A new skincare brand has made its official UK debut in Harrods, although if a trip to Knightsbridge isn’t on the cards you can shop this excellent range at pers-skincare.com. Created by an expert team, including the thoroughly charming French cosmetic doctor Antoni Calmon, the premise is reassuringly simple. PERS stands for Protect, Enhance, Repair, Stimulate: aka the four tenets of effective skin maintenance. You might call it the French approach, reflecting the desire of Dr Calmon’s Parisian clients for a routine which is straightforward, luxurious, and reliable.
PERS offers a range of products which are packed with ingredients that are scientifically proven to improve the look and feel of your skin, regardless of age or skin type. Possibly most importantly, they are actively pleasurable to use. Great thought has gone into the fragrance, texture, application and look of this brand and it has paid off. Yes, I want to give them pride of place on my dressing table, and I am always a sucker for something which smells glorious, as this does. Light floral notes combine to produce that indefinable and instantly recognisable scent which I can only describe as satisfyingly French and expensive. It is not going to go into battle with my scent of choice on any given day, but it does give a little lift to my spirits as I pat, press or massage the serum, cream or balm into my face and neck. This is all steeped into the brand philosophy: “a good fragrance encourages repeated use”.
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I’ve certainly been using them on repeat and am impressed. The brightening effect of a daily dose of Vitamin C (PROTECT), courtesy of the antioxidant serum, coupled with daily SPF protection is encouraging me to leave the house and face the worst of the weather. By the way, the texture of the SPF 50+ gel is phenomenal, I’ve honestly never encountered such a traceless SPF product. It disappears into the skin leaving it matte and velvety. At night the Rich Cream (REPAIR) is like a cashmere blanket, cocooning my wind-and-chill ravaged face in moisture as I sleep. Every other evening I’m using PERS’ concentrated Retinol serum (STIMULATE) which these clever people have developed in such a way that the retinol release works through the night rather than just for an hour or two after application. The skincare-makeup hybrid Glow Balm (ENHANCE) in its handbag-sized pot can used as a top up throughout the day to add a little dewiness and a gentle wash of colour to cheeks and lips.
Luxury skincare is a congested market (apologies, congested is not a word you may want to read in a feature on caring for your complexion). However, PERS is a brand which has excited me, not least because of the brand’s philosophy: they are not selling youth in a bottle. As Dr Calmon said, “It’s important not to sell a miracle. It’s wrong. This is about slowing not reversing and regularity is key.”
