Les Gouttes Éclat

Zeste d'orange de Nabatieh, amande d'Aley.

Eau, extrait de zeste d'orange, niacinamide, glycérine, huile d'amande douce, vitamine E.

1. Aquawater

   Water. It is first on a list because there is more of it than anything else, which is true of almost every cream ever made.

2. Citrus aurantium amara peel extractorange peel, Nabatieh
3. Glycerinvegetable

   Glycerin, from plants. It pulls water out of the air and holds it against the skin. One of the two or three things in skincare that simply works.

4. Niacinamidevitamin B3

   Niacinamide. It calms redness and, over weeks, evens out tone. It is the least dramatic useful thing in this shop.

5. Sodium ascorbyl phosphatestable vitamin C

   Sodium ascorbyl phosphate: a form of vitamin C that does not go brown in the bottle after a month. Slower than the pure acid, and still there in week six.

6. Prunus amygdalus dulcis oilsweet almond, Aley

   A soft, unfussy oil pressed from almonds grown on the terraces above Aley. It sits on the skin rather than sinking straight through it, which is why it is the base of eleven of the twelve.

7. Xanthan gumto thicken it

   Xanthan gum, from fermented sugar. It decides whether a serum runs off your fingers.

8. Sodium benzoate, potassium sorbateto keep it

   Sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Anything with water in it grows things without a preservative, and a mouldy cream is worse for your skin than any preservative ever was.

Tap any line to read what it does. If one still means nothing to you, ask us and we will tell you why it is in there.

1. Trois gouttes le matin, après la brume.
2. Un écran solaire par-dessus, tous les jours. Avec celui-ci, ce n'est pas facultatif.
3. Sept semaines, deux fois par jour, avant de juger.

• Fleur d'orangerNabatiehdistillée au printemps ; le zeste va dans les Gouttes Éclat
• AmandeAleypressée à froid, l'huile de base de onze des douze