Skin Intuition

According to Clé de Peau Beauté, our skin takes on an intelligence of its own. Janice Sim travels to Shiseido's storied Global Innovation Center in Tokyo to seek out the science and innovation behind a luxury skincare formula.

I'm in a lab coat on a guided tour, passing through the sacred clinical hallways of Shiseido I Global Innovation Center (GIC) in Tokyo. In contrast to the glossy façade of beauty campaigns and illuminated store showcases, the view before me is entirely different. It feels unembellished and highly classified as I spot researchers and workers discreetly working in silos, while occasionally catching glimpses of homogenous unlabelled bottles and equipment. The pockets of silence between my guide's courteous explanations say more than they do, almost as if I'm imposing on a typical working day at the iconic GIC. It is where the bedrock of Clé de Peau Beauté's winning formulas reside: within its scientific arm. Where years and years of research sow the seeds of the efficacy found in Clé de Peau Beauté's bestselling signatures. And as poetically put by the brand, where radiance is unlocked.

Before this, the term skin intelligence never occurred to me; the fact that my skin was capable of reacting to smells, sounds and a mere touch. But in retrospect, it makes perfect sense that the largest organ in our bodies would be responsive to the five senses. The science of Clé de Peau Beauté builds upon that basis, with our skin's ability to distinguish between good and bad stimuli.

The foundations of skin science