I went for the launch of Caudalie’s latest skincare line weeks ago, though i’ve put off its writing cos there is so much information involved and i didn’t want to rush it. Caudalie (pronounced ‘coh-dah-lee’) is a French beauty company from Bordeaux and is currently imported by Ken’s Apothecary – who also brings in amazing brands like Aesop, Laura Mercier and Diptyque. So you can guess the quality of Caudalie even if you’ve never heard of it before.

I got my first taste of Caudalie when Clem’s mum gave me a bottle of the brand’s Beauty Elixir Mist which I later found out is a cult product often raved about by celebrities and make up artists.

But i’m not here to tell you about their cult products and whatnot. I really wanted to start off with THE MAIN REASON why i found Caudalie so exciting. You know how we tend to memorize particular ingredients imperative in products to be the best for our skin? There was (and still is) the whole Vitamin C deal, then the collagen thing to the point people started drinking it (i never bothered with that consumption trend), and hyaluronic acid.

There’s a new ingredient that begs to be remembered. It’s a mouthful but i say it deserves its extra effort: Resveratrol.

Resveratrol originates from the grapevine and is currently known as a world-famous anti-ageing molecule. It was first discovered by Caudalie and their Professor Vercauteren in 1997; before they successfully isolated, stabilized, and patented it in 1999. Since then, Grapevine Resveratrol has been a flagship active ingredient for cell regeneration and in cancer research, and is recognized by Harvard’s Department of Medicine as being among the best anti-ageing molecules.

So that’s Resveratrol that was patented in 1999. In 2012, Caudalie and Professor Vercauteren patented a better version of their original findings, and called it Resveratrol-Oleyl. This arose when the Professor discovered that carbonyl stress was a big bad boy in causing more ageing, so he modified the new generation Resveratrol-Oleyl that’s stabilized by oleic acid and increased in efficacy against carbonyl stress.

(i thought it might be a bit nerdy to put this molecular chart of the Resveratrol but i want to!)

It was explained to us that carbonyl stress causes the sugars in our skin’s molecular build to ‘caramelize’ and become more hard/less flexible. When this happens, our skin’s support fibers rupture, causing the skin’s surface to ‘fall in’ and wrinkles to appear as how we know it. This whole process is referred to as glycation and plays a significant role in tissue damage, and loss of skin elasticity.

What makes carbonyl stress more of a bitch is that it generates extra-cellular oxidative stress, which in turn activates carbonyl stress’ harmful effects. Chicken and egg situation.

Back to the new Resveratrol-Oleyl. It acts on two fundamental levels:
Intra-cellular level > it stimulates collagen fiber production and increases epidermal thickness.
Extra-cellular level > it inhibits that dratted carbonyl stress to prevent glycation, while encouraging the production of superior quality collagen and elastin.

Also, thanks to the oleic acid (that’s used to stabilize it, remember?), the skin is provided with fatty acids omega 3,6 and 9 which protect it from aggression, regenerate and deeply nourish it.

Phooew, okay so now you know the main ingredient behind Caudalie’s latest skincare line and WHY it was so important for me to explain it… i didn’t just want to list the benefits of the products down and expect you to believe them, i wanted to share what i learnt that day too!

All of Caudalie’s new Vinexpert products of course have Resveratrol-Oleyl as its key active ingredient.

Vinexpert Eye & Lip Serum – finely targeted formula to smoothen crow’s feet wrinkles, lip contour, lift the eyelids and act against puffiness. Also includes ingredients Matrixyl-synthe 6 (one of the most high performance anti-wrinkle molecules), peptides to fight skin slackening, argan protein for tightening and hyaluronic acid. (15ml; app. RM220)
Vinexpert Firming Serum – this has the highest concentration of Resveratrol-Oleyl and fills in the areas most subject to aging, acting on density and firmness – cheekbones, facial contour, neck, décolleté. (30ml; app. RM264)

Vinexpert Radiance Day Fluid SPF15 – an oil-free sheer pink fluid that hydrates, illuminates and protects while combatting wrinkles and lack of firmness.
Vinexpert Radiance Day Cream SPF15 – a richer version of the day fluid.
Vinexpert Night Infusion Cream – intensely nourishes and regenerates during the night.
(All the above – 40ml; RM225)

What gives the Vinexpert line even more credibility is that all its products were tested on volunteers at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York by Dr. Marmur, Vice Chair of Cosmetic and Dermatologic Surgery. Skin biopsies were obtained before and after the 3-month treatment program conducted on women between the ages of 35 to 75. The percentage of volunteers who saw a significant improvement in: deep wrinkles – 78%; skin quality – 78%; skin firmness – 72%; crow’s feet wrinkles – 78%; skin texture – 89%.

Vinoperfect is the line of products from the third patent of Caudalie, called Viniferine. Patented in 2005, Viniferine creates a radiant complexion and reduced dark spots.

We got to try other products from Caudalie the whole event, including this facial oil.

This is Pauline from Caudalie who explained the brand to us in detail.

Caudalie’s history itself is really interesting. Before Caudalie, there was (and still is) the Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte in Bordeaux that was built in the 18th Century. The chateau organically grows its grapes and makes its own fine vintage wines till today. During the grape harvest in 1993, a Professor Vercauteren (world specialist in Polyphenols and Professor of Pharmacognosis at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Montpellier) expressed to Mathilde Thomas that she was sitting on a goldmine. Besides the wine that was being made, that is.

He was referring to the grapevines that were discarded, as they had amazing antioxidant powers. And that’s how Caudalie was born. The brand was founded by Mathilde Thomas with her husband Bertrand in 1995 and is a 100% independent family brand.

“I created Caudalie because i believe in beauty products that are not only effective, but also natural and luxurious. This is the essence of the brand, which i am committed to each and every day.” – Mathilde Thomas, Founder of Caudalie.

Besides the chateau and the beauty brand, there is also Les Sources de Caudalie, a 5-star hotel surrounded by vineyards and forests, complete with La Grand’Vigne glasshouse restaurant and its Michelin-star Chef Masse. And you know, why stop there… they also have the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa which boasts naturally warm spring water in a refined atmosphere made out of natural wood and stone. Besides the main spa in Bordeaux, Caudalie also has its spas in some of the best hotels in New York, Spain, Portugal, Canada and more i’m just not mentioning cos it’s too much to write!

All Caudalie products contain no paragons, phenoxyethanol, phthalates, mineral oils, sodium laureth sulfate, synthetic colouring or animal ingredients. Raw materials used are of certified origin and all preservatives are certified by Ecocert. All their paper and plastic packaging is made from 50% recycled materials, and is 100% recyclable. And yes, all this i like very much cos a company that is environmentally-conscious by the bounds earns extra points in my book.

I think the only place you can purchase Caudalie in Malaysia right now is at the Ken’s Apothecary store in Bangsar Village 2

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Pictures of French food i had at the Caudalie event, held at Nathalie’s Gourmet Studio 😀

That was SUCH a long post! Hope you enjoyed it tho it was just about one brand!

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