If 40 is the new 30, does the skin know this, too?

Let’s face it.
Even when Hallmark cards say that life begins at 40, everything else stops, like the ability of the skin to stay firm and withstand environmental stresses.

When I turned 30 five years ago, a friend texted me from Europe: "Newspapers and magazines here are touting that 50 is the new 40, 40 is the new 30, and 30 is the new 20." That may well be the healthy mental perspective, but does the skin know this, too? Does it know the new mathematics on aging or will it, when you look at yourself in the mirror, betray you like a philandering husband?

Today, dermatologists advise women to start their skincare regimens at a younger age. So, at 35, I am trying out Clarins’ skincare treatment aimed at 40-year-old women and above. I figure there’s no harm in jumping the gun – get a head start while I can, right?

Called Clarins Age-Control Extra-Firming Serum, this kind of skincare product (double serum) was first developed in 1985. In 2002, Clarins improved it further with a concentrated, bi-phase action that makes it twice as effective with the addition of an energizing "booster" for quick, visible results even on skin that doesn’t respond to anything else.

The new serum contains 42 active ingredients, a record-breaking formulation. At its heart are four new plant extracts to kick-start the skin cells to revitalize and absorb the serum’s beneficial ingredients.

The plant extracts are divided into two categories: energy boosters (apple pip and pequi) and protective boosters (black cumin and wild teasel). Apple pip contains a rare oil that increases absorption of the active ingredients, energizes the cells and reawakens tired complexions. Pequi, which is composed of 60 percent oil, contains high levels of oleic fatty acids that make it nutritious and protective. Black cumin has a protein that helps the skin fight free radicals. Wild teasel extracts from its stalk and leaves are rich in tannin, which helps skin stimulate its own defenses.

These four plant extracts help the Double Serum do its job better, which is to deliver anti-aging results and prevent wrinkles. Skin is supple when it is properly hydrated, when it absorbs vitamins and minerals, when it is oxygenated and protected from free radicals, and when its regeneration ability isn’t hampered.

What’s good about Clarins’ Age-Control Extra-Firming Serum is that all its ingredients are taken from nature. They include seaweed, kiwi, avocado, shea butter, candlenut, wild rose, calendula, sequoia, red palm, Echinacea and St. John’s wort.

The serum, which you can wear under a moisturizer, is contained in an opaque bottle to protect it from light damage. There are actually two formulas – one is oil-based, the other water-based – in the bottle that are instantly combined when you pump the dispenser. You mix the serum in your palm before applying it to your face. It is non-greasy and when you use it for the first time, it may have a slight smell (something like makeup foundation), but on the second use, the smell disappears.

Another "extra" product from Clarins is the Extra-Firming Body Care, a cream again meant for women 40 and above to replenish lost moisture. I love this cream! It smells so nice and feels so good and soft on the skin, and it’s non-greasy, too. I hate it when you have to wait a minute or two before the icky feel of grease disappears. This one is a light cream that feels feathery on the skin.

The cream helps firm and revitalize skin due to its plant extracts, which includes bocoa from the forests of Guyana, where the leaves and bark of this wood are traditionally used for skincare. Used for the first time in a cosmetic product, bocoa helps enhance collagen production and prevent the weakening of support fibers.

How did Clarins pioneer its use? Clarins ethno-botanist Bruno Bordenave, who has a PhD in tropical botany, studied bocoa prouacensis during his visits to the Guinean forest. "The famous ‘ironwood’ of the Saramacas is known for many virtues due to its extreme density and long life span (1,000 years)," he says. "Men traditionally use a concoction of its leaves and wood for what they call a ‘strength bath,’ a ritual that gives them courage and energy. In Europe, this wood is known for its resistance and strength and is used for making furniture and instruments. The study of local traditional medicine opened our eyes to their uses, particularly cosmetology. The collecting of its leaves and bark is done with utmost respect for local populations and is carried out in a framework of a philosophy of long-lasting development."

In lab tests on fibroblast cultures, they found out that bocoa has an 80 percent effectiveness in slowing down the enzymes that weaken the effect of collagen fibers, 47 percent in increasing collagen synthesis and 93 percent in protecting skin against free radicals.

Apart from bocoa, the product also uses other extracts from bark, flower, leaves and fruit to provide rich moisture, which the skin desperately needs when you reach 40. Lily extracts compensate for the loss of water and lipids in the skin; peach and shea butter are used for their softening properties; and agrimony promotes the appearance of a more streamlined silhouette. Meant for use on the entire body, another benefit of the product is that dry areas, like elbows and ankles, acquire a smooth texture.

I haven’t yet felt the firming benefits of the product since I’ve been using it for less than a week, but Clarins assures that fine lines and slackened areas will be visibly reduced as you use the product continuously.

If you’re in the mood for love, you’re in good company with Clarins’ spring 2005 makeup collection. Inspired by love – think "fluttering hearts, flirtatious eyes and stolen kisses" – the collection is awash in striking candy shades.

The Colour Quartet for the Eyes in blue shimmers is very provocative, perfect for nights when you want to catch the eye of someone across the room, and for days when you want to by flirty.

The four colors in the palette are ocean blue, sky blue, tender pink and fuchsia. I never wear blue or pink eyeshadow – no, make that I never attempted to – because I thought you had to have a certain complexion to be able to carry it. But what I discovered, belatedly than most women of course, is that it’s all about how you apply it and how much. For a natural, luminous finish, use one shade; for an intense, shimmery look, use two shades; for a bold look, use three or four shades.

You can flaunt the colors or tone them down, look sultry (well, maybe you do have to have a certain look for that) or casual. The palette has a velvety texture that glides smoothly, and because it contains light oils the colors last long. The palette also has an anti-pollution complex to prevent the eyelids from dehydration.

Also for the eyes are Clarins’ Soft Cream Eye Colour, a collection of eye makeup in tubes to be applied with your fingertips. The concentrated pearl pigments won’t let the cream flake or fade. Vitamins E and C give anti-free radicals benefits so your keeps that fresh appearance. The eye colors are pale pink, wheat, chartreuse, marshmallow, violet and chestnut.

For the lips, Clarins offers Colour Quench Up Balm in three new shimmery shades: shiny sparkle, raspberry and mandarin. With their cherry smell and taste, you’d want to chew your lips when wearing it. The lip balms have vitamins A and E, extracts of shea butter, mango and olive to keep the lips soft and moist. Contained in a tube with a slanted tip, they are easy to apply and give the lips a pearly shimmer.

And finally, the blush. The new Multi Blush is a versatile creamy powder that can be used as a blusher, eye shadow and lip color. Yeah, it’s a buy-one-get-three proposition. Also to be applied with the fingertips, it’s a nice little blush that gives you the look of someone that’s just been told "I love you" by your greatest crush. It comes in Tender Mandarin and Tender Raspberry.

The operative word here is "tender" – and for a collection that tries to bring back childhood summers, that’s very appropriate indeed.

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Clarins is available at Rustan’s Department Store.