September 12, 2012
Nature and science combine: La Contessa Advanced skincare review
La Contessa Advanced skincare is a brand new, made in the USA line of five core skincare products that uses no parabens, sulfates, phthalates and is cruelty-free.
A lesson to learn in life – especially in the realm of beauty and fashion – is that simplicity is the essence of elegance.
Another thing to know is that nutrient dense things deliver results in anything you ingest or apply topically to the skin. You are what you eat and your looks are a direct result of this and what you do to your largest organ to nourish, repair and protect it.
This is the foundation of a new skincare line that competes in the realm of the La Prairie, La Mer, Sisley and Chanel world of $400+ jars of skin creams, yet costs a fraction of their lofty price tags.
“Our money went into research and high quality ingredients, not overwrought wasteful packaging and retail mark-up,” says La Contessa CEO Judith Mancini, “I insisted on a delivery system that was hygienic and airless to preserve the restorative qualities of the serums and creams, and the bonus is that pumps are just easier for everyone, that time saving ease of usage that appeals to both busy men and women.”
Ms. Mancini delivered 75 anti-aging La Contessa skincare sets to a wide ranging age group of men and women, and I was fortunate to be one of them.
She followed up on the reception to the product and was amazed by her feedback. “Even though I got positive responses across the board, the age group I received the most enthusiastic responses were those people in their 30s and 40s. My first sales were to these people who had to immediately replenish their basic skincare kit.”
The ethos of La Contessa is the collaboration of nature and science for targeted precise skincare, and making sure the products do what they say. This is the most important factor to Ms. Mancini, a Los Angeles native whose own approach to life is direct, passionate and involved in every aspect of La Contessa’s development – from raw ingredients to the finished product sold in the marketplace.
Ms. Mancini is a seasoned business executive, having previously owned and managed one of the largest health and beauty publishing companies in the U.S. An entrepreneur, former fashion model, successful magazine publisher and now anti-aging skin care impresario, Judith Mancini’s multi-faceted career has revolved around one central theme: the concept of looking and feeling better.
Active, vital and decidedly unfussy in her appearance, Ms. Mancini is a breath of fresh air in a town where women are over-pulled, surgically enhanced and contrived in their look. There is no artifice when you meet her. She adopts a simple swept back ponytail, wears very little makeup and has the look and vitality of a woman 25 years younger than her 65 years. You immediately want to know what her secrets are and inspect her medicine cabinet. I want to be like this when I am 65.
Whether she is surfing in Malibu, or being a devoted wife and grandmother, her business acumen always percolates as she consults with her research team in the lab. Everything she does with style and intelligence. Her background trained her for this moment as CEO to her own beauty brand, and she’s making all that experience work to her benefit.
Her biography reads like a history of the woman’s movement, in full motion. Says Ms. Mancini on her unusual avocation for someone her age, “I’ve taken up surfing – a form of exercise, stress relief and mind-clearing active sport. Launching a new business is challenging both physically and mentally. The ocean has a calming effect, the sun is fortifying and best of all, I can spend time with my adult children and my grandchildren, all of whom surf. Early morning surfing is the best and leaves me refreshed to start the busy day. I’m usually already in the water by the time the sun is rising.”
During her early years in the publishing business, Judith began studying skincare and was privileged to have access to many of the most important studies being published on cutting-edge ingredients for anti-aging.
For several years and after much research, Judith founded La Contessa Skincare. The line consisted of three products, formulated with one of the first penta-peptides. The anti-aging results were remarkable. Unfortunately, Judith was dealing with an unscrupulous formulator. The formulator was from a European country and saw an opportunity to deal with a major worldwide pharmaceutical company instead of a small American business. The pharmaceutical company would allow Judith to sell a mere $250,000 gross and that was it. Judith decided to put the business on hold for a few years.
Now, in 2012, Ms. Mancini is poised to launch the next generation in anti-aging beauty products, La Contessa Advanced Skincare – a line of five products for anti-aging, each with clinically-tested ingredients, notably glycolic acid, plant stem-cell complex, Resveratrol with peptides and telomere DNA.
At age 65, she embraces both the challenge and excitement of beginning the next chapter in what promises to be an entirely fresh way of keeping skin youthful.
The official launch of La Contessa Advance Skincare began in late August, and so far she is amazed at the word of mouth from her core 75 trial participants and those who knew her reputation in business from years past. For my purposes, this line has been a happy windfall. My skin has never looked better.
Review
The core system for La Contessa is a concert of five key players, including:
AHA Foaming Cleanser – 10% Glycolic Acid – AM//PM cleanser
Stem Cell Complex Face and Neck Serum – AM/PM clear serum which helps reduce wrinkles
Resveratrol Peptide Formula Rejuvenating Cream – AM/PM cream serum that reduces wrinkle depth
Cellular Regeneration Telomere DNA Cream – PM last item used to lift and firm skin
Sunscreen Defense SPF 30 – which is AM and under makeup and over
Usage and feel
AHA Foaming Cleanser – 10% Glycolic Acid – AM//PM cleanser is a large stand up pump that delivers an aerated wispy light foamy pump of very serious cleanser. This glycolic formulation is fantastic if you are experience any hormonal breakouts and quickly cleans without overdoing it. Fast and easy application. Bottom line: Anyone can use this cleanser- from teens to grandmothers, as it refines skin with the properties of a gently glycolic formulation that keeps skin bright and free of dulling dead skin debris.
Stem Cell Complex Face and Neck Serum – AM/PM This quick acting penetrating clear serum comes in two applicators, the handy pump, and a more complex syringe that delivers a premeasured pump and an enclosed applicator tip to blend around the eyes. For this review, I favored the quick pump for daily usage. The syringe takes a moment to get a handle on to use, but I prefer it for travel. The resultant feel as it settles in the skin is a firmer, more hydrated base for the following super serum:
Resveratrol Peptide Formula Rejuvenating Cream is an AM/PM step that combines the natural anti-oxidant properties of Resveratrol with six potent peptides currently available that work hard to obliterate the effects of aging on the skin. This lightweight non-greasy white cream takes just one pumps max. Do not overuse this. I found that the combination of the Stem Cell serum and this really made my skin look radiant in the daytime. It’s marvelous around the lower eye area too and can be used – just like the stem cell serum – in this way.
Cellular Regeneration Telomere DNA Cream – PM last item used to lift and firm skin. You feel this one, as I like to call it Face Spanx. In fact I am lobbying Judith to market it as such. I absolutely love this component of the core Contessa five, and urge anyone who may even be on the fence to commit to the entire line, just try this one item. You will be amazed the next morning how clear, radiant and polished your skin looks. My husband is using it now, as he sees me first thing in the morning and the proof is all over my face.
Sunscreen Defense SPF 30 – which is AM and under makeup and over. Photo aging be gone as this lightweight complete UVA/UVB formula can be used by anyone in the home. Please do not overuse this item either, and make sure your serums have penetrated the skin. Applying too soon is not recommended by me. Allow the Stem Cell and Resveratrol a chance to get into the layers of your epidermis and do that voodoo that they do first.
