As previously reported, earlier this month Coty Prestige unveiled a new skin care collection from Lancaster. Total Age Correction will begin its domestic roll-out, starting with Europe, in January 2014.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Benelux countries, Spain, Italy, Portugal and the Middle East have been earmarked as key countries. Asia, another big target, will follow on later.
As its name suggests, Total Age Correction is a multi-functional, all-in-one line that targets the key signs of ageing. The primary target market is women aged 40 and over. According to Lancaster, with regular use, the skin’s dermal fibres become stronger and denser; the complexion brightens; radiance increases; wrinkles are less visible; and skin becomes firmer.
Total Age Correction comprises five skus: a Day Cream SPF15, a Rich Cream SPF15, a Night Cream, an Eye Cream SPF15 and a Color Correcting (CC) Cream SPF15. The domestic price points are around €80-90 each, depending on the market.
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Total Age Correction, unveiled earlier this month in Monaco, will be launched in January 2014 |
The formulations feature three of Lancaster’s key technologies/ingredients: retinol, DNA repair and infrared protection. “Total Age Protection is for women who want it all,” declared Lancaster International Vice President Marketing Sophie Martin-Teillard at the launch event, which took place in Monaco, the birthplace of the brand and the location of its R&D centre. “This multi-functional launch is totally in line with the major market trend”¦On this specific segment, we wanted to offer something totally different, an all-in-one solution to correct all signs of ageing.”
The launch event comprised four in-depth presentations, which explained the importance – and efficacy – of each of these key technologies, followed by a tour of Lancaster’s R&D laboratory.
The first speech was delivered by Olivier Doucet, Coty Vice President Research & Development, who explained how complex the field of anti-ageing is, with its multiple and overlapping theories. “What we do know for sure is that 20% of ageing is intrinsic (genes, chronology, DNA); and 80% extrinsic (pollution, stress, smoking, free radicals, UV exposure),” he noted. “Happily, up to middle age, [by using the right products] it’s not too late to make a difference to your skin.”
In particular, Doucet discussed the effects of photo-ageing, and the vital role regular sun protection plays in preventing premature skin ageing. He highlighted the results of a wide-scale Australian study, carried out over more than four years on over 900 subjects, which proved that daily application of an SPF15 sunscreen slows down skin ageing by 24%.
Accordingly, Lancaster has enriched its Total Age Correction line with its most comprehensive sun protection to date: an SPF15, UVA screens and the brand’s exclusive Infrared Technology.
The second presentation came courtesy of Antony Young, Professor of Experimental Photobiology at St John’s Institute of Dermatology, Division of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, King’s College School of Medicine, King’s College London. He explained in detail the role of DNA damage, and the importance of maintaining DNA integrity in the presence of solar ultra-violet radiation.
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Lancaster International Vice President Marketing Sophie Martin-Teillard and Coty Vice President Research & Development Olivier Doucet get the Monaco launch event underway | |
Consequently, the Total Age Correction products incorporate a tailored version of Lancaster’s DNA technology (which made its debut in the brand’s 365 Cellular Elixir Intense serum), said to support the natural repair of the skin’s DNA and maintain its youthful reserves.
Next Gerard Friedlander, Professor of Physiology at Paris Descartes University School of Medicine clarified the role of Retinol – “still the gold standard” – in terms of reversing the signs of skin ageing.
Each Total Age Correction product contains a patent-pending Bi-Retinol complex, which delivers retinol more effectively to where it is needed.
Lastly, dermatology expert Professor Jürgen Lademann (Director of the Center of Experimental and Applied Cutaneous Physiology, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin) explained the importance of protecting against infrared radiation, in addition to UVA and UVB.
Infrared rays represent more than half of the solar spectrum; and with a higher wavelength than both UVB and UVA rays, they reach the deepest layers of the skin and therefore intensify loss of firmness and accelerate photo-ageing. They also generate free radicals that are harmful to DNA and to a number of cellular functions.
To combat their effect, Lancaster’s Total Age Correction line contains a combination of mineral reflectors capable of fighting against infrared rays, in addition to an antioxidant complex to neutralise free radicals.
The appliance of science
Total Age Correction might harness existing technologies and ingredients, but they have been updated and improved to offer consumers a cutting-edge skincare solution, according to Coty’s Doucet.
“We have taken everything to another level,” he told The Moodie Report in a post-presentation interview. “Take the retinol, for example. Of course that in itself is not new, but what we are doing in terms of vectorisation certainly is. Our new generation of liposomes [a delivery system] are super sophisticated, and represent huge advantages to what we had before in terms of getting the retinol to the right target location within the skin. They allow us to use retinol in a much smarter and sophisticated way.”
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The new collection draws on Lancaster’s heritage to counter the extrinsic signs of ageing |
Explaining such technology to the consumer is not always easy, however, especially in a time-pressed environment such as travel retail. What is the Lancaster strategy for conveying how and why Total Age Correction works?
“The name is very important in terms of explaining that we are covering all signs of ageing,” noted Coty’s Martin-Teillard. “And on the front of the packaging we have clearly written “˜DNA – Retinol – Infrared Expert’. Consumers will be familiar with some, perhaps not all, of those concepts. But it helps reinforce the idea that what’s inside is unique to Lancaster, and gives our Beauty Advisors a good platform for further explanation.”
Digital and social media, in addition to traditional print and TV advertising, will also have an important role to play.
In short, Total Age Correction heralds a new era for Lancaster, and signposts the wider Coty group’s ambition to anchor itself more firmly in the cosmetics sector.
“This is an emblematic launch for us,” Martin-Teillard acknowledged. “Before we were a fragrance group. Now we are looking to extend into skincare, and this is the new vision.”
Somewhere down the line, might that vision be extended to include a male skin care offer? “For the moment, there is nothing planned – at least for Europe,” Martin-Teillard replied. “But it’s possible that we will introduce something in Asia, where men are generally more educated about taking care of their skin.”
