This Serum Is The Reason Linda Evangelista Gave Up Botox
Can a Dhs590 serum really replace injections?
Linda Evangelista hasn’t had Botox in over a year. Really. Don’t even try to come at her with a bit of skepticism. “I was the first person to ever admit that I did Botox, and my Mum was upset. I said, Mum everybody does it,’ and she was like, ‘Yeah but they don’t say it.’ So if I was the first one to tell the truth about using it then, why would I lie about it now?”
It’s not that the supermodel has suddenly become a guru of natural aging, it’s just that she claims to have found something better. While there is no true topical substitute for injectable botulinum toxin, Evangelista credits her smooth skin to the Erasa XEP 30 Extreme Line Lifting and Rejuvenation Concentrate. She’s such a fan, in fact, that after being introduced to the serum by a friend and using it for about a month, she picked up the phone and called the Erasa team. “I have to meet these geniuses,” she said. “It was love at first sight.” And now, she’s found herself as the company’s new face and creative director.
Even for a supermodel, Evangelista is a next-level beauty product junkie. In person, her unadulterated excitement when talking about skincare rivals that of beauty editors and dermatologists. She’s tried everything (lasers, fillers, we’ve already mentioned the Botox), and she’s not afraid to admit it. “I am not trying to look younger, I just want to look good,” she says. “I think with a lot of people, if they don’t see results quickly, they abort and go on to the next. I always understood you need to give products a chance, and I did. But in saying that, I never finished a product. Erasa is the first product that went dry on me, and that has never happened to me in my life.” Evangelista says that she used the serum every single night, expecting to see the same results she always has — a whole lot of nothing. But after a month, her melasma began to quickly fade, and her skin looked a little more even. “After a couple months, I realized I wasn’t using concealer anymore,” she says.
If this all sounds too good to be true — well, there are clinical studies to back up Evangelista’s fiery passion for the product. The Dhs590 ($160 USD) serum, which was released last year, is essentially a blend of neuropeptides, line-smoothing actives, and blurring silicone in a highly effective delivery system. The very science-y sounding XEP 30 is the name of the company’s patented neuropeptide, which acts similarly to Botox to delay facial muscle contractions (though it’s not quite as potent). Then there’s niacinamide and glabridin, two proven anti-agers that reduce inflammation and lighten dark spots over time. When the serum is applied, the ingredients are drawn deep into the skin, allowing them to pass through the surface so you get better, stronger results in a shorter amount of time. When applied twice a day for two weeks, wrinkles were reduced by 64 percent in the company’s clinical trials. The top quartile of participants in the trial had wrinkles reduced by a whopping 90 percent. We repeat, this was all in just two weeks’ time.
The concetrated serum is Erasa’s first and only product, having just launched last year. But that will soon change under Evangelista’s direction. “I understand that my needs are the same as every woman. Even though some might not have the same issues as me, we all want benefits,” she says. Evangelista didn’t want to release new products just for the sake of it (“I don’t see the reason to put more products out on the market, it’s so saturated,”) — so she’s been in the lab with the Erasa team, white coat and all, working on creating products that just don’t exist. Within the next year, they will come out with a silky sunscreen and moisturiser spiked with the same anti-aging ingredients as the serum. Erasa promises the new moisturiser will firm and lift more than any other moisturiser out there currently, and Evangelista has already gone ahead and incorporated a jar of it into her nightly routine.
We asked Evangelista what makes her uniquely qualified for the gig, considering the recent uptick in model-owned beauty brands. “I was never interested in going to a lab and getting a formula that already existed, and just putting my scent, a bit of avocado, and coconut in it. I didn’t make a move on anything because nothing worked,” she says. “I was a spokesperson for so many things over the years, and this is the first time I get to go out and talk about something I truly believe in. I can’t speak for the others, I’m sure it has got something to do with business. But this is the first time I could go out there and not have to lie.”
Via Harper’s Bazaar US