A power boost for your skin

It’s a sad fact that as we age, we lose energy. I am reminded of this whenever I look at my eight-year-old daughter, who can run around all day if she had to, while I just sort of sit there watching her.

It’s the same with our skin: hers is plump, smooth and perfectly elastic, springing back after I kiss or pinch her cheek. My cheeks have hollowed out, and there are niggling lines at the corners of my nose and mouth — what a dermatologist would call a “nasolabial fold.”

I think how much more productive I could be if I could just plug into my daughter’s power source, and how much time I could save if my complexion were as dewily radiant. After all, I wouldn’t have to spend five to 15 minutes every day applying makeup to breathe life into lifeless-looking skin.

While a healthier lifestyle might help me with my first concern, La Prairie’s Cellular Power Infusion answers the second half of my prayer. Keenly aware that our cells also slow down and lose energy as we age, the topnotch scientists at La Prairie have formulated a product that’s like an energy boost for the skin.

“This is the most powerful launch that La Prairie will have,” says Debra Klaproth, La Prairie’s international training and marketing manager.

Debra Klaproth, La Prairie’s international training and marketing manager: “The result is very healthy, very glowing, very pretty skin.” Photo by WALTER BOLLOZOS

Cellular Power Infusion differs from the usual anti-aging serum in a number of ways. For one, it’s not meant to be used year-round but only four times a year, for a month at a time. This intermittent use is in itself intriguing.

“The reason La Prairie would suggest to use it every three months is because they want you to have that extra month for your cells to regenerate, which is about 28 days,” explains Klaproth. “However, we find La Prairie customers that love it so much they will not stop using it. It wouldn’t damage their skin in any way, but they wouldn’t have that surge of energy, that beautiful look, if they didn’t break between using it.”

The second difference lies in the packaging and method of use. You can only buy it as a kit, but what a kit it is: a zippered white leatherette case holds four silver vials. Each vial keeps its active ingredients separate — a clear liquid up top and violet one in the bottom, which you can see through a window. “Activate” the serum by twisting the bottom to the right and the purple component surges into the clear, which you’re supposed to shake into a uniform lavender fluid. It’s like an elegant science experiment with an instant chemical reaction.

“It’s very unusual for a brand to mix luxury, as you’ll see by the packaging, with this type of biotechnical, innovative ingredients,” Klaproth says. “This is the first time La Prairie is able to do this.”

You’re supposed to use up the resulting serum within seven to 10 days to take advantage of its freshness and maximum potency. Wait too long, Klaproth says, and its effectiveness will diminish with time.

The unusual packaging is actually one of three patent-pending technologies La Prairie is introducing. The other two involve the key ingredients and the way they’re infused together.

Cellular Power Infusion addresses the effects of aging in three ways:

It boosts our cells’ natural “power stations,” the mitochondria, triggering them and assuring a nonstop stream of energy to the cells to ensure they function optimally.

It revives epidermal stem cells, causing new cells full of moisture and energy to rise to the surface and provide a defense shield that protects skin from environmental stress.

It supports skin regeneration, restoring firmness and elasticity and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Promising these results are patented ingredients exclusive to La Prairie:

• Swiss snow algae – This survivor, which thrives under the extreme glacial conditions of the Swiss Alps, provides a defense shield against environmental stress and energy loss. It protects skin cells, improves their longevity and supports their renewal.

They’ve got the power: La Prairie’s Cellular Power Infusion is activated when its two key components are mixed, resulting in a powerful anti-aging serum. La Prairie is available at Rustan’s.

• Skin Renewal Peptide – Peptides are a buzzword in the skincare industry right now. La Prairie’s version helps activate our cellular power stations and supports our skins’ own capacity for renewal. It also stimulates the formation of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, thus making our skin firmer and more elastic.

• Phyto Stem Cell Extract – Stem cells are another hot trend. These stem cells, derived from Swiss red grapes, help protect newborn human skin stem cells from damage and deterioration and stimulate the skin’s own stem cells.

• Tissue Guidance Matrix – This helps support the natural rebuilding of the skin, reintegrate skin cells and renew skin tissue. It also sooths and protects the skin from environmental irritants.

“The results in America from the consumer point of view is that their skin looks very healthy, very glowing, very pretty,” Klaproth says. “The type of thing where a friend would say to you, ‘Wow, you look really great.’ Of course it’s going to help immediately with hydration but by the time you finish your kit, you find your skin has more density, luminosity, firmness, elasticity — overall a very healthy look.”

Cellular Power Infusion is also compatible with other brands and modes of skincare: “It doesn’t compete with other chemical ingredients like retinol.”

I can’t wait till 28 days are up to see my newly energized skin.

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La Prairie Cellular Power Infusion is available at Rustan’s Makati and Rustan’s Shangri-La Mall.