Boozy beauty

The true gorgeousness of grapes first became apparent to me in a musty underground cellar in Bordeaux. As a wizened old winemaker told intoxicating tales about the art of bottling each drop, I swirled a rich, heady elixir over my tongue and fell slowly in love.

Now that it’s officially party season, squeezing fruits from the vine into my schedule is not only easy, it’s almost demanded. And, thankfully, scientists (bless them!) say it’s not only good for the heart and soul, it’s sensational for the skin.

It was pioneering French chemist Louis Pasteur who first said, “wine is the most healthful and hygienic of beverages” way back in the 1800s. And now modern science agrees that all those grape-derived antioxidants make it so.

The prettiest of them all is the polyphenol. Said to be 10,000 times more treacherous to free radicals than vitamin E, polyphenols also boost microcirculation for extra radiance while helping preserve elastin and collagen. Resveratrol is one particular vine polyphenol that has made it from wine to skincare because of its protective, age-defying properties.

The French call boozy beauty vinotherapie, with family-run brand Caudalie amongst the first to brew resveratrol-soaked wine we can wear. From the smoothing Crushed Cabernet Scrub to the Sauvignon Shower Gel and the Vinosource skincare range, Caudalie bottles brim with the goodness of grapes. The only problem is they aren’t as available in Australia as they used to be (if you know where to find Caudalie, keep it your secret!) and the spas that carry the line are overseas too. Like the lavish Le Meurice Hotel Spa in Paris, where you can indulge in a Merlot Wrap, or the famous Bordeaux Spa where the Barrel Bath is the indulgence to die for. Sigh…

So thank Bacchus himself that health company Arkopharma has also harnessed the wisdom of wine in skincare supplements available everywhere. Using the wine-with-most-meals secret of beauty a la Parisienne, French Parad’ox (no, not the one about them breakfasting on croissant and brioche yet staying so slim) is a pill that’s like popping a cork on a polyphenol-rich red, only you get all the antioxidants without the alcohol.

Which can only be a good thing in silly season, right? After all, peering through rosé coloured glasses only makes people prettier in moderation. After that you’re staring straight at the grapes of wrath. And that’s never a good look…

Image credit: Hair by Caterina DiBiase for Heading Out Hair & Beauty Day Spas in Melbourne.