52 ELLECANADA.COM
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TIBEAUTY
THE FRENCH FACE, as I’ve been instructed by many a Parisian facialist, starts at
your hairline, goes to the bottom of your décolletage and includes the backs of your
hands. (This, they say, is where your skincare products should be applied.) On a recent
trip to Zurich, I met with Jacqueline Hill, Ph.D., director of strategic innovation and
science at La Prairie, who described to me what I’m hereby calling the Swiss Eye: It
extends from the outer corner of each eye toward the hairline, swoops up
across the crease of the lid and cradles the brow, both above and below.
The area is the focus of the luxury Swiss brand’s new Skin Caviar Eye Lift,
a cocktail of its signature cellular complex (found in nearly every La Prairie
product ever created, the formula is so proprietary that it’s made by three
different labs so no one chemist has the full recipe) and Caviar Premier (a
potent “remastered” version of its long-time ingredient), swirled together
with each pump of the product. The result is the most firming and lifting you
can get without involving someone with a medical licence. (Blepharoplasty,
or eyel id su rger y, i s one of t he most com mon ly per for med cosmet ic su rg ica l
procedures worldwide, Hill told me.) Treating this zone is a strategic move.
“The eye-contour area is the very first to show signs of aging,” she said. The
22 muscles that control eye activity are engaged throughout our waking
hours—and that takes its toll. As we age, our orbital bones recede, which
can increase puffiness and sagging (and accompany the appearance of
dark circles and fine lines). Skin Caviar Eye Lift is formulated to tense the
skin on application, creating an immediately lifted look while also firming
over time—which, if you continue to use the serum, we can safely say is
on your side.
To f e t e t h e l a u n c h, La
Prairie commissioned works
by three female artists—
Senta Simond, Daniela Droz
and Namsa Leuba—to
interpret and explore the
power of the female gaze.
The resulting photographs
were displayed at La
Prairie’s pavilion at Art
Basel in Switzerland.
Victoria DiPlacido goes to Switzerland
to discover the latest eye-opener.
The Female Gaze
Daniela Droz, Résonances IISenta Simond, LisaNamsa Leuba, Nanihi IILa Prairie Skin Caviar
Eye Lift ($625). For
details, see Shopping
Guide.