In the fast-paced beauty industry that’s always on the lookout for the next big trend or ‘it’ ingredient, few things have the longevity and legendary status of SK-II’s signature ingredient, PITERA™.
You may have heard a lot about the much-hyped PITERA™, but what is it exactly?
A skincare elixir that’s naturally-derived from a proprietary yeast fermentation process, PITERA™ is found in every single SK-II product because it’s proven to be the key to Crystal Clear Skin—an astonishing power the brand is showcasing with a new campaign called Late Night Portraits.
The ingredient’s blockbuster status as the cornerstone of SK-II was also highlighted during World PITERA™ Day, SK-II’s first-ever large-scale global event dedicated to PITERA™, that was held in Tokyo, Japan on 13th July and virtually broadcasted to the world.
With SK-II’s celebrity ambassadors in attendance, World PITERA™ Day took us on an immersive journey detailing the iconic ingredient’s story, from its origins to discoveries about its properties and the multitude of skincare benefits it offers.
Late Night Portraits: Asia’s Biggest Celebrities puts PITERA™ to is boldest stress test yet
Would you dare to go bare infront of the camera? To accentuate these incredible properties of PITERA™, SK-II’s Late Night Portraits campaign features stunning photographs of brand ambassadors like Mina of K-Pop group Twice, Japanese actresses Ayaka Miyoshi and Kaori Momoi, and Japanese comedian Naomi Watanabe.
Taken late at night, the arresting photo portraits depict these celebrities bare-faced without make-up, their faces prepped with nothing but PITERA™. As they get up close and personal with the camera, we get an intimate look at an effortless, authentic beauty that’s largely unseen in the beauty world today. Clear, radiant and unapologetically themselves, Late Night Portraits reminds us that with SK-II, what you see is what you get.
So how did the captivating project come about? #SKIILateNightPortraits was inspired by SK-II’s 24/7 Skin Fluctuation Study, a research programme which delves into changes in the daily skin conditions of young women.
Conducted round the clock for over six weeks, the study found that conditions like texture, pores, redness, dullness, hydration and barrier function can vary greatly over a day, with skin looking its worst late at night. And as we all know in our own lives, if allowed to accumulate, these daily skin fluctuations speed up the onset of visible skin problems.
Enter PITERA™ and its skin-transforming powers. With its unique composition resembling skin’s Natural Moisturising Factors, it can be absorbed quickly and deeply into skin, where its numerous micronutrients can work their balancing and soothing magic. In fact, the study showed that regular use of PITERA™ and a bottle of PITERA™ Essence dramatically stabilises skin fluctuations, enabling the transformation to Crystal Clear Skin.
Origins of the PITERA™ miracle
Let us start from where this all began. The story of PITERA™ began in the 1970s with a team of scientists, a search for a game-changing ingredient that can engender beautiful skin, and elderly Japanese sake brewers.
In the course of their research, the scientists noticed that the hands of sake brewers remained extraordinarily soft and youthful in spite of their age and wrinkled visage. After dedicating 10 years to studying this phenomenon, they eventually isolated the one single yeast strain within 350 that created healthy, smooth and luminous skin.
Using a natural yeast fermentation process exclusive to SK-II, PITERA™ was born—a skincare wonder packed with over 50 micro-nutrients like vitamins, amino acids, minerals and organic acids, and which cannot be achieved artificially or synthetically.
In 1980, the brand launched its first offering with this revolutionary ingredient—the PITERA™ Essence. Containing over 90 per cent PITERA™, it’s been dubbed ‘Miracle Water’ by millions of women around the world. One bottle is snapped up every three seconds globally, and it remains the brand’s signature product and most-awarded bestseller worldwide.
To this day, there is only one place in the world where the alchemy behind PITERA™ occurs: SK-II’s dedicated manufacturing facility in Shiga prefecture, Japan. Located near pristine Lake Biwa, the SK-II Shiga Plant has been crafting PITERA™ products for over 40 years, making it very much the brand’s beating heart.
PITERA™: A springboard for skin discoveries and innovations
PITERA™ has remained largely unchanged over the decades. But like a gift that keeps on giving, it continues to spark fresh scientific findings about our skin’s workings and its role in bringing about beautiful, youthful skin.
Through extensive research in partnership with the world’s leading scientists and dermatologists, SK-II has found, for instance, that young Asian skin declines faster in elasticity and firmness between the ages of 10 to 40 years than from 40 years onwards. And that this loss of firmness triggers other signs of early skin ageing like redness, rough texture, enlarged pores, fine lines and sagging.
This led to the formulation of SK-II SKINPOWER, a multi-dimensional firming range powered by PITERA™. Beyond delivering a lifting effect, SKINPOWER addresses sagging skin holistically by smoothing and refining texture and strengthening the skin barrier.
The brand is also an industry leader in skin brightening research, unearthing factors besides excessive pigmentation that led to skin dullness, such as inflammation and diffused melanin. Last year, SK-II scientists unveiled a world-first discovery: sleep-deprived skin suffers oxidative stress and produces Bilirubin, a compound that causes yellowish dullness on the surface. One night’s lack of sleep can mean a sallow complexion for five days.
More than just a one hit wonder, PITERA™’s ability to counter skin-dulling factors was also incorporated in SK-II’s GenOptics Aura Technology. The result is the award-winning GenOptics Aura Essence, a highly awarded brightening serum known affectionately as ‘Little Light Bulb’.
Start your journey to Crystal Clear Skin with SK-II and PITERA™
Allowing the world to see your skin au naturel is a bold move for any well-known personality. But it also bears testament to these celebrities’ wholehearted endorsement of PITERA™ and their conviction in the ingredient’s transformative effects.
For the many women out there plagued by issues like lacklustre skin, loss of firmness, rough texture, enlarged pores, dryness and lines, the portraits make a strong case that PITERA™ may well be the skincare miracle that delivers the healthy, radiant, gorgeous skin they want. After all, there’s a reason why the ingredient has barely changed in over 40 years, why it’s a worldwide hit, why so many women swear by it and why it has the cachet it does. Simply put, because it works.
Visit www.sk-ii.com.sg today to discover the PITERA™ Power Kit and experience your own skin miracle.
