In collaboration with Château d’Yquem, Dior has created a unique object of beauty derived from the processing of grapes
by Priscilla Baldesi
In the heart of the hilly region of Sauternes, in the southeast of France, lies Château d’Yquem, an estate which has hosted valuable vines for more than 400 years – vines that skilled hands grow with an almost sacred dedication. This historic corner of paradise, owned by kings and acclaimed by the most important courts in Europe, has become a symbol of winemaking excellence and the cradle of one of the most famous and appreciated Sauternes wines in the world. To adapt to environmental conditions, in recent years the vines have developed an unusual mechanism of self-protection and self-generation. The love of knowledge and its natural inclination towards erudition has allowed science to study this process in detail and discover that the lymph of Yquem vines has particularly powerful antioxidant properties for human skin as well.
Dior’s line of anti-aging treatments
In 2006, Dior launched an exclusive collaboration with Château d’Yquem to transfer this miracle of nature to our skin by enhancing the power of its fruits to create a unique treasure, which is not just wine, but also an elixir of beauty. The result is L’Or de Vie, a line of anti-ageing treatments that combines the art of cosmetics with the power of science and exploits the natural predisposition of these valuable vines for resilience to stimulate the regeneration of epithelial cells and protect them from the harmful effects of the climate and the environment. Dior’s researchers have proven that the superoxide molecule dismutase acts directly on cellular mechanisms and stimulates the production of new cells protecting existing ones. Thanks to its remarkable antioxidant properties it contrasts free radicals, which are among the main causes of skin aging …
Pierre Lurton, president of the Châteaux d’Yquem. ©G.Uféras
In collaboration with researchers from three prestigious French laboratories and institutes, Dior has carried out an important genomic study on the skin, which has highlighted the key role of the Life Protein in the skin’s longevity system: more than 60,000 genes of the human genome have been sequenced and the comparison between the cells of young and old tissue has shown that the Life Protein is reduced by 40% with age. This is due to the combination of 3 factors of youth which, over time, lose their energy in terms of their presence in our organism and their activity, causing our beauty to wither. These three factors are the protein of life, NAD, a biomolecule responsible for transferring electrons and thus promoting oxidation-reduction, and sirtuins, proteins that play a key role in ageing. Consequently, with age, the mechanism dedicated to skin longevity is deregulated and weakened.
The Protein of Life thus becomes the key ingredient and throbbing heart of the formula of L’Or de Vie products, which not only treat the aesthetic signs of ageing but also try to prevent possible damages, correcting the past, magnifying the present and protecting the future in one single gesture, for a skin that will look and feel firmer, smoother and more radiant than ever – full of life and capable of resisting the inexorable aggressiveness of time. The bond between Dior and Château d’Yquem translates into a common vision based on values that range from respect for nature, and the celebration of elegance in every form, to the search for perfection. Nothing is too challenging when you want to give life to excellence, as the ancient savoir-faire and skilled and patient hands of the estate’s grape pickers teach us. Every year, during the months of harvest, they search for “the perfect grape” just like Dior’s master formulators who have spent thousands of working hours and countless phases of their protocol searching for the ultimate composition and sensoriality of L’Or de Vie.
The products in the range have a rich, enveloping texture that immediately melts into the skin and truly expresses its need for in-depth nourishment. Their fragrance is graceful, slightly sweet and floral, evoking the image of a vineyard bathed in the golden light of the sunset.
Thanks to Golden Drop Life Technology, Dior researchers have isolated the superoxide dismutase molecule, which has a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect on the majority of cells and has proven to be the guardian and epicentre of our skin’s youth, just like the vines at Château d’Yquem.
Pierre Lurton, president of Château d’Yquem, describes the Yquem experience as “the most elegant way of travelling in time”: and maybe precisely time is the keyword of this story. Because it is what it takes for a good wine to improve and it is what L’Or de Vie can offer, with its formulas and valuable rituals, to let us continue feeling beautiful!
(L’Or de Vie by Dior – Guardian of youth – Barchemagazine.com – Excerpted from Barche, December 2024)
