Etat Pur - Acne Actives

This film began with a question: how do we translate the quiet intelligence of skincare science into something that feels alive, personal, and beautifully clear?

For ETAT Pur, Helix shaped a narrative around three complementary actives—Zinc Gluconate, Propolis, and Salicylic Acid - each designed to intervene in one of the skin’s imbalanced processes: oil production, bacterial inflammation, and clogged pores.

We returned to a skin landscape Helix originally created for NAOS’ global use - a cross-section of the skin’s layers, rendered in gentle, glassy pinks with translucent illumination, capturing the delicate biology just beneath the surface. This visual world became the foundation for a story told in three movements, each active introduced with its own rhythm, colour, and motion. The aim was to keep the science visible, but never heavy-handed. To personify the skin’s inner processes in a way that was both accurate and emotionally intuitive.

As the story unfolds, the three actives converge, highlighting their complementarity and how together they form a customizable routine adapted to different acne intensities. The IN-Skin patent became a narrative device too - shown not as a technical detail, but as a kind of intelligent guidance system, helping actives reach exactly where they’re needed.

From early concept to final compositing, our team worked across multiple disciplines: story development, scientific animation, product demo, and live-action integration. We designed with inclusivity in mind, using a cast of characters that reflects the brand’s cosmopolitan spirit, and creating sequences that demonstrate both product use and real-life relevance.

The result is a film that speaks to many, while feeling made for each viewer - a visual routine shaped by care, clarity, and a touch of joy.