The 16 best anti-ageing products that keep wrinkles and fine lines at bay

There’s no magic cream that can turn back the hands of time, but the skincare innovations of SK-II comes close and makes it easier to help keep your skin healthy and youthful while reducing the appearance of dull skin, fine lines, dark spots and wrinkles.

As years go by, our cell renewal slows down due to accumulated environmental damage, leaving your once radiant and dewy complexion looking a little lacklustre and dry. To refresh your skin cells more regularly, SK-II incorporates its RNArchitect Complex into its SK-II R.N.A.POWER Airy Milky Lotion.

Within the RNArchitect Complex are hydrolysed soya and yeast extracts, superior for making skin firmer and improving skin elasticity. Powered with PITERA™, a unique nutrient formulation from over 50 amino acids, vitamins and minerals, the SK-II R.N.A.POWER Airy Milky Lotion aims to boost moisture levels and promote healthier-looking skin.

Plus, this concentrate contains chlorella extract, which supposedly supports skin cell renewal through collagen regeneration. It’s a skin-conditioning agent derived from freshwater algae, which works quickly to lessen and smoothen the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

This lightweight moisturiser promises a glow more true to your inner age. For optimal results, use it twice a day, in the morning and evening along with SK-II’s famed PITERA™ Essence.

While anti-ageing ingredients like bakuchiol, niacin and retinol are still holding court, the use of Japanese flowers has also been on the rise. Lauded for its brightening properties, this moisturiser contains white flowers that help give skin luminosity.

The potent blend of botanicals includes Japanese angelica, white tuberose and other moisturising ingredients to help calm, nourish and hydrate skin. The extracted essence from plant stem cells ramps up the skin’s natural ability to recover and renew, leading to a complexion that looks healthier and feels firmer.

The formula also promises to reduce hyperpigmentation by inhibiting melanin production, while promoting a smooth and even skin tone.

Formulated with Clarins’ Blue Orchid Treatment Oil and other oils rich in fatty acids and antioxidants, this vegan complex touches upon the key factors behind youthful-looking skin — radiance, texture, smoothness, and firmness — to tackle the signs of ageing.

Every pump of this oil-based moisturiser dispenses an emulsion that refines skin texture with a moisturising veil to reveal a clearer and satin-smooth complexion.

Don’t let its compact size fool you – the SK-II GenOptics Aura Essence is a triple treat for skin. With its auto-fill dropper that releases the optimal amount for every application, the lightweight, brightening formula reduces the appearance of dark spots, maintains smooth skin and enhances radiance.

This serum also combats issues caused by free radicals, such as dullness, sagging skin and rough texture, using its GenOptics Aura Complex containing PITERA™, Demelano P3C™ and Prunus Extract. The formula helps to refine and clarify your complexion so it looks more youthful.

Formulated to boost healthy skin cell growth to give skin a healthy bounce, this serum promises to accelerate skin repair and recovery with its blend of collagen-boosting ingredients.

Together with its signature cell essence, it strengthens the skin from within, so it becomes more supple and elastic, while treating the damage caused by daily pollution. That means brighter, firmer and healthier skin that’s better able to recover from daily stressors.

The name of the game here is cell turnover. Formulated to handle fine lines, reduce the appearance of pores, and promote a smoother-looking complexion, Kora Organics’ first night serum incorporates alpha-hydroxy acids, beta-hydroxy acids and antioxidants. Together with tonka bean bio-ferment, it fights free-radical damage for smoother, hydrated and radiant skin.

Those with pigmentation will benefit from the serum’s moisture-rich formula. Targeting acne scars and discoloration, the corrector part of the formula treats damage from sun exposure and natural ageing. At the same time, the interrupter part supposedly works by inhibiting the production of tyrosinase, which is needed in melanin formation. The promised result: fewer dark spots form, and the skin becomes more luminous and even-looking.

An uneven, dehydrated and dull complexion, among other things, is a part of the ageing process.

The ampoules contain concentrated active ingredients, such as glycolic, lactic and phytic acids, that penetrate deep into the dermis to supply moisture to skin while increasing cell renewal. Its star ingredient, Activated C, aims to reduce pigmentation and make skin appear visibly brighter in 14 days.

Loved by women all over the world, from celebrities to beauty editors and everyday women, SK-II’s best-selling and iconic Facial Treatment Essence (also known as PITERA™ Essence)  helps improve your skin’s ability to retain moisture, increasing skin elasticity and smoothening skin.

At the same time, it boosts the skin barrier and prevents surface damage, keeping your skin free of dullness, dryness and wrinkles caused by external pollutants and UV damage.

Just remember: an essence isn’t a moisturiser and should not be applied like one – that is, quickly massaged into the face. To use SK-II’s Facial Treatment Essence, you should first cleanse skin and apply toner, then gently smooth the product over your face and neck, patting it in until it’s fully absorbed.

Crafted using herbs and fermented extracts from Mount Shirakami in Japan, this highly concentrated essence targets the seven physical signs of ageing, including dryness, dullness, and reduced skin elasticity.

To create the essence’s rich, viscous texture, the brand uses a ferment of pure white koji and medicinal herbs. Promising a range of skin benefits, from boosting blood circulation to antioxidant properties, the anti-ageing product promotes collagen growth, and improves overall skin tone and texture.

Eye creams come with a lot of expectations, such as instant brightening and depuffing. After much success with its Bloomstay Vitalizing Line of toners and serums, Sulwhasoo recently launched this eye cream containing the same key ingredient, plum blossom extract.

Not only does it utilise powerful antioxidant benefits to reduce the appearance of dark circles and protect collagen fibres to maintain elasticity, it also introduces mulberry extract, which soothes the skin around the delicate eye area.

Guerlain’s newly revamped eye contour cream from a decade ago promises natural-looking brightness with anti-wrinkle correction. Combined with royal jelly and sustainably harvested honey from New Zealand, it is designed to rebalance skin and soften the appearance of undereye bags and crow’s feet.