When Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall experienced a bad skin day during the movie’s shoot, she immediately placed a distress call to anti-ageing guru Nicholas V Perricone.
In a few hours, in came Dr Perricone with his vitamin-enriched moisturiser and smoothed the wrinkles out of Catrall’s world. Now, we all know that such personalised visits are reserved for his celebrity clients, but for the rest, hope in a jar is just a hop away.
Starting this month, some of the select products from the N V Perricone factory are for the picking at Sephora.
So, the good news is that Perricone promises are available around the corner. And the bad news? No amount of expensive creams can help you if you don’t eat correctly, says company spokesperson Karra Beck.
"You can spend thousands of dirhams on a cream. But if your diet and the nutritional supplements do not add up, there is no point," explains Beck, while sipping her green tea.
Taking the example of Cattrall, she says that Dr Perricone would name this actress his star student, since she was one of the few actresses who follows Dr Perricone’s three-tier approach to anti-ageing and well-being.
"She totally gets his three-pronged approach. She eats food rich in proteins, essential fatty acids and antioxidants, religiously takes her nutritional supplements and tops it up with the topical skincare products designed to enhance natural beauty,’ says Beck.
Cattrall beat out Perricone’s other celeb-patrons including Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey and Courteney Cox to clinch this title.
Sunny side up
Another cardinal rule of Perricone’s philosophy runs on the idea that sugar is more harmful than the sun.
"One of our star products availale in Dubai is Vitamin C Ester Face Moisturiser. It promises instantaneous lifting of sun-scorched / damaged skin and rejuvenates tired cells. So skin damaged by sun exposure can be handled - but stay away from the sugar," warns Perricone’s ambassador.
But the so-called facelift in a bottle comes with a price. The 50ml potion costs Dh347. Other products in the range come at the Dh200 to Dh600 price bracket.
"These creams are produced boutique-style and are not mass produced. So basically you are paying for the ingredients with zero chemicals," says Beck.
Dr NV Perricone is a board-certified clinical dermatologist, award-winning inventor and author of best selling books such as The Wrinkle Cure, The Perricone Prescription and The Perricone Promise.
Dream Creams
Want to take a few years off your face or simply treat yourself to a sweetly-scented beauty potion? Here’s our guide to the best of the bunch.
Dr Hauschka Rose Day Cream
Claim? Contains extract of 1,075 rose petals per tube which creates a protective "film" over the skin, preventing moisture loss. Soothes sensitive skin prone to redness.
Buzz? Dr Hauschka is free from synthetic colours, fragrances and preservatives, uses biodynamically grown plant extracts and is against animal testing. Some 347 Rose Day Creams are sold a day in the UK - Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna and Kate Moss are all fans.
Value for money: About Dh130 for 30ml - good for those who value natural, ecofriendly products. We’re still waiting for this to appear in the UAE.
Creme De La Mer Moisturising Cream
Claim? To deliver "miraculous" results for smoother-looking skin. Developed by aerospace physicist Dr Max Huber who experienced severe chemical burns after a routine experiment blew up. The cream contains sea kelp, calcium, magnesium, citrus oils, eucalyptus and sunflower but makers say it's the way these are distilled that give the cream its ability to soften skin and make lines and pores less visible.
Buzz? People were shocked by the price. at its launch in 2000. Now a cult product: Sharon Stone and P Diddy swear by it.
Value for money: at Dh615 for 30ml, costly - but a small amount gets results. Available at Harvey Nichols, Salam Studios, Paris Gallery.
Olay Regenerist 3 Point Cream
Claim? More pentapeptides (which help maintain collagen levels and skin elasticity) than any other product on the market. Also contains hyaluronic acid which draws moisture into the skin cells, making lines less visible. Promises to smooth skin after just 24 hours and make it firmer after five days.
Buzz? After women in America stormed shops for it, the UK launch in April caused the same kind of stir and a sizeable waiting list built up before it even hit the shelves. Fans say it feels like velvet to the touch and really does help the skin rebuild itself. It’s not planned for release yet in Dubai.
Value for money: About Dh195 for 50ml - it's good thick stuff, and a reasonable price for "Olay's first super-cream".
No7 Protect and Perfect Beauty Serum
Claim? Repairs sun damage, giving a more even skin-tone and, crucially, reduces the depth of wrinkles.
Buzz? Endorsed on the BBC’s Horizon programme last year; physical fights broke out in some Boots stores as women sought to get their hands on a tube. Sales soared by 2,000 per cent the day after the programme (tubes were auctioned on eBay at four times their retail value as in-store stocks sold out). No7 has now launched a Protect and Perfect range - for women and men.
Value for money: About Dh109 for 30ml. A bargain considering Horizon deemed it as effective as creams with the same function that are only available on prescription. www.boots.com
3 Lab "H" Serum
Claim? One of the most technologically advanced skincare products with topical, bioengineered human growth hormone (HGH) which claims to renew the skin and reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Extracts of green tea and gingko biloba (antioxidants) and sodium hyaluronate add to the anti-ageing effect.
Buzz? When launched exclusively in Selfridges in April this year, four were sold every hour.
Value for money: About Dh1,792 for 60ml, you pay for the price of science. It’s available from www.3lab.com and will be available in Dubai from next month.
Elizabeth Arden eight-hour skin protectant
Claim? Launched in 1938, the petrolatum-based cream is legendary for soothing irritated, chapped skin and providing a barrier against moisture loss.
Buzz? A beauty industry must-have, one tube is bought every two minutes in the UK. Cate Blanchett, Agyness Deyn and Thandie Newton are all ardent fans.
Value for money: About Dh130 for 50ml - a bargain: one tube goes a long way.
Guerlain Midnight Secret
Claim? Secret weapon is the hydronoctine - a complex containing ingredients that reoxygenate skin, helping it regenerate overnight. Also contains blue gold - pure gold blended with marine algae extract - which prevents that tired, creased look after a night out.
Buzz? "Like sleep in a bottle," say fans. Number-one-selling night treatment for skin in the UK, a bottle is sold every 15 minutes.
Value for money: About Dh355 for 30ml - the price for faking sleep.
