Known around the New York skin scene as “The Acne Whisperer,” aesthetician Sofie Pavitt has mastered that hard-to-achieve mix of giving a really good, really effective facial—the kind where you can barely feel the extractions and you get a heavy dose of expert eduction during the glowing-skin treatment.
When you’re nestled in at her cozy and unassuming Brooklyn “clubhouse” or her Lower East Side location, you’re kind of half asleep, but Pavitt’s soft voice comes through in an almost dream-like sequence to deliver some non-judgmental skin-care advice. (She recently recommended that I couple my nightly prescription retinol with a gentle exfoliator in the morning and it worked wonders for getting rid of that “peeling” without causing any redness or havoc.)
When you get home, her uncomplicated Sofie Pavitt Face line successfully mimics her skin-care studio experience via a very intentional edit of products designed to minimize needless steps and maximize real results.
And now, the cheery-colored, gentle-yet-effective products—created specifically for both acne-prone and sensitive skin—are available at the equally as edited Violet Grey in the coveted “just approved” category. (Pavitt had previously been on the Violet Grey committee for approving products.)
The site and the Melrose location offers the Mandelic Clearing Serum ($54), a “low and slow” anti-bacterial and brightening exfoliator, the Clean Clean Cleanser ($34), a hydrating deep clean, and the Nice Ice Frozen Toner Pods ($68), a uniquely calming cryo treatment.
While the three products aren’t complicated, they are crowd-pleasers. “I love these things!,” says our director of beauty Britt Fallon of the award-winning Toner Pods. “They’re incredibly soothing after in-office treatments, but there are so many other uses, too. When my face felt puffy and hot at the end of my pregnancy, these pods instantly cooled me down.”
