Hard Times

The Nancy Tsai society scandal

IF WRINKLES TAKE DECADES TO DEVELOP, why do they seem to appear overnight? This is what I’m contemplating as I examine my mug in the morning mirror, fixated on a crevice that has carved a path under my left eye.

Clearly, my beauty routine needs an about-face: the time has come to leave behind the drugstore brands of my youth and move onto the power players in the prestige market.

Spending considerable coin on a pot of cream starts to make more sense after 40. Attitudes, like skin, loosen around mid-life, meaning anything can be rationalized. Drop some dough on a few beautiful bags or drop some dough on a few not-so-beautiful bags. Same difference, right?

Well, therein lies the question. We’re drawn to luxury goods because we know what we’re getting when we open our wallet to Gucci or Prada. But what’s the lure of high-end skin care and, more importantly, does it live up to its price tag?

EYES RIGHT

I’m making it my mission to find out, starting with eye products, typically a woman’s first foray into prestige products, given that this is the area to show early signs of aging.

Topping my list is the just-launched La Prairie Cellular Eye Essence Platinum Rare (1). It comes with a sticker price of $426 and a promise to target wrinkles, sagginess and discolouration, thanks to a unique technology that binds active peptides to platinum particles for better delivery.

Science notwithstanding, for me it’s love at first sight. The serum has a soft pearlescent hue that melts into my skin and smells divine. This sensorial experience plays a large part in our fascination with prestige products, says Elizabeth Lamont, La Prairie’s vice-president of marketing for the Americas. It goes hand-in-hand with the realization that our aging faces are valuable assets that deserve investment, she says. “The texture, touch, scent, packaging and promise of what a beauty product can and will do makes facing the reality of aging much more palatable.”

Dr. Diane Wong, founder of Glow Medi Spa in Toronto’s tony Yorkville, agrees: “Women are willing to spend a lot of money on their faces because it’s worth it to look our best. Our faces, our skin, can tell a story in a few seconds. A first impression is important, so we want to make it a good one.”

Wong offers a number of luxe options at her clinic, including Neotensil (2), the so-called shapewear for eyes that launched last September in Canada. Marketed by Living Proof, of which the perennially youthful 46-year-old Jennifer Aniston is a partner, the product is getting a lot of buzz on both sides of the border for its fast-acting results.

Touted as revolutionary in the skincare game, the polymer-based cream claims to reshape the appearance of skin for up to 16 hours by compressing under-eye bags.

Revolutionary, it turns out, is not too strong a word for Neotensil, developed in labs at Harvard and MIT. Basically, it erases five years with five minutes’ effort. Here’s how it works: after cleansing the under-eye area, you apply the reshaping cream base that acts as a primer, then you brush on the activating layer. Combined, the two create a cross-linked invisible film that constrict and lift the skin as it dries. The hardest part of the process is the 15 minutes you need to wait, expressionless, while the product sets. The film will continue

to tighten for up to three hours, but you’re good to go after the initial wait.

Each $500 kit comes with about 50 applications, though you’ll likely waste the first few getting the hang of how to apply it properly. That said, it’s not a steep learning curve. “If you can put on mascara, you can do this,” says Catherine Lu, Glow’s medical esthetician.

After the procedure, I met a few beauty writers for drinks, wondering if they’d “see” the product and call me out, but the only comments I got were positive: “Wow, you look really relaxed tonight.”

Says Wong, that’s a common reaction. “People say you look brighter, more refreshed, but they can’t quite put their finger on it.”

To that I say, bring on the shapewear – Grandma’s girdle this ain’t.

FACING UP

Coco Chanel once said: “Nature gives you the face you have at 20 ... But at 50, you get the face you deserve.” Perhaps it’s time to amend that to “But at 50 you get the face you can afford.”

There’s a reason for the $300-$400 price difference between mass and prestige facial products, and it’s not just prettier packaging.

“When it comes to effectiveness, you definitely get what you pay for in topical skin care,” says dermatologist Dr. Nicholas Perricone of the eponymous luxury line.

Take peptides, for instance. Made of amino acids, peptides are the darlings of collagen stimulation. However, when infused into creams, not all are created equal. Generic or single peptide preparations can be produced en masse for mere dollars per kilo, but some high-end products often contain multiple peptides that require more finesse to formulate, resulting in the triple digit price tags.

One of Perricone’s bestsellers is the $495 Neuropeptide Facial Conformer (3), a product I am eager to try to see if all that factory fiddling makes a difference to my face.

I have to say, I like it. What I appreciate most is the one-two punch this cream delivers, thanks to its neuropeptides. Without going all sciencenerd, a neuropeptide basically adds a layer to the peptide’s original role of stimulating collagen, by sending signals to the brain that ramp up its anti-aging efforts. But there’s more to luxe brands than just peptides. Some require hand blending or include ingredients that are difficult to source, factors that are reflected in the price.

PROOF IS IN THE PUTTING

So, behind-the-scene processes create luxury pricing, but what drives luxury demand?

That’s all up front, baby! The allure of long-lasting quality results is what attracts women to luxury brands.

Given the very nature of hydrating properties, almost any product can offer instant plumping or lifting, but prestige products offer cumulative results, says Perricone, usually as early as the four-week mark and continuing as long as you use the product.

Wong agrees that results are the ultimate captivation. The recession is a distant memory, and women are once again in spending mode, but there’s a caveat: we’re not spending indiscriminately. “More than ever, women are making their choices based on quality. Expectations are high.”

Perhaps that’s what draws us to brands like La Mer or 3LAB, whose very names are synonymous with good-looking skin and who are continually improving their contributions to the luxe market. This fall was no exception as I eagerly signed on to test drive their latest offerings.

First up, 3LAB Super Face Serum (4). For $575, you get a formulation that promises to ramp up elastin and collagen production and regenerate cells using signature ingredients developed from years in the lab.

It promises quick results and it delivers. You know how taut your skin feels when you pull your hair into a high pony? That’s how I felt wearing this serum. Better yet, as the days wore on, the texture of my skin transformed into a satiny softness. “How does this even belong to me?” I wondered as I began looking for any excuse to touch my face, OCD tendencies be damned.

And for dewiness, I fell hard for La Mer Intensive Revitalizing Mask (5), $180. Formulated with its legendary Miracle Broth, a blend of marine actives and antioxidants, the cream is wrapped in scents of grapefruit and mint for an uplifting experience. Dubbed the eight-minute miracle, this mask is like a micro-spa treatment. Swipe it on in the a.m. before tooth-brushing and hair-styling, then dab off any excess a few minutes later for a brighter, plumper complexion.

For me, given that most of my aging issues appear in the morning, this was a great way to banish my wrinkle woes – physically and psychologically.

And that’s what I call an investment peace.