It sounds like an Ab Fab fever dream to me — a collaboration between luxury fashion and beauty brand Dior and one of the wine world’s most recognizable names, Château d’Yquem — but thanks to some novel skincare science, it’s a great match when it comes to your complexion.
Mixing wine with beauty products, or more precisely, using wine grapes as an ingredient in skincare, is something brands (especially in France) have been doing for decades. Caudalie is perhaps the most famous example, having sourced its ingredients from the founder’s family’s vineyards in Bordeaux for 30 years.
Brad Pitt and his skincare brand Beau Domaine, also use fruit from vines in Provence.
But what makes Dior’s L’Or de Vie collection so compelling is the quality and heritage of Château d’Yquem grapes, the unique terroir, and the unique, skin-brightening properties of Sauternes grapes.
We’re not playing with cheap wines here, vintages of Chateau d’Yquem can cost thousands of pounds – it holds the record for the most expensive white wine ever, with a bottle of 1811 sold for £75,000 in 2011.
“Yquem wines are one of the few that age without going bad,” says Virginie Coutureaude, Dior’s director of scientific communications.
This is because of the “specific local terroir”, which encourages the growth of Botrytis cinerea, a fungus known as “noble rot”. “Elsewhere, Botrytis cinerea is seen as an enemy, but at Chateau d’Yquem it is a boon, giving the wines a unique sweetness.”
This quality inspired Dior to explore whether the grape had anti-ageing properties. The house discovered what it called the “Protein of Life” and used it to create the “Drop of Gold” technology – the key to L’Oréal’s Vitality collection.
The protein superoxide dismutase (SOD) is extracted from the young shoots of Sauvignon Blanc vines and goes through 17 chemical processes that take six months to perfect. According to Couturaud, the “juice” is four times more potent than resveratrol, an antioxidant chemical commonly used in grape winemaking.
The second half of the Gold Drop technology is derived from the gold enzyme extracted from the noble rot fungus. The five skincare formulas took more than 2,000 hours to develop and are as luxurious as they are powerful – with Dior’s clinical trial results to top it off.
For example, Le Sérum Serum, a silky-scented, deep-skin product, has achieved impressive results in clinical trials, with skin appearing firmer and smoother after one month of use. La Crème Cream has a rich, silky texture and promises to increase radiance and smooth skin texture.
What could have been seen as a gimmicky collaboration between two luxury brands selling expensive skincare has resulted in five science-led skin products with potential anti-aging benefits.
Can skin care products made from wine counteract the adverse effects of drinking? Cheers!