Sisleya and La Prairie: The power creams

At what age should you start using anti-aging treatments? Beauty editors say it’s best to start early. YStyle contributor and former Mega beauty editor Vicky Tensuan fervently exclaims, “As early as in your early 20s, considering today’s lifestyle. Seriously.” Agoo Bengzon, contributing beauty editor for Preview agrees, “You’re never to young to start.” Prevention, after all, is the deterrent to regret.

With some treatments, however, starting in your 30s or 20s will hardly matter, especially with the more potent brews. Two luxury beauty brands, have perfected anti-aging, providing creams for particular extrinsic aging problems (wrinkles, lack of radiance, lack of firmness). Sisleÿa, made by the French brand Sisley and La Prairie, a legitimate source of Swiss pride, has years of research and patented technologies to make sure you won’t have to endure Botox just yet.

Sisleya

Word play: Sisleÿa is the anti-aging line by Sisley Paris, one of the world leaders in luxury cosmetics.

Background check: Sisley was created in 1976 by Hubert d’Ornano, when aromatherapy, phytotherapy and the use of botanical active ingredients in beauty products was still a very novel concept.

Plants at the heart: D’Ornano and Sisley pioneered the field of phytocosmetology, which involves using natural plant extracts in beauty products. With phytocosmetology, Sisley is able to determine the composition and benefits of plants’ active molecules, and master the dosage required for active ingredients to be considered effective.

Star product: Sisley’s Sisleÿa Global Anti-age cream has sold more than two million units since it was launched in 1999. It remains the brand’s bestselling product and is a consistent feature in “top beauty buys” lists. Just this year, InStyle UK declared it the Best Anti-ageing Cream in its price range.

Celebrity fans: Gwyneth Paltrow is a huge fan of the Global Anti-age Extra-Rich Cream. And you thought it was all those macrobiotic diets that account for her youthful glow.

Rising star: Another powerful anti-aging product to look into is the Sisleya Radiance Concentrate, an ivory-colored emulsion that leaves skin matte, supple and, well, radiant, which it particularly promises. (Until this product, this whole radiance issue has been absent from the Sisleÿa range.) This product doesn’t only promise smooth skin as luminous as the light around Gabriel, it also evens out the skin tone by targeting brown spots. All within a timeline of four weeks.

La Prairie

Proud tradition: La Prairie traces its heritage to the Clinique La Prairie located in Clarens-Montreux, Switzerland. In the ’30s, Professor Paul Niehans, a celebrated Swiss surgeon, established the clinic where he strove to come up with products to retard the effects of aging.

Patented technology: A true visionary, Professor Niehans looked to the practices of the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians who used cellular therapy to stimulate the functioning of certain body organs. He then came up with La Prairie’s exclusive Cellular Complex, infusing it in an extensive range of products to deliver solutions to any skincare complaint.

All-time bestseller: The beloved Skin Caviar Luxe Cream has been La Prairie’s best-selling product since it launched. This richly-textured cream firms up, retexturizes and smoothens the skin with the efficacy of a broadband Internet connection. Some devotees claim that only a face lift can do more.

Celebrity fans: Nicole Kidman and global hot mom Angelina Jolie pampers themselves with the Skin Caviar Luxe Cream. Another Swiss source of pride, tennis star Roger Federer, and wife Mika are also certified La Prairie fans.

The new must-have: According to stories, La Prairie president Lynn Florio paid a visit to the chemists at Centre des Researches Biocostmetiques and said “I want the platinum standard in a product.” The researchers replied in the affirmative: they had actual platinum. And so, the creation of La Prairie’s Cellular Cream Platinum Rare, an anti-aging cream that contains colloidal platinum (a suspension of the metal particles in water), which has the ability to bond with human skin and make it function as efficiently as possible. The cream also protects the skin’s DNA, and replenishes moisture continuously. Considering that it contains the most precious metal on earth, this is easily the world’s most expensive cream at $1,000. Nicolette Sheridan, hottest housewife on earth, considers this her poison.

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Sisleya and La Prairie are available at Rustan’s.