[unpaid/sample] Honestly, I wanted this to be awful because I knew it would be expensive but it’s not – it’s utterly lovely. However, I hadn’t imagined it would be £620 a bottle. My goodness – I literally only looked up the price now because in the interests of balance I generally don’t work from press releases – I do my own research.
I think maybe it’s the most expensive skin care product I’ve reviewed. I’m glad I didn’t know the price before I spent a week using it (I’ll be using to the very last drop) because I think it might have skewed my expectations. I’ve spoken before about the CHANEL Open Sky Labs in Madagascar and that’s where the Vanilla Planifolia is both grown and harvested. The very bottom line about this ingredient is that it’s high in polyketones (high performing polymers) and therefore accelerates the ‘reviving’ process through the night. Your skin is in repair mode as you sleep so it makes sense to put this on at night and L’Extrait uses four actives from Vanilla Planifolia in the recipe. The list also includes sustainable Himalayan Swertia which is new for me and a very interesting herb that is only harvested once every three years. It contains a chrono-peptide. It’s really hard to get chrono-peptides fully explained and yes, I’ve been researching but it doesn’t even make sense to me. However, I have gleaned that it has the ability to target the skin’s circadian rhythm and reset so that your skin should always look well slept – by that I mean more vital and glowing because of the resynchronisation of its clock. I know, it’s hard to understand and goes well out of my area of expertise but you know when brands say that a product will make you look well rested or as though you’ve just had the best holiday? It’s that.
All of the above is encapsulated in micro droplets so that the serum feels immediately at home on the skin. Well before I knew the price, I knew the minute it hit my complexion that it was special. I don’t often review CHANEL skincare because I focus so much on their make-up, but in terms of skin comfort, immediately, it’s a ten out of ten. It just has that beautiful, soft texture that melts over the skin in a warm and comforting way – the next morning I don’t need any moisturiser at all and I think my skin looks bouncier and actually quite ‘well’. We all know that the only way to really get marked anti-ageing effects is via non-surgicals or even surgery but if it suits your beauty budget it really does feel quite magical. I’ve only used it for a week so it’s impossible to say what longer term outcomes might be but I’m impressed at how consistently fresh I look come morning. It’s HERE.
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