Like all the products in the brand’s impressive portfolio, the Shiseido Vital Perfection Uplifting and Firming Advanced Cream is luxurious, hard-working, backed by science and has impressive clinical studies. Just some of the stats: In just one week, 100 percent of testers* showed a firmer, brighter more lifted look after use. It’s also a “treatment of choice” for New York dermatologist Michelle Henry, MD, who likes the silky brightening and firming cream for one big reason: Patients like to use it. “The best feedback any product can get is that people like using it,” she says. “This truly is a one-stop shop.”
Watch as NewBeauty’s Sarah Eggenberger visits board-certified dermatologist Dr. Michelle Henry to discover the secret to firmer, lifted skin: Shiseido Vital Perfection Uplifting and Firming Advanced Cream.
You test a lot of products, and you are asked to partner with skin-care brands all the time. What drew you to this line and this particular product?
Dr. Henry: “Overall, I love the franchise mission, that potential has no age. The message is amazing—it resonates with my patients, and the results are amazing as well. Studies show that in just two weeks, 91 percent of testers experienced** tightened facial contours after using.
I also like the fact that the brand has such novel, botanical-based ingredients that they source, so we know that you have that consistency and you have that quality.
SafflowerRED™ is a fantastic ingredient that firms, and it’s also an antioxidant. As a skin cancer surgeon, I love that not only for aging, but it has what I call, ‘insurance for your sunscreen.’ Anything that’s antioxidant-packed is always going to be something that resonates with me. SafflowerRED™ acts as an antioxidant, ginseng acts as an antioxidant, caffeine acts as an antioxidant, and that’s also a part of how it brightens the skin as well. Those are some of the many reasons why I like it.
The sensorial quality is beautiful as well. I always tell my patients that the best cream you have is the one you’ll use, which is so important, especially during this dry season. I love that you apply it, and it’s not sticky, so it’s something you look forward to using. That user experience is really luxurious. Oftentimes, when we say ‘luxurious,’ we mean thick, and oftentimes that connotation is also sticky. But this cream feels hydrating, it envelops the skin, and it’s also something you can layer under makeup.
I love how this is good for sensitive skin; I have been playing with it and I’ve had zero reactivity. I believe you’re also prescribing it for some post-treatment, which is interesting. How do you incorporate it into a patient’s routine?
Dr. Henry: “I use it after my lasers, my firming devices, and a lot of non-ablative things. I use it after my Clear + Brilliant, and I even use it after some of my microneedling, and I have not had issues. Sensitive skin types tolerate it very well.
Even with things like my microneedling lasers, patients don’t report burning or stinging or pain or negative consequences using it post-procedure. It’s something that I can trust that is over-the-counter that is easy to access post-procedure. My favorite place to pair it is with my tightening devices, because the antioxidants are always going to help—collagen stimulators and collagen boosters are always what we want post-procedure.
“It’s a one-stop shop for patients at any part in their aging trajectory.”
I take it you’re getting good feedback from the patients if they’re using it. What are you hearing from them?
Dr. Henry: “I’m hearing that, A, their skin is better hydrated. That’s biggest thing that I hear during the winter season when everyone’s dry. A lot of anti-aging treatments have ingredients like retinol or other ingredients that are drying. A lot of my patients, when I tell them we’re going to start something that’s anti-aging, especially during the winter season, they have a little bit of hesitancy because they’re worried that it’s going to be drying.
With this cream, you’re getting all of those anti-aging benefits, there’s improvement in your collagen, there’s improvement in your elastin, but you’re not getting all those drying consequences you might get with a standard anti-aging treatment. It’s something that they feel comfortable incorporating into their routine as a new product during winter season.”
And the data is so impressive. What have you been most impressed by in terms of what it delivers?
Dr. Henry: “I think that I’m impressed by the fact that it targets so many of the signs of aging. Not only are we getting that improvement in firming, but we’re also getting brightening. And those two things are really the top two skin concerns—the critical concerns when we talk about aging.
I also have a very diverse patient population, so that’s really important. A lot of my patients, especially my patients with darker skin, may notice that hyperpigmentation, that uneven skin tone, even before they notice that more pronounced loss of collagen.
The fact that it can target all of those issues, it’s really important because it’s something I can use for all of my patients at many stages of their life. Even my patients that are now post-menopausal—they’re super sensitive, they’re super dry, but they also have that rapid increase in their laxity, and this is something that they can use when they’re struggling with both the pigmentation and the wrinkling. The fact that it’s targeting all of those things is really critical. It’s a one-stop shop for patients at any part in their aging trajectory.”
* clinically tested by 33 women
** consumer tested by 110 individuals
