Lancôme | #LoveYourAge with Advanced Génifique

Lancôme, a brand that has been pioneering beauty & skincare breakthroughs for the past 80 years, is on a mission to erase the boundaries of age. Building on the incredible results achieved with their Advanced Génifique serum, the brand has created the #LoveYourAge campaign and along with the help of ambassadresses Penelope Cruz, Lupita Nyong’o, Kate Winslet and Lily Collins, women the world over are being encouraged to embrace their age and revel in it. Time to let the world know that age is really just a made up number, wouldn’t you agree?

When I was recently invited to participate in a Lancôme #LoveYourAge video/photo shoot, I was both super excited and immediately dreadful of the prospect; after all, I’d be following in the footsteps of celebrities … not to mention being grouped with several much younger colleagues. I was asked to bring along a selection of outfits in shades of black or white – which works perfectly for me, as that’s basically all I wear anyway, and to arrive on set with a clean face and hair. The night before the shoot, I experienced some anxiety; did I bring the right stuff? will my voice sound odd? how will I look on film? what was I supposed to say? To say sleep eluded me, would be an understatement and the result of my sleepless night was evidenced by the visible bags under my eyes (the horror!) … but as they say in the biz, the show must go on.

As the first participant to arrive on set, I was immediately put at ease by the warmth of the crew present, and began being prepped by the makeup and hair teams. The look I was given took mere minutes: a more polished – but still very natural looking – version of me. No exaggerated makeup, or stiff hairstyles – thank you very much, because that’s NOT what this was all about.

Slipping into a black sheer tunic and black leather leggings (both Helmut Lang), my look capped with a pair of black Louboutin slingbacks, I was ready to rock n’ roll. My shoot began with a series of test shots from various angles, and then it was go time. As the focus was to be candid answers, I had only a rough idea of what types of questions I would be asked, apart from one: declaring my age (yikes). To my utter surprise, I didn’t feel nervous and as the questions were put to me, I found myself tuning out everyone else present in the room, and allowed myself to simply enjoy the experience. In the end, all my answers came from the heart, and while you only see/hear a small part of it in the included video clip, I like to think that that honesty still managed to come through. Best part? Saying my age out loud and owning it!

The other unexpected bonus of this experience was in meeting fellow bloggers and connecting with them; as the day wrapped up, new friendships were formed and all ‘age lines’ were figuratively blurred away.

BEAUTY IS NOT ABOUT HIDING YOUR AGE. IT’S ABOUT LOVING IT AND MAKING THE MOST OF IT – Lancôme

Enjoy the included behind-the-scenes photos of the shoot, as well as the final video result – let me know what you think in the comments section below (be gentle, lol!)

I encourage you to join the #LoveYourAge movement by visiting www.lancome-genifique.ca For every age declaration, Lancôme will donate $3 to Look Good Feel Better (Helping women with Cancer)

Lancôme | Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate

Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate (CAN $98.00/30 ml) | Originally created in 2009, Génifique is a serum that was inspired by the field of gene science and which uses ‘transciptomics‘ (the study of gene expression) along with ‘proteomics‘ (molecular biology) to identify the signature proteins of young skin. Fast forward to 2013 when Advanced Génifique was launched with an optimized formula and a new self-loading dropper, and a legend was born: The Little Black Bottle, as it has become known, is by definition the “radiance treatment that reveals a woman’s aura“.

Advanced Génifique has been created to reactivate the skin’s luminosity by improving the structure of the skin’s surface, and designed to be used as a first step in your skincare regimen, after cleansing.

Lancôme | Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate (dropper detail)

Ingredients: Water, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Dimethicone, Hydroxyethylpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Adenosine, Faex Extract/Yeast Extract/Extrait De Levure, Peg-20 Methyl Glucose Sesquistearate, Peg-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Salicyloyl Phytosphingosine, Ammonium Polyacryldimethyltauramide/Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Limonene, Xanthan Gum, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium Edta, Octyldodecanol, Citronellol, Fragrance