brooke magic).

Part of her magic is the new Australian treatment, called Intraceuticals, for which she is Brand Ambassador. And the reason why she’s Brand Ambassador? Because it works. After she started using the treatment on jobs, her bookings went through the roof. Ad campaigns, beauty campaigns, other A-listers – everyone wanted to try this new miracle treatment that makes your skin look like it’s had new life literally breathed into it.

Intraceuticals Infusion is a beauty treatment unlike any other that uses therapeutic grade oxygen and Hyaluronic Acid, an ingredient naturally found in the skin, to deliver specialized active serums to the skin. It makes skin noticeably brighter, firmer and tighter, lifting and sculpting and improving the surface so that makeup glides on. After my treatment I couldn’t stop looking at myself (not my usual M.O), and I’ve been raving about it to anyone who will listen (and when you tell them it’s Madonna’s skin secret, believe me, people are interested!)

In addition to the salon-based facials, there is now an at-home range of products that build on the same principles of hyaluronic layering. They can be used either in conjunction with their facials or at home on their own as a skincare regime. What I love about the treatment is that it’s non-invasive (no needles, no fillers), but gives results that you very rarely get without a more aggressive approach. All the ingredients are the finest grade possible, and it mixes the frontier of modern science with natural ingredients like Vitamins A and C, aloe vera and green tea.

I also really like that makeup can be applied straight away – there is no downtime, and your skin looks amazing as soon as the facial is finished, and makeup goes on like a dream. I’m definitely going to be carrying the products in my kit to deal with clients who have skin that needs a little something. The only drawback for me was that it doesn’t contain SPF, but with specialized treatments like this one it can be very difficult to synthesise the SPF into it so both the SPF and the active ingredients are working effectively. And it’s just a matter of applying a good sunscreen under your makeup – something everyone should be doing as a matter of course!

People with eczema, rosacea and acne can all benefit from it as it reduces the capillaries and drastically improves the texture. So many facials mean you have to be locked away like The Bride of Frankenstein until your skin subsides, but I was able to be photographed next to Gina, who has to be one of the world’s most gorgeous women, makeup-free straight after my treatment, and feel confident I wouldn’t scare the children.

In person, Gina Brooke is impossibly gorgeous – so flawless and perfect she almost doesn’t look real. Huge blue-green eyes (not unlike a certain client of hers!), lashes for days and skin – well, let’s just say the treatment speaks for itself. And she’s NICE. Sometimes when you meet someone of her stature, with an A-list clientele, they aren’t that nice – but she makes you feel like the only person in the room.

I consider her one of the beauty mavericks, in that she is always seeking solutions for how to improve her work. About 6 years ago she was wanting to improve the texture of client’s skin so that makeup went on smoother, and looked more flawless. But it had to be immediate. A friend told her about a new Australian oxygen skin treatment, and once she tried it, she was hooked. So was Madonna when Gina introduced her. And now other celebrities like Naomi Campbell, Anne Hathaway and Eva Longoria use it before their big appearances to give them red carpet results.

For more information, visit www.intraceuticals.com
Follow them on Twitter: @intraceuticals

Intraceuticals Infusions can be found in London at Chelsea Day Spa
In LA at Terri Lawton
In Sydney at Wild Orchid, Double Bay