37 Extreme Actives: one pot anti-ageing wonder?
The power of an all-in-one, emollient-rich anti-ageing cream
When it comes to high-end beauty products, the school run isn’t necessarily the first place I tend to look. But it was here that I was introduced to 37 Extreme Actives anti-ageing cream (£225), an anti-ageing wonder cream by Dr Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas MD PhD, which another mum swore was the key to “holding on to middle age”. She looks terrific and it was her desire to maintain her age-appropriate visage – rather than trying to look like a plumped-up teenager – that piqued my interest in the nutrient-rich product.
Before I put anything on my highly sensitive, rosacea-prone face, I do my research. This generally means that I use only simple, non-irritating cleansers and creams, and they must all have some sort of scientific backing. I was intrigued by Dr Alexiades-Armenakas’s bona fides: she holds three degrees from Harvard, including a PhD in genetics; was a Fulbright scholar, is a professor at the Yale University School of Medicine; and has consulted for L’Oréal on its anti-ageing formulations. Bottom line: scientific credentials – tick.
One month into my regimen and I am a convert to her all-in-one, emollient-rich lotion that I now use morning and night. I’ve learned a lot about actives – “ingredients that produce an intended action” – and how Dr Alexiades-Armenakas’s particular concoction actually works. Starting with a natural ingredient list that is sourced almost entirely from plants (versus those manufactured in a chemistry lab), 37 Extreme Actives is also free of parabens, colours and excess fragrance.
Unlike many formulations, this one delivers on the claim that it works in a matter of minutes, days and weeks. Minutes? Seriously. After the first use, my red cheeks were visibly calmer – which I assume is down to its combination of Bisabolol, coffee, yerba mate tea and feverfew. Within days I saw my crow’s feet become slightly less pronounced (could it be the complex peptides?) and now, in week four, my brown spots from past sun sins are starting to fade. It’s a knockout cocktail of antioxidants, Resveratrol, plankton and blue algae (for DNA defence) and soy and glycerine (for old-fashioned moisture). The result? My skin is, quite simply, rejuvenated.
In addition to short-term effects, 37 Extreme Actives promises to reverse wrinkling, restore cellular generation and create a stronger barrier to harsh pollutants over the long haul. For now, it allows me to apply just one cream versus many serums and substances, and there are no lasers, needles or foreign components involved – uplifting indeed.