Precious by Clarins A Gem for Your Skin

Skin ageing can be attributed to everyday stress, pollution, UV rays, lack of sleep and poor diet. All those factors combine to accelerate the process. But with the benefit of years of research, Clarins can now give our skin a second chance through the regenerative and protective powers of a flower called ‘the queen of the night’, harnessed in a remarkable skincare line consisting of a lotion, a face cream and another for the eyes. The ephemeral flower of a plant also known as the Dutchman’s pipe cactus has a heady perfume. Its large corolla (up to 40cm in diameter) only blooms once a year when the long petals unfold in the moonlight, explaining its scientific name, Selenicereus grandiflorus, a reference to the Moon goddess Selene. Native to Central America, it is not just rare because it only flowers annually, but also due to its ability to activate FoxO longevity proteins (plentiful in coral especially), which are able to counteract the phenomenon of oxy-inflamm-aging, responsible for oxidative stress. That effect leads to the excessive production of free radicals, which weaken cells and trigger an inflammatory reaction. That in turn increases oxidative stress. The consequent unending vicious circle harms the skin barrier and can be 80% responsible for its ageing.

For fifteen years, Clarins has been growing ‘queen of the night’ plants in Brittany, in a 6,000 sq.m. cactus house at a stable temperature of 3°C. Harvesting is a challenge: staff have only two hours to pick the flowers when they come to full bloom, reaching the peak of their fullness and molecular abundance. They are then immediately frozen and subjected to a cryoextraction process. Immersion in a bath of liquid nitrogen at -196°C provides Clarins with a cryoextract, the key active ingredient of the Precious line.