Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, the co-founders of luxury skincare brand Fresh, speak to us about the creation of one of their hero products: Crème Ancienne

Fresh Focus

Joining Fresh’s extensive range of fragrances and skincare, bodycare, and haircare products is Crème Ancienne Soft Cream, part of the Ancienne Collection. It’s a light yet nourishing face lotion, with a fast absorbing formula that provides extra hydration and promotes a complexion that looks and feels youthful.

Fresh is the brainchild of husband and wife team Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg, who having started with a single boutique in Boston, USA, in 1991 have now taken their business around the world. The couple were recently in Hong Kong, the last destination in their whistlestop tour to promote the newest formula for their hero product, Crème Ancienne.

The cream, which was launched in 2003, is the pillar of the Fresh skincare collection. Manufactured according to the recipe for the world’s first emulsion cream, Crème Ancienne has been hailed as the richest and most luxurious cream on the planet. Glazman and Roytberg spent a year researching the best place to make it, finally picking a monastery in the Czech Republic whose monks hand-blend the ingredients for small batches of jars. It was apparent to the pair from the beginning that the creams could not be mass-produced or industrialised.

It took several years to develop Crème Ancienne Soft Cream’s unique whipped texture. “The magic of the cream is the way it makes your skin feel,” says Glazman.

“Because of its weightless texture, the cream adapts to the skin, providing it with a cushiony, bouncy, firmer, and ultimately more youthful texture. It’s very luxurious.”

Watch the video below for a glimpse into the exclusive launch dinner held at The Upper House, where guests learned more about the story behind this most unique of skincare products.

Videography Tyrone Wu