Latest ‘sexy’ technological achievements in luxury skincare

In the skincare world, technology is a double-edged sword. Advances have allowed luxury brands to develop significantly more effective products, but internet-saavy consumers are also more aware of their skin’s mercurial and demanding needs, which change from season to season, and from day to night.

The most successful brands have been able to harness technology to address these needs, and the biggest breakthroughs in skincare this season have happened, almost paradoxically, through technological changes on a small scale.

“Every aspect of creating a formula is important, and what can seem like small tweaks – such as using a delivery system or developing a way to boost the efficacy of an active ingredient – can make a visible difference to the skin,” says Dr Jacqueline Hill, director of strategic innovation and science at La Prairie.

Nanotechnology and capsule technology have been lauded for their ability to deliver active ingredients deeper into the skin for improved efficacy, and La Prairie has certainly used these technologies to considerable effect. Its latest launch employs an innovative use of distillation to introduce something new. The Skin Caviar Essence-in-Lotion uses caviar water in place of normal water as the base of its formula. “It is the first time caviar water has been used in cosmetics.

By using steam distillation on caviar beads, we capture a blend of ingredients that we do not get with a normal, classical extraction,” Hill says.

“The association of caviar in different forms results in unique skincare benefits and the Essence- in-Lotion offers great improvements in hydration, firmness and elasticity. Technology is key to combining these different processes in one formula.” The obtained distillate complements La Prairie’s renowned caviar extract, and this new blend is designed to enhance skin tone in a way that formulas using regular water are unable to do.

Similarly, Natura Bissé has raised the bar on recovery serums through specialised treatment of an otherwise common skincare ingredient, calendula.

“There are other products with calendula, but the SOS Instant Rescue Phytocután is an exclusive active obtained from the plant through a patented extraction system that uses photostimulation technology,” says Patricia Fisas, senior vice-president of research and innovation at Natura Bissé Group. “By applying laser energy with specific parameters – wavelength, power, exposure time and distance between the laser source and plant – we can enhance the plant’s properties.”