Cover Lancôme’s global scientific director, Dr Annie Black
Lancôme’s global scientific director, Dr Annie Black
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Tatler Singapore was the exclusive media at the 2nd edition of the Lancôme Asean Skin Science Club 2024 that happened from September 24 to 26 in Bangkok, Thailand, and sat down with Dr Black on this powerful new serum
It was a vibrant celebration of beauty and science when Lancôme hosted the 2nd edition of the Asean Skin Science Club 2024 from September 24 to 26 in Bangkok, Thailand. Tatler Singapore was the exclusive media that received the unique opportunity to attend this immersive event where Lancôme unveiled its latest skincare innovation: the Génifique Ultimate serum.
After 27 years of research and 12 patents, L’Oréal Advanced Research decoded a key element in the biology of skin repair, representing a major global breakthrough for Lancôme skincare expertise called Nrf2, otherwise known as the “repair switch” which is responsible for activating repair. Nrf2 activation has been shown to protect cells from UV damage, reinforce skin barrier function, and accelerate wound healing.
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However, as we age the less capable our “repair switch” becomes. Therefore, Lancôme discovered the pioneering ingredient Beta Glucan-CM, which is capable of activating Nrf2 to boost skin repair. With the launch of the Génifique Ultimate serum, Lancôme highlights the extraordinary power of this ingredient for the very first time within a serum.
The event not only showcased this remarkable serum but also provided insights into its formulation through an engaging presentation by Dr Annie Black, Lancôme’s Global Scientific Director. Attendees were treated to advanced skin analysis technology and interactive demonstrations that highlighted the efficacy of Génifique Ultimate, setting a new standard in skincare innovation. With a backdrop of cutting-edge beauty tech and expert insights, this event marked a significant milestone in Lancôme’s commitment to merging science with beauty.
Below, we speak to Dr Black about the science behind creating the new Génifique Ultimate serum and what makes it so powerful and special.
Above The new Génifique Ultimate serum, developed over 27 years of research in repair science, features the revolutionary Beta Glucan-CM, which is clinically proven to enhance the skin's self-repair capabilities, promises to reverse a year of skin damage in just one week.
The new Génifique Ultimate serum, developed over 27 years of research in repair science, features the revolutionary Beta Glucan-CM, which is clinically proven to enhance the skin's self-repair capabilities, promises to reverse a year of skin damage in just one week.
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Fans of Lancome would be familiar with the Genefique series. This new serum promises something more. Can you elaborate on the difference between the two series? Can you explain that to both skincare enthusiasts and beginners?
Genefique is an interesting product and one of our bestsellers. When it was launched 15 years ago, we were among the first brands to discuss genetics and epigenetics in 2019. We have had significant renovation for the Advanced Genefique where we were one of the first brands to talk about microbiome science.
Now we wanted to go a step further into repair, of course, the microbiome is still an important part of Genefique. With this new formula, we wanted to bring a little bit more ageing power to it and also see how we could challenge ourselves and see if we could kind of do something with procedures because procedures are everywhere now.
Many Asian markets see procedures soaring. More and more people are doing procedures, so we were wondering, how can we work with this? How could Genefique have a place in this? As we were saying, skin repair is extremely important for all of the reasons that we know because our skin is exposed to stressors every day, either UV, pollution and also lifestyle. When we don't repair these damages, they accumulate over time and they can cause premature ageing.
So by acting on NRF 2, we are trying to boost the repairing power of the skin. And so the skin will age and I put brackets “better” in a better way and trying to maybe slow down ageing, slow down, premature ageing. This is what we’re trying to do and the best way to do this was to bring in Beta Glucan. Beta Glucans act on NRF2 so they can boost the repair switch and so that I would say is the rationale behind this renovation.
We also pushed a bit further on doing testing with procedures. [For example], while [Intense Pulsed Light Therapy treatments] are a little bit less invasive, lasers can be much more invasive. In both of these cases, we saw that when we prepare the skin before the procedure with the use of the Genefique, the skin responds and recovers faster. We have less downtime and we’ve also noticed that we can even boost procedure results. So if we’re able to do something on the skin that is highly compromised or the barrier function is compromised, we can improve the skin. Imagine what it can do for your skin when you don’t do procedures. It's really, I would say the most repairing power that you can have concentrated in one.
It is claimed that the product can repair a year’s worth of skin damage within one week. Can you break this down into a simpler process for users to understand? Also, is it suitable for day and night use?
Day and night. One or two pumps are enough, depending on how you apply the product. You can put it also on your neck. To be able to measure damage, we looked at the damage of the barrier function and we were able to quantify the damage that the barrier function can have in one year, and once we've measured this, we said ‘OK, this is the type of damages that we accumulate over here’.
When we use Genefique, how do we repair the skin? How much time does it take to repair this? And by doing all of these tests, and this is why we did such a large clinical platform, we were able to determine that we were able to repair the damages that are can accumulate in the skin barrier for one year.
Above The new Génifique Ultimate serum is available in three sizes: 30ML, 50ML, and 115ML, as well as a 50ML refill
The new Génifique Ultimate serum is available in three sizes: 30ML, 50ML, and 115ML, as well as a 50ML refill
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You talk about a ‘repair switch’ and how this is harder to activate with age. How does the Beta Gluten CM ingredient help to activate it for older users? Does this also mean that younger people should start using the product earlier on?
