Dr NV Perricone accompanied by the slogan "Look Younger! Live Longer!" For a New York dermatologist (that"s basically a zit doctor to you and me), Perricone has done very nicely thank you. He"s turned the "science" of anti-ageing creams into a million-dollar business, and his face is plastered all over town.
"Perricone is one of a whole slew of derm-doctors, plastic surgeons and niche skincare companies selling the promise of eternal youth in America - and at an extremely high price. Way above the world of the basic drug- store moisturiser, Americans are buying into a new kind of skincare snobbery with a roster of ultra-luxurious products to go with it. Prices range from $400 to $600 (around £210 to £315) for as little as one ounce, which means they cost as much as gold or beluga caviar.
Perricone"s latest product, for instance, is the Neuropeptide Facial Conformer cream, which costs $570 (plus US sales tax). And that"s before you start on his diet supplements or decide to go for a $500, hour-long skin and diet consultation at his new Madison Avenue store.
Another new product, Time-Response Skin Renewal Creme ($400), created by the Korean firm Amore Pacific, is being sold as a "limited edition" due to the rare and elusive nature of its key ingredient - a premium green tea found only at the foot of Halla Mountain on Korea"s Cheju island. The tiny crop limits the cream"s production to 500 jars a year. And although the key ingredient is simple and natural, the technology used to unlock the vital agents is anything but. Amore Pacific has been able to extract just the potent antioxidants from green tea in a way no other company has managed - it has filed for six patents and is intensely secretive about how the process works.
Paula Begoun, an aggressive consumer advocate and the author of the feisty, bestselling book Don"t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, thinks this market is set to grow. "There"s almost a race to see who can create the most expensive creams," she says, "and companies are vying for who can charge the most and gain the most attention." Industry statistics back this up; the market for luxury face creams in the US has grown exponentially in the past few years.
The magazine Global Cosmetic Industry reported in September that while the rest of the industry was flat, the premium skincare market grew a whopping 37.7 per cent in 2003, boosting the industry"s turnover to $47bn (£25bn).
And the luxury skincare market isn"t just being supported by the wealthy. "The pursuit of youth isn"t just for the rich any more," comments Von Jan. "They are bought by women who may cut corners in other areas of their life so that they can have one of these creams. After all, $400 or $600 is a small price to pay if you believe you can buy back youth."
This market is based on a carefully honed argument. It goes something like this. These products are expensive, but less so than Botox - so they save you money and you still get to move your face. They also help you avoid surgery - yet again saving you money. And, of course, they"re expensive - they"re based on cutting-edge science, and science costs money.
The argument is put powerfully by Dr Bays Brown, a Kentucky-based plastic surgeon and creator of the cult brand ReVive (available in the UK at Space NK, see the box below). Dr Brown"s new Intensite Volumizing Serum costs $600 and is, ounce for ounce, currently the most expensive product on the market. It includes a specially developed product - Keratinocyte Growth Factor (KGF) - a bio-engineered growth hormone that speeds up the skin"s production of youthful cells. It was initially used on burn victims and Dr Brown also applies it to patients after surgery. "Once all the stitches are out and the crusting and scabbing is gone," he says, in a voice that suggests he"s talking about taking out the trash or doing the weekly shopping at Wal-Mart, "we use these products to speed up the healing."
Aside from hastening the healing process, though, do ReVive"s products really live up to the company"s promise that "a dab a day keeps surgery away"? "Honestly, while a big old turkey gobbler of a neck cannot be avoided in life, you can downscale it with the use of the right products, and more subtle signs of ageing really can be avoided now," Brown claims.
But why such high prices? "The Keratinocyte Growth Factor we use is very expensive - science is the factor here that dictates the price," he says. "The whole point of these products is to avoid the need for invasive facial surgery. You know the ladies, all you have to do is walk down certain parts of Park Avenue or Madison Avenue and, after three blocks, you"ll see a woman who looks like she"s been in a wind tunnel. That is not an optimal outcome. My products help avoid the need for such radical attempts at anti-ageing."
Florida-based Shirley Grissom is a 77-year-old user and fan of ReVive. Dr Brown goes so far as to call her a "poster child" for the product. Grissom explains that she moved from Estee Lauder to ReVive - that"s a considerable price hike - and thinks it is worth every penny. "I started using these products and someone I know asked me if I"d had a face-lift! I told her I hadn"t, introduced her to the products and now she"s hooked too." Grissom admits that she uses more than six products (with a total cost for all these immaculately packaged potions of around $1,000) on her face every day but declares the expense is worth it. "People consistently think I"m 50 - this stuff is like a face-lift in a bottle. I love it!"
As the cults of the derm-doctor and plastic surgeon rise - and as medical science and the cosmetic industry nudge their way closer together - it is possible for more substantive and clinically proven results to follow. Even Begoun, the arch industry cynic who will call a product "eye-poppingly expensive wax and water" at the drop of a hat, admits that "The growth factor used in ReVive products and the peptides in NV Perricone"s Neuropeptide Conformer are intriguing - these are genuinely interesting ingredients."
Stephanie Thomas, promotions and development manager for Selfridges beauty halls, sees the trend for higher priced, more luxurious face creams growing in the UK too. "Anti-ageing creams are our fastest growing sector here," she declares. And it"s a sector that"s unlikely to be hit by a recession. "All the research shows that cosmetics are among the last things to be hit by an interest-rate hike or a bad economy. Women have no problem parting with large amounts of cash if they want a particular cream, and our luxurious brands such as La Prairie and Creme de la Mer have great repeat business."
Creme de la Mer was perhaps the first of this new breed of cult creams - it was so popular when it initially launched that there were waiting lists. At the time it came on to the market in 1985 many women were shocked at the $85 price tag, now it seems positively affordable. It was originally created in the home lab of scientist Max Huber to help soothe serious burns he received while working at Nasa.
La Mer has become a success through that key marketing strategy, word of mouth - most users you speak to tell you the "basic" cream really works. Keen to maintain its position in the premium market, the brand is releasing a new set of far more expensive products including (with a £250 price tag in the UK) The Concentrate, with another big hitter on the way. La Prairie is pursuing exactly the same policy, releasing a clutch of £300- plus luxe creams and treatments.
So will the rise in the cost of skincare creams ever end? Paula Begoun thinks not. "When it comes to price I honestly wonder where it will stop," she says. "It is astonishing what women will stump up to try to buy back time." n
The world"s most expensive creams
La Prairie
This brand, used by Sophie Ellis-Bextor (right), is known for deluxe products - its range includes a cream with caviar extract. This Cellular Radiance Cream is available from Selfridges (tel: 0870 8377 377). £340 for 50ml.
NV Perricone Neuropeptide Facial Conformer
NV Perricone fans include Courtney Cox Arquette (right). This weird-smelling (think Copydex glue) cream claims to "increase cell turnover" and help you stay looking young. £445 for 60ml, from www.nvperriconemd.co.uk
Amore Pacific Time Response Skin Renewal Creme
Full of antioxidants, this limited-edition moisturiser feels creamy but never greasy. The opulent pot makes a great dressing-table statement. It costs $400 - no UK store carries it.
Creme de la Mer Concentrate
From the iconic brand Creme de la Mer (which helps keep Dido looking good, right). This concentrate is perfect for the Harley Street set, as it promises to speed healing for those who have gone under the knife. £250. For stockists, tel: 01730 232 566.
