It takes seven to eight premium products, and several indulgent minutes of fanciful spa-like strokes, to apply the results of 20 years of research for that coveted golden-glow complexion. On top of that, the foundation must be applied with its own specific movements.
To say that Lancome’s so-called Absolue Golden Glow Routine isn’t intimidating would be an outright lie. Even in the roomful of beauty editors quite familiar with the luxurious ways of prestige cosmetics brands, there was audible tittering as Nicki Naynes, Lancome’s retail and education manager, unveiled a slide show illustrating the suggested manner of product application—the indulgent strokes, how much time should be devoted for each step—at the recent launch of the new additions to Lancome’s superior Absolue line.
If it took two decades of rigorous skin stem-cell studies to produce the new Absolue Sublime Rejuvenating Essence Foundation, the French beauty brand seems to be saying that it requires at least a few minutes of one’s daily routine to achieve just what it was created for: younger-looking skin with a “golden glow.”
The Absolue Sublime Rejuvenating Essence Foundation is a complementary product to the Absolue Sublime Regenerating Oleo-Serum, launched last year, which claims to re-plump the skin using powerful essential oils.
If you’re a beauty junkie, you have surely heard of makeup doing double duty as skincare. This new Absolue foundation ups the ante with a claim that it has 45 percent skincare actives, the highest concentration in a foundation.
Essential oils
Like the Oleo-Serum, the fluid foundation has citrus essential oils that claim to stimulate skin regeneration; fatty-rich camellia oil that helps improve skin barrier function; and the
patented anti-aging molecule Pro-Xylane.
The foundation comes with a kabuki brush applicator, and is applied on the so-called “butterfly” and “3V” zones of the face with smoothing and upward lifting gestures. Remember, this isn’t just makeup but also skincare. It comes in six shades.
Another addition is the Absolue Yeux Precious Cells Global Multi-restorative Eye Concentrate, a powerhouse in a tiny, elegant golden bottle. It targets five zones of the eye area that Lancome has diagrammed to show most evident signs of aging: the bottom of the forehead, the arch of the eyebrows, the lower eyelid, the temples, and the upper cheekbones.
This eye serum has Pro-Xylane; linseed extract to zap wrinkles; chlorella extract to get rid of dark shadows; and a daily protector in jasmine flower extract.
A clinical study on 51 Asian women showed 40 percent reduction in forehead wrinkles after four weeks; 36 percent reduction of glabellar lines, that area between the brows and above the nose; 14 percent less under-eye wrinkles; and 19 percent less puffiness.
To complement the line for the daytime, Lancome also unveiled Absolue UV Precious Cells Global Youth Protector, an SPF 50 skin protector that borrows from the way French fine porcelain is made—to illustrate how it nourishes the skin to give it that translucent quality.
The Absolue line was first developed in 1965 by Lancome founder Armand Petitjean. The new line is now available at Lancome boutiques and counters.
Award-winning actress Julia Roberts is the face of Absolue. Another award-winning actress, Lupita Nyong’o, has recently been named Lancome ambassador. The brand will feature a more youthful range later this year, according to Nina Solano, Lancome brand manager.