The Interview: PERS founders Dr Antoni Calmon and Sophie-Lisa Precheur on creating the perfect skin protocol

“I had a passion for games like ‘spot the difference’, I was super good at spotting the difference. And the before and after pictures, I was obsessed with those. I loved decoration, I loved the makeover, I loved that…” Leading French aesthetic doctor and co-founder of the PERS skincare brand Dr Antoni Calmon says his obsession with faces started in childhood. And it has only grown in the intervening years.

As well as a laser-like eye for detail, he had a strong interest in science and medicine as a child, so his route to aesthetics seemed almost predestined. Unlike some doctors, who embark on medical training and end up shifting to aesthetics at a later stage, Calman knew that aesthetics was his calling from the get-go. But before being able to practice, he had to do the hard yards medical training in France first.

“I had to go through the 11 years of studies, learning about cancer, cardiology, lungs and biology and everything like that, to end up doing cosmetic injections,” he explains in an interview from his London clinic (he also has one in Paris), where he treats some of the most famous faces in the world. Discretion, of course, prevents him from revealing who they are.

Clients (and while they are not all famous, they are all fiercely loyal) come to Calmon for his delicate touch and that famous eye for detail. These allow him to subtly enhance faces, rather than totally transform them. He says the practice brings him joy, as well as his patients, something that not all doctors are able to do.

“Every day, I’m with happy people, people who want to get a better version of themselves, people who are smiling. I have this little power to make people happy without bringing any bad news,” Calmon says.

Through his work at his clinics, he was inspired to launch his own skincare line in order that his clients could carry on his good work at home. His training as a doctor in the French system, and the requirement to work within the constraints of its national insurance system, taught him the discipline of only treating what needs to be treated. This restraint informed his approach to aesthetics, as well as his skincare. He only wanted to give his clients exactly what they needed to achieve the desired results.

Co-founder Sophie-Lisa Precheur

While he has the medical credentials, what Calmon lacked however was the intimate knowledge of the skincare industry, including branding and commerce. Therefore he needed a partner in this venture. His friend Sophie-Lisa Precheur joined him on the journey and brought with her a vast array of skills in brand building, go to market strategies and international marketing. She also brings a healthy dose of reality.

Calmon, by his own admission is something of a dreamer and can get carried away with an idea. When he wanted to make the PERS retinol tingle on the skin like popping candy (the idea was that people would then feel where they had applied it and not overdo it), it was Precheur who told him no.

“I try to make [his ideas] happen, but sometimes he has an idea and you really can't do it. I was like ‘you know that is going to burn the skin?’,” she laughs. Instead, the Retinol product feels fresh and moisturising on the skin and it is therefore perfectly obvious where it has been applied. But more on product texture later, as it’s yet another Calmon obsession.

Precheur has an impressive beauty CV that includes senior international roles at Dior, Shiseido, Estée Lauder Companies and Frédéric Malle among other big names. Calmon had been talking to her for a while about his desire to launch a brand it wasn’t long before he thought “oh god, she can really help me develop my dream line”.

“Antoni’s vision, the brand – it was really to streamline, simplify, and optimise. And I think these three key words are super important because that's the first thing [he] said to me. Simplify the best routine but optimise with the best molecules at the best time to get the best results,” Precheur explains.

The pair set about sourcing ingredients with the aim of finding the best-performing molecules. They wanted actives that did the job they were meant for but, crucially, which didn’t irritate the skin.

Calmon was also clear, he wanted all molecules to have been tested in vivo rather than in vitro (i.e. on living organisms, rather than in a test tube, for instance). “When you do [the tests] in vitro every molecule works, but 90% of the molecules tested with an action in vitro don't work in vivo. If you test in vitro everything works and you think it’s amazing but it doesn’t necessarily work on living skin,” he says.

PERS Vitamin C 10% formulated for sensitive skin

The quantity of active ingredients was also key. The Vitamin C serum, for instance, feels like a cool drink of serum-y water for the skin and, at 10%, it contains enough active ingredient to do the job, but not so much that will aggravate the skin.

“Why didn't we choose 15% [for the Vitamin C]?” says Calmon, “Because the results show that between 10% and 15%, you don't get more results, but you have more chances of irritation.”

The approach was to create a skincare protocol that would slow down the aging process and help people look a lot better in 10 years’ time and not to promise a transformation in 10 days’ time (though the products do feel great immediately after use).

As discussed, Calmon was also obsessed with texture (the Rich Cream and SPF are more like balms than creams and melt beautifully into the skin). He also wanted the products to be gently fragranced, as he felt the protocol should be a sensory ritual, rather than just a twice-daily duty.

“I just did a benchmark of all the products in the market and I discovered that there were not so many very efficient products,” explains Calmon.

“I wanted the number one antioxidant in the market and the number one collagen stimulator, that is well tolerated with the skin right now.

“We didn't have the potential to invent something revolutionary, and we chose what was actually the best out there right now. We created a line with this this, along with a good SPF and a good rich cream that has a peptide because this is proven to be nowadays a good stimulation for collagen production. And also it has a texture that was really helping the skin to regenerate.”

Crème Riche has a balm-like texture that melts into the skin

The pair came up with the name PERS to explain the protocol. The letters stand for Protect, Enhance, Repair, Stimulate. These four actions provide the perfect skincare regimen and each product in the line-up sits under one heading.

The Vitamin C, Gel Cleanser, Cleansing Balm and SPF protect the skin, the multi-purpose Glow Balm enhances, the Rich Cream and Light Cream repair the skin and the Retinol stimulates the skin. The packaging is designed to re-inforce the message with the Vitamin C and SPF in orange packaging and the Retinol in a darker colour to denote its power. Prices range from £29 for the Glow Balm to £90 for the Retinol serum. It’s not cheap but nor is it ruinous, and it’s clear to the consumer what each product does.

Presenting a clear message is important to get consumers to buy the product in the the first place, says Precheur: “Once you know what the key ingredient is, you classify and you know when to use it. It makes it so much easier. It's very easy.”

Once consumers try the products, the repurchase rate is very high at around 50%. Both Calmon and Precheur put this down to ease of use, results and lack of skin irritation. In fact some of Calmon’s famous faces use PERS behind the scenes, even though they are contracted to promote other major beauty brands.

For us civilians in the UK the brand is available to buy via the PERS website, at Harrods and, of course The French Pharmacy. If you are lucky enough to be a client, you can pick it up at Calmon's clinic on George Street in London’s Marylebone.

The Retinol Serum delivers results without irritation

There’s more to come in terms of product launches and distribution news this year, but, just as he is discreet about his clients, Calmon is keeping tight lipped on these developments for now. Whatever he and Precheur launch though, we can be sure it will fit within their shared philosophy of achieving strong results over time, through consistent application of effective (but not irritating) product.

For them launching a high-promising super-product to deliver instant results just doesn’t fit the brief. “Sometimes, you know, you don’t need a bazooka, The reality is like exercise. If you exercise once a year, it's pointless. It's better to do 20 minutes or 30 minutes every day.

“You get great results, far better than if you do it once every month. So, I prefer something that people can use every single day, instead of something people are going to use, be burned, not use, be scared of,” says Calmon.

There’s nothing to be scared of with PERS, but there is a lot to be excited about.