When it comes to aging, taut, lineless skin is no longer enough to look young. We also have to focus on the rather elusive problem of "radiance."

In recent years, the U.S. skincare industry has seen a glut of lightening, brightening and radiance-enhancing formulas on the market. These items traveled across the Pacific from Asian countries where clear, uniform skin has been valued for centuries (women in Japan and China still carry umbrellas to shield their skin from the sun).

Skincare companies claim that, even more than fine lines and wrinkles, the brightness and conversely, the dullness of your skin can either mask your age or make you appear older than you are.

But the problem with to word "radiance" is that it's a murky term with no clear measurements. With wrinkles, there are industry approved standards to ascertain their depth and length. But the only way to measure radiance was through user opinion, which does not give conclusive results.

Until now.

For the launch of their new Cellumination Series line, SK-II developed serious testing to back the quality of the new products, which, we hope will create and industry-wide standard for radiance testing.

SK-II found that radiance is also linked to the tone, texture and plumpness of your skin, so that dryer, more uneven-toned and more yellow complexions are less radiant. "We examined the principle of light, finding that ultimate translucency is created by a balance of the 3 primary colors of light: Red, Green and Blue (RGB)," explained Laura Goodman, senior scientist at P&G, the company that owns SK-II.

"SK-II measured this balance of light transmission from the skin using a specialized piece of equipment called a Tri-Ring, which is able to measure the RGB light transmission from skin. The Tri-Ring is able to produce a numeric measurement of the RGB balance. This measurement is what we call the value or amount of "Aura-Lucency" transmitted from the skin."

So, the red, green and blue light that your skin transmits must be as balanced as possible in order for you to achieve the look of truly radiant skin. As we age, these three colors become more unbalanced and skin begins to look dull.



For their Cellumination Series, SK-II developed a mix of ingredients to help combat this diminishing balance of red, green and blue light transmission.

Centella asiatica, a medicinal herb indigenous to parts of Asia and Australia and is known to be an anti-inflammatory, circulatory stimulant and has traditionally been used on patients with leprosy to aid in wound healing. Nicotinamide W, part of the vitamin B group, also has anti-inflammatory properties as well as the ability to improve skin tone and texture. The third ingredient in the Aura-Bright Complex of the Cellumination Series is Pintera, the exclusive SK-II ingredient in many of its products, which contains a potent cocktail of vitamins, amino acids, minerals and organic acids that help promote cell renewal.

SK-II's Cellumination Series, which includes a moisturizer and serum, launches in the U.S. this month, brightening both our skin, and our perception of radiance.