Banish brown spots

Pigmentation is difficult to remove. While vitamin A, also known as retinol, does work, it can also cause reactions. Old thinking was to focus on the melanin-producing cells (responsible for giving skin its colour) just beneath the skin’s surface, and exfoliate like mad to remove the spots. But given that brown spots are created in all three layers of the skin (the surface, middle and deeper in the dermis), a new apporach was needed. Now Lancome has led the charge with DreamTone Correcting Serum, $138. As well as reducing the look of spots, DreamTone works on clarity, exfoliating and lightening spots, as well as correcting dullness.

Also new is Dior Dreamskin, $175, which focuses on how skin absorbs the light. Once applied, it gives a pearly finish, and then goes on to control redness and prevent dark spots from coming to the surface.

Finally, there’s YSL Forever Light Creator Serum, $150, a daily serum that had British women racing to the beauty counters when it first launched. A range of synthetic glycans (sugars) help balance and exfolite skin to maintain a smooth, refined appearance.