KEY POINTS:
Skincare is serious business in France. "Stylo Effaceur Rides", for instance, sounds impressive, but for all I know (and given my French) it could be the lyrics to a Jacques Brel song rather than the line-reducing pen that it is.
1. Clarins Expertise 3P Screen Mist - $55
for 100ml
This sounds like weird science rather than a beautifier. Technically, it's a spray-on screen against electromagnetic waves and urban pollution - skin can be harmed by more than car emissions and air-conditioning particles. It also has to cope with "electromagnetic waves generated by diverse domestic communication equipment".
This is a shield that with the help of a special Magnetic Defense Complex, white tea and a glycofilm, gives biological protection and physical protection from those bad waves and other city pollution. Sounds serious.
* From selected beauty therapists, pharmacies and department stores.
2. Sothys Eau Thermale Spa Creme Mains Velours - $36 for 50ml
A luxurious, velvety handcream, this looks after hands and nails at the same time. Good handcream is our friend. Perhaps someone could give some to Madonna, whose hands are not her best asset.
* From selected beauty therapists.
3. Lancome Hydra Zen Neurocalm Soothing Anti-Stress Moisturising Cream -$110 for 50ml
If external aggressors don't get to skin, emotional tension and tiredness probably will - in the form of dehydrated skin, redness and sensitivity. This is plant-based with sea fennel which stimulates the production of beta-endrophin (feel-good molecules that help protect skin), which reduces tightness and the stiff, dehydrated feel. Skin is soothed.
* From selected department stores and pharmacies.
4. L'Oreal Revitalift Double Lifting Eye - $38 for 15ml
This is a conjoined eye cream. One side dispenses a moisturising anti-wrinkle cream to reduce the look of wrinkles and help with the appearance of bags. On the other side is a pink re-tautening gel that "forms a flexible and resistant film" to lift the look of the upper eyelid.
* From selected department stores, pharmacies and supermarkets.
5. Yves Saint Laurent Lisse Expert Line Eraser Kit - $296 for the kit
Serious-looking stuff - five 5ml tubes of Peeling Masque and one Wrinkle Filler pen inside a mirrored case. The 4 per cent glycolic acid peeling masques annihilate dead skin, while a special extract softens the effect of the acid on the skin. There's enough here for a five-week treatment to help skin to become as smooth and radiant as possible. The pen has microspheres of dehydrated hyaluronic acid that swells when it comes into contact with the skin and increases volume significantly so lines are filled in. The pen has all sorts of other skin-friendly ingredients, too. It's like twinking out lines - albeit temporarily.
* From selected department stores and pharmacies.