Going bare-skinned without make-up can be scary for women as they worry about visible flaws and whether they look good enough for the public.
For the "Late Night Portraits" campaign, SK-II's brand ambassadors had their skin prepped with nothing but the brand's Pitera Essence. Moreover, the photoshoots took place late at night when the skin is at its worst.
Global CEO of SK-II Sue Kyung Lee also took the Pitera stress test and passed with flying colours.
"Naturally, I was slightly apprehensive about taking my own late night portrait at first. But I was inspired by the courage of our celebrity ambassadors stepping up to the challenge, and when I saw the outcome of my late night portrait, I was impressed by how well my skin turned out with just Pitera," said Lee.
The "Late Night Portraits" campaign stars Mina from K-pop group Twice, actress Ayaka Miyoshi, comedian Naomi Watanabe and SK-II's longest-standing ambassador Kaori Momoi, who are passionate users of Pitera Essence and living proof of skin transformation.
The campaign was launched on the occasion of the first World Pitera Day, designated on July 13.
"Pitera is at the heart of SK-II. It is in every single SK-II product, and it is the key to millions of skin transformations around the world," said Lee. "Pitera remains essentially unchanged for over 40 years. Yet, the miracles of its scientific discoveries and innovations continue to unfold."
SK-II's research and development on Pitera began in the 1970s, after observations of elderly sake brewers who had wrinkled faces but soft youthful-looking hands due to constant contact with the sake fermentation process.
Obtained from a proprietary yeast fermentation process, Pitera is a naturally derived ingredient that resembles the skin's natural moisturising factors. This allows Pitera to be absorbed quickly and deeply into skin delivering over 50 micronutrients such as vitamins, amino acids and minerals.
"SK-II was one of the first brands to bring fermentation into skincare with our very first product -- the Pitera Essence -- in 1980, and we've continued to partner with the world's top scientists and dermatologists to continually uncover new first-in-the-world discoveries in skin science and skin health from our groundbreaking 10-year Akita study to our latest 24/7 Skin Fluctuation Study," said Lee.
For over six weeks, the study monitored young women, in terms of texture, pores, redness, dullness, hydration and barrier function. The research found the skin fluctuates greatly within a day, and the facial complexion looks worst late at night.
Neglecting daily fluctuations will accelerate visible problems in the long term. Regular use of SK-II's iconic essence with a high concentration of over 90% Pitera, however, will help stabilise the skin.
Besides the "Late Night Portraits" campaign, earlier this year, SK-II released Pitera & Me -- a first-ever self-directed film series by its newest Gen Z brand ambassadors, namely Mina, Ayaka Miyoshi, Zhang Zi Feng and Leah Dou.
Filmed 24/7 in a vacation house, they go completely bare skinned while trying the Pitera Essence.
"Understanding and engaging with the younger audience, especially Gen-Z consumers is important to us as they represent the next generation of prestige beauty and skincare consumers," she said. "The younger audience are digitally savvy luxury shoppers.·We know that they are spending most of their time consuming information online and on mobile -- on social channels like TikTok, Douyin, Instagram, Little Red Book etc. We know that they are even more inclined to shop online and look for brands to provide omni-channel shopping experiences. We know that they search for meaning and purpose from the brands they buy from and align themselves with a strong stance on environmental and social issue."
Sustainability initiatives such as water consumption, solar power, and greenhouse gas emissions are implemented at the SK-II Shiga Plant, where Pitera is crafted.
"At SK-II, our purpose is to Change Destiny for Skin, Life and Planet. Sustainability is ingrained in our purpose and beliefs, and at the SK-II Shiga Plant, we have made big strides in environmental sustainability," said Lee. "We will continue innovating and creating value as a global prestige skincare brand. As we always say, destiny is not a matter of chance, it's a matter of choice. It is why we choose to live by a simple mantra that keeps us going in a highly competitive industry, if it ain't broken, break it."
