With a decades-long career encompassing work both in front of and behind the camera, it's safe to say supermodel Helena Christensen knows a thing or two about beauty. And it takes only a quick scroll through her Instagram to know the Danish model has an effective skin care routine. "I really enjoy taking good care of my skin," Christensen tells BAZAAR.com. "I love beautiful skin products that make you look clean, smooth, and glowing."
Her brand of choice? Noble Panacea, the Nobel Laureate–developed brand renowned for its OSMV™ encapsulation technology that claims to increase its products' efficacy by more than 200 percent. Christensen's daily regimen includes cleansing, toning, and applying facial oil, serum, and moisturizer, both day and night. Of course, her daytime regimen is topped off by sun protection—though the habit took some time. "I am getting much better at using SPF," she says.
Her signature daytime look often eschews complexion cosmetics like primer or foundation in favor of skincare prep. "I like to feel and look moist and glowing," she says. "I use the Absolute Intense Renewal Serum for firm, dewy skin before applying minimal makeup. [Then] I usually just use blush with a cat-eye or red lip." The Absolute Serum is considered one of the brand's hero products, known for its lightweight texture and plumping effects via ingredients like retinol, Teprenone, and rooibos and black teas.
Noble Panacea The Absolute Intense Renewal Serum
Noble Panacea The Absolute Intense Renewal Serum
Christensen is also a big fan of both facial massage and beauty tools, which are known for inserting the "care" back into skin care. When applying her products, she often massages her face with her fingers or opts for beauty tools like facial rollers and gua sha to promote circulation, stimulate lymph fluid for detoxification, and enhance the sculpted appearance of the facial musculature. "I also have an LED mask, which I use once in a while," Christensen says.
Beyond at-home skin care, the model tends to her skin with visits to the experts, depending on where she happens to be in the world. "In Copenhagen, I go to Klinik N'AGE. They're amazing and have wonderful skin treatments that just keep getting better with time." When in New York, she is partial to facials from celebrity aesthetician Joanna Vargas, whose salons are known for treatments like the Triple Crown Facial and the full-body Revitalight LED bed, for "super glowing skin." Occasionally, she seeks out the expertise of board-certified dermatologist Anetta Reszko in New York. "She's great at making your skin look even and bright after sun damage," Christensen says.
Noble Panacea The Chronobiology Sleep Mask
Noble Panacea The Chronobiology Sleep Mask
Come nighttime, Christensen reaches for one of Noble Panacea's cult products: a sleep mask that sold out within two weeks of its 2022 launch. "I am in love with The Exceptional Chronobiology Sleep Mask. It feels velvety and rich, and I wake up with soft baby skin," she says of its detoxifying and rebalancing properties. True to the brand's time-controlled delivery sequence, this sleep mask addresses the skin's two primary functions at night: detoxification and repair. In harmony with the skin's biorhythm, the brand's CEO, Celine Talabaza, describes it as the equivalent of two facials back-to-back while you sleep—the first for detoxification, and the second for regeneration and hydration. "I also sleep on silk pillows, as I often sleep on my side. They keep your face smooth and feel really soft," Christensen says.
The model appreciates Noble Panacea's values and practices inherent in its business model. "I love the ethical, sustainable approach of the brand," Christensen says, alluding to its careful selection of environmentally conscious packaging. The "delicate" OSMV™ technology requires that the product be dispensed in individually packaged, daily doses. But those wary of the beauty industry's waste problem will be relieved to know that the brand intentionally uses biodegradable and recyclable packaging. The initial order comes in a reusable white box that looks worthy of your top shelf, yet is made from biodegradable starch. Subsequent orders come as refills, and each of the individual envelopes can be sent back to the brand for free to be repurposed via its recycling partner.
Inside the packaging, you'll find intentionally chosen active ingredients. Featured skin actives include tried-and-true staples and green beauty favorites (think: vitamin C, retinol, teas, and seaweeds), along with the inclusion of the regenerative ingredient Teprenone, which combats the effects of aging on the telomeres. Also relevant is what they opted to leave out, including fragrances, silicones, parabens, PEGs, and alcohol, to name a few. "We have a very long list of prohibited ingredients, because our mission is to promote optimal scientific skin health," Talabaza says. The brand is also Leaping Bunny certified as cruelty and gluten free, and uses no ingredients derived from animals, sometimes opting for synthetic alternatives to its botanically derived counterparts to keep safety and ethics in mind.
If you're just starting out with the line, the supermodel says to consider a duo. "I would recommend trying the Absolute Intense Renewal Serum with the Absolute Active Replenishing Moisturizer, because this combination is simple and a perfect introduction to the brand," Christensen says.
Noble Panacea The Absolute Active Replenishing Moisturizer
But if you want to pick just one—and with a hefty price tag, you might—make it the BAZAAR Skincare Award–winning Chronobiology Sleep Mask. Who can resist trying a hardworking product that claims to deliver the equivalent of two facials while you doze? (Certainly not this beauty lover.) Deep relaxation achieved through rest is a healing experience in and of itself. But with Noble Panacea's pioneering technology hard at work while you're asleep, this luxury skincare brand all but promises the best beauty sleep of your dreams.
