The Black Diamond Non-Surgical Facial Lift is now exclusively at The Spa at Mandarin Oriental
Before I tell you about the facial, let me tell you about the serum.
The 111SKIN Repair Serum NAC Y² has been sitting on my bathroom shelf for longer than I can remember at this point. Same with the Eye Lift Gel. They’re not the most glamorous part of my routine — no interesting texture, no particular scent, nothing that makes for a great Instagram story. But my skin knows when I skip them.
So when I heard the brand was launching at The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur, I wasn’t going as a stranger. I was going as someone who already trusted what they were walking into.
Image Credit: 111SKIN
SO, WHAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL?
111SKIN started at 111 Harley Street, Dr. Yannis Alexandrides’ clinic in London, where he spent years as a plastic and reconstructive surgeon watching patients’ skin heal after surgery. The products came from that gap, the serum he couldn’t find anywhere else, so he made it himself. What came out of that became NAC Y2™, the brand’s proprietary complex that proved so effective patients started seeking it out for everyday use.
Founded in 2012 by Dr. Yannis and his wife Eva, 111SKIN was one of the first doctor-founded skincare brands in the industry. More than a decade later, it’s now present in over 90 global five-star spas— and The Spa at Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur is the latest, and currently the only place in the city where you can get the Black Diamond Non-Surgical Facial Lift.
Image Credit: 111SKIN
THE FACIAL
The Black Diamond facial is a different chapter from the NAC Y2™ range I use at home. It opens with a sequence of serums and preparatory steps — each one setting the skin up for what comes next. But the highlight is undoubtedly, the Black Diamond mask itself. They layer it across the under eyes, the full face, and down to the décolletage.
Built around Black Diamond Particles — microspheres that gently exfoliate while pushing active ingredients deeper into the skin than most facials ever get to. The result is firmer, brighter, more defined skin. Not a needle in sight. Just lifting massage techniques, active ingredients, and a treatment that actually earns the word sculpting.
On the day we visited, there was work being done in the spa. So they brought us up to the Presidential Suite instead. Honestly, I preferred it. Floor to ceiling views over KL, the city spread out below, complete quiet. It turned what could have been a logistical inconvenience into the kind of setting you’d specifically request if you knew it was an option. The treatment felt more personal up there. Less like a spa service, more like something that had been arranged just for you. Which, in its own way, is very 111SKIN.
By the time the mask came off, my skin felt the way it does after a solid week of being consistent with my routine, but better. Softer, brighter, firmer in a way that’s hard to put into words until you feel it. It’s the kind of result you notice a day or two later, in better light, when your skin is still holding and you realise something actually worked. My décolletage especially, an area I never give enough attention to at home felt smoother and more even in a way I genuinely didn’t expect.
Image Credit: 111SKIN
That’s been 111SKIN’s whole thing since the beginning. It doesn’t promise you a transformation overnight. It promises you skin that actually functions better over time. And after using it long enough at home and now experiencing it as a full treatment at The Spa at Mandarin Oriental, I can say that promise holds up on both counts.
If you’ve never tried 111SKIN before, this is actually a good place to start. You get the full experience — the science, the treatment, the results, before committing to anything at home. And if it does what it did for me, your bathroom shelf might look a little different after.
Find out more about 111SKIN at Mandarin Oriental
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