THE science behind skincare products has progressed so much, with advancements in biotechnology, peptide technology and nanotechnology that people like Bernard Truaxe believes that there'll be a real breakthrough in skincare. 'I believe that there can be real topical and clinical effects these days,' says the 30-year-old Canadian software engineer who sold off his software company to found a skincare company Euoko five years ago.

He well represents the growing number of independent skincare brands out there giving the established brand names such as Estee Lauder, Clarins, Elizabeth Arden and Dior a run for their money.

Mr Truaxe's first brush with the world of beauty creams was when he was contracted by a major brand to develop a computer programme that looked at chemical stability issues, allergic reactions, consumer feedback and so on, that would help in ingredient selection and formulation development.

Through this he got interested in the science behind the treatments, and the large discrepancy between a product's development cost and its retail price. He decided to take a different approach to skincare formulations, and five years later, Euoko hit the market.

What brands such as Euoko offer is the latest technology, in ingredient extraction and delivery, which he thinks that traditional skincare brands aren't maximising. 'So we started a company which really focuses on the formulations,' he says, relating how he started the company with a biochemist who had worked for a major cosmetics brand, and they spent some three years developing Euoko's products.

Euoko is carried by Sscube Apothecary here, and comes in five series: the W-Series for whitening, A-Series for blemishes, R-Series for radiance, P-Series for Protection and Y-Series for aging. The products contain some 120 active ingredients and some of the largest amounts of active ingredients in its formulations, says Mr Truaxe. While his own favourites are the R-Series (prices range from $90 to $200) and P-Series ($90 to $170), best-sellers so far include the Y-Series' Intense Lift Concentrate ($840) which includes peptides that mimic a snake venom so that it has a mini muscle-relaxing, Botox effect.

Another new brand in the market from Malaysia, Bioxil (main picture), also banks on peptide technology. Peptides are essentially proteins, or amino acids, with specific molecule formulations. Bioxil uses biomimetic peptide technology from Korea, and Dr Chung Yongji, a cell regeneration scientist, notes that the breakthrough is the human growth factor peptide which acts like natural protein.

Bioxil's latest product is the 2-week Miracle for whitening and anti-ageing. The four key elements in the products sees natural plant extracts such as licorice root and ginkgo biloba leaf; fermented ingredients such as soybean; nano-encapsulated ingredients, and growth factor mimicking peptides specifically targeting skin cells. 'Our promise is that you can see results in two weeks because these peptides are strong cell stimulators,' says Dr Chung Yongji, a cell regeneration scientist. Bioxil also has a unique concept whereby the company will home deliver products to the consumer because the serums and creams are freshly made and don't have preservatives. The 2 Weeks Miracle retail at $480 a box for a month's supply.

Meanwhile, the booming lifestyle market in Singapore continues to herald newcomers. Another new brand to land on Singapore's shores is SkinCeuticals, which made its name in the industry by combining pure vitamins C and E in a topical antioxidant serum. The line now contains a new antioxidant, ferulic acid, which when combined with vitamins C and E, supposedly doubles environmental protection from four-fold to eight-fold and reduces sunburnt cells by up to 96 per cent in UV irradiated skin.

Again, SkinCeuticals touts itself as using pure, pharmaceutical grade ingredients with proven results, with formulations using optimal concentrations of active ingredients. For example, its Serum 20 contains 20 per cent of L-ascorbic acid, which is the highest concentration offered on the market in stabilised form. Prices for its products range from $49 for a cleanser to $169 for firming cream.

With so many choices before the consumer, not to mention the major cosmetics brands all constantly giving new twists to their classic best-sellers, it's a real toss-up these days which products to slap on your face. The good thing is, since all these brands are touting fast results, it looks like one should be able to tell which will work and which won't, in just a matter of weeks.

Sscube Apothecary, #03-19A, Centrepoint Shopping Centre and #05-25A, Ngee Ann City; Bioxil Skin Lab, #01-06 VivoCity; SkinCeuticals is available at the pharmacies of Changi General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and National Skin Centre, Linc Aesthetics Clinic and Aramsa Spa.

This article was first published in The Business Times Weekend on Aug 2, 2008.