There is something Zen about using luxurious skincare. Trudi Brewer discovers the serene skincare regime, created in a spiritual home in the Japanese mountain town of Mount Koya.

Most luxe skincare comes with a great story - and the making of Shiseido's latest premium Future Solution LX range is a fairytale. Made from the antioxidant goodness of a wild herb called Enmei that grows in the magical hills of Mount Koya, near the center of Shingon Buddhism. This miracle herb is found growing wild in the 17 km of natural forest, also home to 117 temples of Mount Koya, 76 miles south of Kyoto, Japan. This is the bit where the fairytale kicks in. Legend has it that the monks who lived in this area used Enmei as a tonic (and it's a popular tea in Japan today for those suffering from diabetes) given to those weary pilgrims who wandered through the temple gates in need of sustenance, it helped restore their strength after walking long distances.
Today Shiseido have harnessed this goodness from this antioxidant-rich herb in their new collection of serums and creams in the Future Solution LX line. The range includes day, night, and eye creams and a foaming cleanser (one of our top picks from the range) that melts with water and fluffs up to create a light-as-air cleanser that is delicately scented with cherry blossom, another traditional Japanese plant extract used in the range.
Along with the Mount Koya’s Enmei herb, the range also boasts antioxidant-rich green tea and skin-firming sakura-leaf (cherry blossom) extracts. However, the hero is the herb, Enmei, which has proven (in clinical trials) to heal and regenerate the look of ageing skin. If this range offers anything like the benefits that can be found in the Zen-like surroundings where it grows and is collected by hand, then I guess I have discovered my first extraordinary - yet spiritual beauty brand - success.