A recent study found that French women are judged – on appearance – to be younger than they truly are. Could the fact they begin to use anti-ageing products much earlier than Brits – on average starting in their late teens, while we wait until we’re 25 – have anything to do with it? It’s time to take a lesson from across the pond and learn more about anti-ageing. Listen up!
The Hills Are Alive:
This one may ring a bell from your childhood – the dulcet tones of a certain Captain Georg von Trapp, to be specific, singing a tune about something “small and white, clean and bright.” No, he wasn’t waxing poetic about his beloved nun-turned-nanny-to- his-seven-children-turned-wife, Maria, nor anything Nazi-related – at least not directly. (And no, we’re not about to decode The Sound Of Music.)
The subject of his adoration? Leontopodium alpinum, the scientific name for the five- to 30-centimetre, star-shaped, perennially flowering plant of the family Asteraceae that’s more commonly known as edelweiss, German for “noble white.” For thousands of years, it’s grown in clusters in the mountains of Central Asia and South America and Europe – especially in the Swiss Alps – it’s the national flower of Switzerland – with white, wooly leaves that belie its rather harsh environment (extreme temperatures; low atmospheric pressure; strong UV rays).
Skincare Saviour:
Considering the plant’s uncanny resiliency, it’s not surprising that edelweiss makes a powerful skincare ingredient. High in antioxidants, which ward off damaging free radicals, the metabolic herb also contains bisabol (an anti-inflammatory), glucoside (which increases cellular respiration, allowing the skin to breathe), and immunity-boosting beta- sitosterol – a potent combination that simultaneously protects and soothes the skin. Edelweiss has even been used in traditional medicine, as well as dried and blended into teas, to treat everything from respiratory disease to anxiety and stress. With proven collagen-retention properties, it’s also good for keeping up a youthful appearance. Just think: have you ever seen a Swiss Miss with a less-than- radiant complexion?
Anti-ageing:
Enter Gerda Spillmann Swiss Cosmetics, which, founded in 1944, uses pure, pharmaceutical-grade edelweiss extract as the key ingredient in its cult favourite Renaissance Age Serum. Infused with healing proline amino acids and super-hydrating tamarind seed extract as well, the anti- aging formula—with its lovely, silky, lightweight texture—is gentle enough for even the most sensitive skin-types.
The idea is to use the serum in addition to your moisturiser; apply it before you go to sleep to enhance your skin’s natural, nightly rejuvenation process. You’ll wake up feeling extra-taut, perhaps even humming a line from Captain von Trapp: “Blossom of snow may you bloom and grow, bloom and grow forever…”
– Christine