FOR WOMEN living in the tropics, applying facial moisturizer is a pesky exercise.

It?s all right if you?re within the air-conditioned confines of your car, office or home, but once you step out into the humid outdoors, there goes that icky, sticky moisturizing cream melting off of your face with your makeup! Then again, you know better than to banish moisturizers entirely from your skincare regimen. Damn(ed) if you do, damn(ed) if you don?t.

French cosmetics maker Clarins claims to have created the solution for that: its revamped HydraQuench range, first launched in 2008 to replace a previous moisturizing line called Thirst_Quench.

HydraQuench is suited for Asia?s humid weather as it?s formulated for climatic control, according to the regional trainer for Clarins Asia at a recent media presentation at the Clarins Institut in Rustan?s Makati.

?HydraQuench?s formula calms the skin and reduces the shock it gets from being in the hot outdoors and into air-conditioned indoors, and vice versa,? said Jason Au.

Au was in Manila to introduce the three new additions to the range, which are Cream-Mask for dehydrated skin, Smoothing Gel for normal/combination skin or hot climates and Moisture Replenishing Lip Balm.

Smoothing Gel is particularly interesting because of its cool gel formulation that instantly turns to liquid as it touches the skin. It has a clean, non-sticky after-feel, which you don?t often get in cream formulations. It claims to tighten dilated pores and restrict sebum secretion. This is all the moisturizer you?ll ever need, said Au. ?Just apply your sunblock and you?re good to go.?

For women with very dry skin, Cream-Mask is a quick five-minute comfort fix that can be applied even on the eye area.

?Katafray? extract

HydraQuench?s main ingredient comes from the bark of the katafray tree, which grows in Madagascar. According to Au, the first layer of the bark is stripped off to extract the oil, often used by the locals as a natural antiseptic. It takes another 50 years to grow back the bark, and the trees are never felled, prompting Clarins to engage in the fair trade program that protects the farmers.

The katafray extract is said to boost the skin?s natural hydration, while Clarins? unique two-size molecules of hyaluronic acid, its second main ingredient, ensure that the dermal layer remains hydrated and ?plump,? even as the top layer dries out when the person perspires.

?Moisture is a vital element of the skin. Once the skin has enough moisture content, whatever serum or moisturizer you apply can be easily absorbed,? Au said.

A 10-year veteran at Clarins, Au said he is often nostalgic of the old days when the patriarch and founder was still around. Jacques Courtin-Clarins passed away in 2006. His two sons now run the company.

?The dad was old-fashioned but in a good way,? Au recalled. He was very concerned about whether his products were good to consumers or not. He always asked me what the feedback was in Asia. He wanted to hear from the real people.?

Courtin-Clarins, Au added, wasn?t so much concerned about image and packaging as he was about how effective his products were and how the consumer felt about them. ?I think he was thinking globally in that way, as the end market was always on top in his mind. Campaigns to me aren?t global, just business.?

Even then, Clarins has become more structured under the leadership of the late patriarch?s heirs. ?They have become more independent and are able to make more commercial decisions,? Au said.

Among Clarins? more recent product additions are a bust gel containing an ingredient from Vietnamese star apple; it claims to stimulate collagen production in the breast tissue. In Asia, the White Plus HP Whitening Program remains a top seller, along with the Body Lift range.

?Cosmetic surgery is now an inevitable part of modern lifestyle, and we have formulated many of our products to complement [post-op conditions],? Au said. ?Our products help to maintain what they get from going under the knife.?