This anti-ageing moisturiser promises to lift your skin and your spirits. EUGENE QUEK gets comfy with his new “therapy in a tub” in Tokyo.
This anti-ageing moisturiser promises to lift your skin and your spirits. EUGENE QUEK gets comfy with his new “therapy in a tub” in Tokyo.
Try this as a fun experiment: make a call on a stranger’s personality as you walk past him or her on the street. Is he or she cold and crabby, or cheerful and confident?
Chances are, given no other insight into the person’s psyche, you’ll probably peg him or her as a party pooper if there’s a frown on his or her face. But what if that stranger’s sad smiley isn’t a reflection of personality but rather, the result of saggy skin around the eyes and mouth?
“Over time, gravity causes the skin to sag,” explains neuroscientist Dr Arnaud Aubert. “This ‘distorts’ the facial features, [resulting in a seemingly gloomy expression that conveys negative emotions] such as sadness and stress, and sends inaccurate social signals about your true age and emotional state.”
Add to this the natural ageing process (read: a loss of collagen and facial fat), and it seems that droopy skin is a problem all of us inevitably have to contend with. But why not deal with it before it even becomes an issue?
This is where the reformulated Dior Capture Totale Multi-perfection Creme comes in. This anti-ageing moisturiser reportedly helps the skin to better resist gravity, so you look younger and, by implication, happier. Dior researchers have also suggested that the cream can even make you feel happier, by way of a positive feedback loop.
Dr Arnaud explains at the press preview for the reformulated cream in Tokyo: “Visible improvements in your skin’s condition can boost self-confidence. When this happens, you’re likely to go about life in a more energetic and enthusiastic manner, which in turn positively influences your interactions with others.”
Defying gravity
How exactly does this cream address the gravity (pun intended) of the situation? Apparently, by harnessing the power of the longoza flower, which the brand grows in its garden in Madagascar.
The longoza flower extract is a new ingredient that “helps stimulate specific dermal stem cells responsible for producing collagen and elastin in the skin,” says Edouard Mauvais-Jarvis, scientific communications director at Parfums Christian Dior. “The regeneration of collagen and elastin improves the skin’s resistance to gravity and lends to it the springy texture of younger skin.”
Well, that takes care of long-term lifting benefits. Are there any immediate eff ects, you wonder. Well, it appears that there is; the cream, which sinks into skin within seconds upon application, also boasts “a new polymer complex with tightening benefits that firms up key anchor points on the face, such as the cheekbones, chin and corners of the mouth,” says Brigitte Noe, director of the Development & Innovative Formulation department at Parfums Christian Dior.
Fun fact: Brigitte tells me that the eureka moment for this algaederived polymer complex came to a Dior researcher when he noticed that a particular seaweed curls up when exposed to the sun.
One more thing you should know about the reformulated moisturiser: it now comes in three textures – Universal, the Goldilocks of the lot with its nottoo- heavy, not-too-light finish; Rich, a buttery balm that feels fantastic on dry skin; and Light (my fave!), which boasts a wobbly jelly consistency that’ll sit well with those accustomed to the lightweight gels from South Korean beauty brands.
Why the diversification, you ask. The answer is simple: to add pleasure to your beauty routine. “The textures were developed with diff erent climates and personal preferences in mind,” says Brigitte. “If application is an enjoyable process, you’ll use the cream every day and its eff ectiveness over the long term will be that much greater.”
A skin-lifting cream that promises to lift your mood too? I’ll take one in each texture, please!
“Visible improvements in your skin’s condition can boost self-confidence... which in turn positively influences your interactions with others.” – Dr Arnaud Aubert, neuroscientist.
