He grew up in Italy and now calls London—where he runs his eponymous clinic—home. Meet Pietro Simone, the aesthetician turned product-formulating wiz hoping to turn Americans on to the power of peptides and Italian-powered ingredients with the release of his two skin-care collections this fall.
The Edit
When Simone set out to create his lines, he wanted “a specific formulation— something bio-recognizable for the skin that consumers can use at home and I can use in the clinic.” The result: An edited-down selection that is pure and continuously evolving. “I don’t believe in creating 125 products; I believe in the evolution of the products,” he says. “I can always improve the formulation, and I can add or remove ingredients—that is especially important when you’re dealing with high-end actives.”
Scientific Elixir
The proprietary Italian Bella Complex, found in all of the products, reads like a regional passport: The indigenous-toItaly actives include the antioxidants of Puglian tomato seed and Sicilian almond oils, nourishing Tuscan grapeseed and Vinnaciolo oils, Vesuvian apple, an anti-glycation powerhouse, and stem cell–rich edelweiss from the Italian Alps. “You can go and have pizza wherever you want, wherever you are, but that doesn’t mean it will be good. The same goes for skin care.”
Italy, Puglia, Polignano a mare . grape
Cell Pass
Simone refers to a good peptide as the “Chanel of skin care.” (Rumor has it that the kind he uses costs $5,000 a gram.) “If you’re using really great peptides, you’re communicating between the cells, and that is the secret to boosting collagen and making the skin stronger,” he explains. “It’s very scientific and tricky to find the right mix of proteins and amino acids for real results. It’s not an easy compromise, unless you want to sell a cream for $20,000.”
Facial Structure
In addition to the release of the new collections, Simone’s facials will be available at New York’s Greenwich Hotel and the Parlor this fall. At the Parlor, he’ll also be displaying something special: an active wall educating clients on exactly which ingredients are in the products and the benefits associated with each. “When you go for a facial, it should be more than just applying a bunch of skin care,” he says.
