The 1950s Italian actress Sophia Loren famously quipped ‘everything you see, I owe to spaghetti.’ This pretty much sums up the Italian aesthetic: voluptuous, well fed, healthy. Loren – a regular muse for Dolce & Gabbana – possesses this type of captivating inner radiance which doesn’t come from cabbage soup diets, described the words of Domenico Dolce as “natural, radiant and above all real”. It’s just this radiance that Dolce & Gabbana wanted to capture in their latest skincare range Aurealux, which launched last summer and has recently seen the addition of a brightening lotion (Aurealux Essence, £44) to the line.
The Dolce & Gabbana Aurealux Skincare Range
Obviously there’s the luxurious texture and sleek gold and white packaging one would expect from the legendary designers, but there’s some serious science within these pretty pots. After screening over 100 substances from around the world, they settled on active complex Gold Flavo-Silk Tricomplex with Gold Silk Sericin – an extract derived from gold silk cocoons produced by silkworms found in a tiny region of Japan. This extract is made up of amino acids, antioxidants and poly-peptides to smooth, tone and plump the skin. Added to that is a good slug of nourishing Italian olive oil (proof that it’s not just good for drizzling on pasta) and protective, moisture-boosting Vitamin B3 for good measure.
Using special “eye tracking” technology, the brand performed trials with 187 passers-by, with “before and after” photos of women who trialled Aurealux. 70 per cent were immediately drawn to the “after” image, spending twice as long staring at it – proof of the “captivating” factor the designers had initially envisioned. Glass recently met with their skincare expert Dr Silvia Incardona, who was at pains to stress that this isn’t an “anti-ageing” range, but rather designed to enhance skin’s radiance in both young and mature women. A philosophy we can imagine Ms Loren – aged 80 and no less captivating – would certainly get behind.
by Viola Levy
The Dolce & Gabbana Aurealux range is exclusive to Harrods, prices start from £44