As a child, I hated the dark. Despite my love of reading under the covers and my deep insomnia, the darkest hours of the day made me timid, even though I liked to stay up late. Fear that the shadows in the room might be more sinister than a chair or a fallen book made me pull the quilt over my head, no matter how sweaty or claustrophobic I felt. But still I cherished the solitude and the possibility of extra time that the night offered, and felt a strange sense of peace as the moon began to sink beyond the horizon again.

When I traveled across the Atlantic to Zurich, Switzerland, last month with the luxury skincare brand La Prairie (opens in new tab), I learned that they share a similar passion for the various phases of night. After all, good things come after dark. At this year's Art Basel, the brand even created an art installation with the help of digital artist Maotic (opens in new tab). But La Prairie's moonlit night's greatest achievement comes in the form of a new innovation that works early in the morning and transforms the skin: the Skin Caviar Nighttime Oil (opens in new tab).

Presented in an elegant cobalt-colored bottle, this facial treatment is designed to improve skin function in conjunction with the body's natural circadian rhythms. Sturgeon caviar, the star of the entire La Prairie line, is the natural form of onyx at the 2 a.m. level. To take advantage of the retinol derived from caviar, scientists developed a special extraction process. Retinol (open in new tab) is known for its wrinkle-fighting and texture-enhancing properties, but it is the brilliant Swiss advances that make this oil so revolutionary.

"In the Swiss Alps, a limited number of top-quality sturgeon are raised in pools containing spring water from the Alps. Dr. Jacqueline Hill, La Prairie's Global Director of Strategic Innovation Science, said, "In the Swiss Alps, a limited number of top-quality sturgeon are kept in pools containing Alpine spring water. The spring water seeps into the rocks over many months and undergoes a natural filtration process that brings the rich minerals of this ancient landscape. Close monitoring of conditions makes these pools a perfectly balanced environment, ideal for producing the best caviar. The cool water allows the sturgeon to grow slowly, which enhances the quality of the caviar." When the caviar is ready for harvesting, it is transported only a short distance to the manufacturer, thus guaranteeing optimal quality.

A few days into my trip to Switzerland, I was to experience a new oil in an exquisite environment as controlled as one might imagine a sturgeon pool. That meant lying nude under a cozy blanket during a firming facial at the Dolder Grand Spa (opens in new tab). After applying the full line of Skin Caviar (opens in new tab) and giving my jaw a scrunchy slap for a perfect, angular lift, the facialist added just one drop of nighttime oil to a lightweight hydrator and blended it throughout my face and neck. I returned blissfully to my hotel room, my smooth, glowing skin illuminated by the moody bathroom lighting. I looked out the wide window and saw a dim denim-colored sky over Zurich.