It has a dedicated scientist and a glowing celeb endorsement. EUGENE QUEK gets the royal treatment with this luxe moisturiser in Tokyo.
Wow, it looks like a zhnged (Singlish for modified or upgraded) durian!” This awkward attempt at small talk is met with blank stares from the bemused Japanese journalists I’m chatting with in Tokyo. OK then, write that off as an epic fail. Also epic is the object I was referring to: the reformulated Cle de Peau Beaute La Creme anti-ageing moisturiser, the not-so-basic star of the brand’s revamped Basic Skincare range. “This is the king of creams,” says Dr Takayuki Ishimatsu, director of Cle de Peau Beaute Laboratories. “We’re extremely proud of what we’ve come up with.”
Some serious celebrity backing As it turns out, American actress Amanda Seyfried is a fan of this “king of creams”. “La Creme is awesome,” the actress gushes at a meet-and-greet during its press launch in Tokyo. “I refuse to leave home without it. I like massaging it deep into my skin to get the blood flow going, especially before a photo shoot.” Having scrutinised Amanda’s skin up close for a good hour, I’m happy to report that her complexion is well-nigh flawless. The cream must be working!
A dedicated scientist
“We wouldn’t be able to pull off this reformulation without ‘Mr La Creme’,” says Dr Ishimatsu, crediting the researcher whose sole job is to work on La Creme. “Perfecting the new formula took hundreds of trials, and he’s honed his skills to Top Chef-like levels when it comes to balancing the cream’s effi cacy with a comfortable texture.” Understandably, the brand declines to reveal more about its mystery man – he’s a skincare superhero of sorts, after all.
A pain-free facial filler
At $1,200 a pop, the cream doesn’t come cheap. What are you shelling out for, exactly? Well, you’re paying top dollar, it seems, for a “smart” anti-ageing moisturiser that reportedly redirects fat-producing stem cells to sunken areas of the face – like an injectable filler, sans needles. “Rosemary extract attracts fat stem cells to areas where volume is lacking,” explains Dr Ishimatsu. “These regenerate the deeper layers of the skin for a plumped-up eff ect.” From personal experience, I’d say that it measures up to its tag; massaging this moisturiser into my face every night for a month appears to have lessened the severity of my laugh lines.
