Skincare That Knows Its Worth

The Breathtaking Beauty Of Sisleÿa

It’s been a long summer: just ask my skin. We’ve been through a lot together recently. Combine personal trauma – of which I’ve had more than my fair share – with this year’s unprecedented heat, the relentless stress of airports and, last but certainly not least, the fact that I’m in my sixth decade and my skin is, well, doing what skin does… ageing.

It’s September, time for me to shake off the sun and sand and freshen up. Invest in something a little luxurious to ease me into autumn. I’ll start with my face. Just looking at a pot of something special from Sisleÿa – Sisley skincare’s premium anti-ageing range – elicits tremors of excitement akin to those an orange Hermès box might inspire. It conjures a world of timeless elegance – one inhabited by generations of chic women with olive skin and slim ankles, wearing silk robes the colour of pale pink rose petals as they sit at their dressing tables, expertly patting the perfect, pearl-sized amount of Sisleÿa cream onto their faces in an understatedly impressive skincare routine.

The Sisley brand was founded by Count Hubert d’Ornano and his wife Countess Isabelle d’Ornano in 1976, and remains a family-run business. The family are the company’s best ambassadors – a multi-generational clan of vivacious and stylish men and women, all boasting the kind of radiant skin that mere mortals aspire to.

There’s no denying the Sisleÿa range is expensive, and it doesn’t pretend not to be. It is grounded in exceptional scientific research and built around high-grade botanical actives that focus on anti-ageing. Despite the hefty price tag, I honestly believe it delivers excellent cost-per-wear value – I feel the same way about an eye-wateringly expensive sofa I bought 30 years ago, every penny justified each time I sink into it. With these products you only need to use tiny amounts for them to do their work, so they can last for many months.

Start your three-step Sisleÿa routine with a few drops of Sisleÿa Longevity Essential Serum, £435, patted onto a freshly cleansed face. There’s a lot of excitement around this product. It has been designed to specifically target ageing at a cellular epigenetic level. This means it works on how your lifestyle (stress, sleep, diet, environment) switches skin-related genes on or off – helping to re-set the skin cells’ “rhythm” and encouraging it to behave like healthy, younger skin rather than just treating surface lines.

It uses ginkgo extract to help clear ageing “senescent” cells – meaning old cells that refuse to die and which send out stress signals that can speed up fine lines, sagging and dullness. Persian acacia, lindera and soy peptides help support collagen/elastin activity, and finally hyaluronic acid plus the product’s oil‑serum texture add immediate hydration, resulting in a glowing and smoother, firmer-looking skin surface. My fellow dedicated fan of Sisleÿa, Collagerie co-founder Lucinda Chambers, swears to me that she could see a visible difference within weeks of using it.

Next, take the gold-plated ridoki roller that comes with the Sisleÿa L’Intégral Eye & Lip Contour Cream, £189, and glide it from the inner corner of your eye outward along the bone – and do the same along the eyebrow bone. You can also do this along the outside of your mouth. I love how cool and soothing it feels (I can often be found rolling it “just because” whilst watching TV), but it’s also very effective for stimulating lymphatic drainage and reducing puffiness. It prepares the skin for the eye cream, of which you only need to use the tiniest amount (the size of half a grain of rice). This is a very concentrated, multi-tasking formula designed for a fragile area using anti-ageing actives. Unlike many Sisley creams, it has no essential oils (which can overload the very thin, delicate skin and upset drainage). Until recently I thought eye cream was supposed to be applied directly under the eye, so forgive me if you already know only to apply around the orbital bone – and you’re welcome if you didn’t! I also like that this cream is effective for targeting those fine lines around the mouth, too.

Whilst on the subject of multi-purpose products, the final stage in my routine is the Sisleÿa L'Intégral Anti-Age, £435. I love it because I don’t like cluttering up my bathroom with a million products, and a separate night cream always feels like an extra faff, while using this single formula twice a day – morning and night – just doesn’t. Don’t ask me why. Again, you only need one small, pea-sized amount of this luxuriant cream to leave the skin feeling perfectly hydrated.

I firmly believe we all deserve a treat, and Sisleÿa skincare delivers on every level – from its efficacy (think glowing, dewy skin and the softening of fine lines) to its signature scent that conjures a morning in the south of France. I mean, the utter luxury of it! Don’t you feel more beautiful already?