Photographer: Nino Muñoz for Parfums Christian Dior
With a little help from Dior and Gisele Bündchen, skincare takes a leap towards a more effective and environmentally friendly future.
The sun is shining outside Shanghai’s Minsheng Art Museum. Built-in the heart of the city to promote contemporary art and culture, today it plays host to the Dior skincare scientific summit. Inside, scientists, experts, and specialists are gathered – among them, the new face for the Maison’s Capture Totale range, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen.
Just one glance at the model, mom, author, businesswoman, and environmentalist and you can see why she is still considered the world’s most successful model, even after retiring from the runway in 2015. She looks relaxed, her slender frame dressed in a white shirt paired with a deep green blazer and flared jeans. With sun-kissed, tousled hair and wearing just a touch of mascara and lip balm on her line-free face, the 39-year-old appears to have barely aged since she shot to fame in the late Nineties. At the time, she transformed fashion, ushering in a new era where an athletic, healthy, and tanned look became favored over the pale and waif appearance of the early decade, led by Kate Moss. Now, she’s turned her sights to revolutionizing the beauty industry.
Founded on the principles of Christian Dior to “make women not only more beautiful, but happier, too,” Dior skincare is pioneering this change. Bridging the gap between beauty and science is its savoir-faire approach to skincare. “As an advocate for sustainability in the beauty and fashion industries, I admire when brands make a conscious effort to recognize the impact they have on our environment,” Bündchen says. “Dior is starting this movement by cutting down on packaging waste and using natural resources, respecting our skin as an organ that needs to be nourished with non-toxic, green-friendly ingredients.”
Photographer: Nino Muñoz for Parfums Christian Dior
A pillar in the world of skincare for more than 30 years, the Capture Totale line is constantly adapting its formula to mirror new advancements in technology, with its focus on cell research. Dior’s biologists and in-house researchers partner with the most prestigious research centers and universities across the globe to seek out age-defying solutions. This means understanding cells from their metabolism to their aging process. The latest findings from Dior Science have revealed that “it is not the number of stem cells that decreases with age but their energy potential, which decreases by half, resulting in the drop in their regenerative capacity.”
To combat this, Dior’s scientists created Capture Totale C.E.L.L. Energy. The technology looks to block the loss of cellular vitality by restoring its full regenerative power to the mother cells. With patented liposomes that deliver their content deep down, a wave of energy radiates to the surface of the skin, offering rejuvenation and newfound glow. Dior Science is also sourcing its ingredients from nature. The flowers that have always been a part of Christian Dior’s creative process are now at the forefront of the house’s skincare. Grown in the Dior Gardens, the blooms were cultivated without chemical fertilizers or pesticides and are harvested through environmentally responsible extraction processes.
Courtesy of Dior
The formulations, which contain at least 84% ingredients of natural origin, have been developed to act in synergy. After conditioning the skin with a gentle cleanser and serum- lotion, treat the skin with the super potent serum before intensely comforting it with eye cream and moisturizer. “Taking care of your skin and looking after yourself is ageless,” says Bündchen. “Everyone is unique and using high-quality and healthy products is key to finding a skincare regimen that fits your needs.”
As a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Environment Programme, it is vital to Bündchen to work with brands that safeguard the world around us. “You protect what you love,” she says simply, showcasing how eco-friendly packaging is key to the range. The outside packaging is recyclable, the size has been reduced with 25% less cardboard weight, the bottles are made exclusively from recyclable glass, and the inks used are of plant origin. “If more brands like Dior start to optimize their production processes, making them more sustainable, it will have a great impact in our world,” she says.
This effort to protect the environment is reflected in the brand’s dedication to evolving the way we perceive beauty. “Inner balance is key to outer beauty. With inner balance comes maturity and confidence. When you are able to find balance and a sense of self, it certainly illuminates from the inside out,” muses Bündchen. These ideals – many of which have been immortalized in her New York Times bestselling book, Lessons: My Path to a Meaningful Life – are shared by Dior.
Photographer: Nino Muñoz for Parfums Christian Dior
There is no doubt that wellness is becoming big business. As more people benefit from practices like meditation and mindfulness, wellness is moving from a trend to a lifestyle. Having started meditating in 2003 to help relieve her severe panic attacks, Bündchen now practices it daily. “Wellness is about taking time to reflect in order to learn more about yourself and what brings you balance. Taking care of yourself includes taking care of your skin, too. The more you feel good about you, the more confident you become,” she explains.
Turning 40 in July this year will be a time of even more reflection. “I love life and cherish every moment. I have enjoyed all the different phases of life so far and I feel that aging is just a natural process,” she says. “I just pray that I can continue to have my health so I can be here for a very long time and do everything I can to make the world a better place.”
Originally published in the January 2020 issue of Vogue Arabia
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