Very good question. The repair switch, also called NRF2, is present in all of our skin cells. Unfortunately, as we grow older, NRF2 declines, so we have a little bit less of NRF2, as we grow older. So Beta Glucan can boost NRF2, and by boosting NRF2 you give yourselves more repairing power.
When you say that, it sounds similar to how collagen works because collagen also decreases with age. So is this similar to that?
It’s a bit different because collagen is a very large protein and it’s outside of cells. With Beta Glucans, we’re acting directly on the cells. Collagen does degrade with time, as with many other things also.
If someone currently has the Advanced Genefique and the Ultimate, can both products be used together?
That’s a very interesting question. I think you can use one or the other because in Ultimate you have the performance engine of Advanced Genefique, but you have Beta Glucans and you have liquorice extract that you do not have in Advanced. Now the difference between the formulas is that by adding Beta Glucan and liquorice extract, we needed to change the sensoriality of the formula.
For long-time users of Genefique, for people who love Advanced Genefique, this will make a change because its sensoriality is different. So that's why we are also keeping the Advanced.
But the formula brings more performance, but what is different is that the sensoriality is changing. When you compare the two formulas, Advanced has a very kind of watery texture. It's absorbed quickly and the playtime is relatively short. Playtime is the amount of time that you have to massage your product and your skin before it’s absorbed. With Ultimate, the formula is a little bit thicker because of the Beta Glucans. When you put it on your skin, your playtime is a little bit longer. It takes a little bit more time to be absorbed, but you get more repairing power.
So for me, it’s really a choice between having a little bit more repairing power and more anti-ageing performance with the sensoriality that is different, or Advanced Genefique with the sensoriality that millions of people love, which is amazing for the microbiome and the barrier.
What would you say has been the most rewarding part of the process of creating this new serum?
27 years of research is the amount of time for us to understand all of the repairing processes. We started to try to understand and learn about skin repair a long, long time ago.
Even before we even knew we were going to develop products because before developing your products, we need to understand the science of the skin. We need to understand how the skin works. So that's the first step.
Once we've understood all of these biological mechanisms, we say: “OK, now this, I understand. I know what I can target so I can obtain the benefits.” So when once we have determined our target, we start selecting the ingredients and then it takes between two or three years.
Depending on the product and the difficulty of the formula to develop the formula. So we have research time which is the 27 years of research on repair and also development time, which is the time that we need to develop the formulas, select the ingredients and do all of our testing platforms.
On a personal level, how rewarding has it been for you after being part of the creation and work behind this product?
Honestly, just being able to perform successfully in this renovation. When you revamp products, it’s really, really difficult and especially for the Genefique because it’s an iconic product. It has a very specific and unique sensoriality, so you need to improve it while keeping what people love about this formula. For me, it was a very, very big challenge and I say, well, what is the most satisfying is having a formula that people like. When I see test results coming back and see 100 per cent of people say that they have seen improvement in the skin. When we see clinical results, I'm also very, very proud of the post-procedure studies that we've done. It's the first time that we did this.
As [aesthetic] procedures are becoming more and more accessible, we need to develop products that, on one side, have strong benefits for people who are not interested in [doing aesthetic procedures] but on the other side, also [offer] products for those who do procedures. So we can develop products for everyone, including men, women, people who do procedures, those who do not, younger people, and older people.
What has been the most memorable piece of feedback from customers and users so far?
A lot of things are memorable about this product. These past weeks we’ve done some of our biggest launch events ever. It's the biggest test platform that we’ve ever done, testing on 1,000 people. That's a lot when many other small brands do just one or two very limited test platforms so this is pretty bold, pretty big.
But for me, that’s what Lancome is all about. We’re trying to disrupt things a bit, trying to bring more innovation and something new to surprise people, so I hope that will surprise people with Genefique Ultimate.
We have had amazing feedback. It’s so early because we’re just launching, but the product has been slowly coming on the market since August and we have had great feedback. So we’re monitoring this very closely because feedback from the consumers is important; sometimes, that’s how we decide to take out some ingredients and change your formulas.
For example, the Advanced Genefique [contains] a little bit of alcohol. Now, alcohol is interesting because it can help with sensoriality. Sometimes, we need it because when you apply a product that contains a little bit of alcohol, it gives this really fresh feeling because it evaporates when you put it on your skin. So from a sensorial point, it is very interesting. Sometimes, we need to [include alcohol] because there are certain ingredients that we need to dissolve in the formula and alcohol can help dissolve these ingredients. Other times, we have raw materials that just simply contain a little bit of alcohol. A lot of consumers are concerned about having alcohol in them. So we heard them and that's one of the reasons why we worked very hard in trying to remove all of the alcohol in the formula. That’s also probably why the playtime is a little bit longer for the Genefique Ultimate. In Asia, people have very sophisticated beauty routines so we also wanted a product that can be easily layered with other formulas.
Andrea Saadan is the Senior Digital Editor of Tatler Singapore. She oversees all digital content for the website and currently leads the Beauty and Lifestyle verticals. As a child, she had always enjoyed reading and writing but it was only after she joined her college newspaper, The Spectrum, in Buffalo, New York, that she considered a career in journalism. Her love for all things beauty started from the age of two—when she was caught playing with (and damaging) her mother’s YSL lipstick. On top of her day job, she is also an unpaid beauty consultant for friends and family. Besides make-up, her obsessions include the wizarding world of Harry Potter, podcasts, ice-cream, her walking pad and watching endless re-runs of The Office (US).
