This is what a $750 serum feels like

A friend asked me what was the most expensive skincare I’ve ever used. I told her that it’s the clé de peau beauté Synactif Cream that costs $1,800 for 40ml. 😱 — crazy, right? I wrote about it for the second editing of Editing Beauty, alongside eight other luxury creams.

The most expensive creams in the world,
as featured in Editing Beauty II

I’m fortunate enough that my skin can happily drink up any moisturiser from Bio-essence and Bioderma, to La Prairie and La Mer. It’s just a matter of whether my good skin condition is maintained, or  improves from good to great. In the case of Chanel’s new essence — CHANEL SUBLIMAGE Essence Fondamentale — it went to fabulous.

Above is the very pretty press image of the product, courtesy Chanel. But I like to take my own product photos to show what it looks like without photo editing.

The texture of the product is a silky cream that is light, fluid, and very quickly absorbed. It settles into skin within 10 seconds, without leaving any tacky feeling behind — which is impressive considering that this is a fairly rich skincare (did I mention that it feels really light?) Yes, it’s a rich essence, but with a lightweight texture. It’s usually one or the other, but Chanel has created a magical product that is both.

Here’s the bottle on my nightstand

The first time I tried this product was at night, as part of my evening skincare regime. It felt lovely to apply (silky!), and I did really like that it wasn’t overly scented. Many luxury serums and moisturisers have overpowering scents, as though they are trying to give the user “more” for their dollar; but it seems like Chanel has gone the opposite route here and very lightly scented this new essence — and I love that they did this. It feels like everything about this product is subtle. From its scent, to its texture, and even the streamlined glass bottle packaging. It looks and feels expensive, but in a subtle, classy way.

Even the cap feels weighted and prestigious

The first application that night was impressive; but what really wowed me was the morning-after… my skin was visibly smoother — like much smoother! Fine lines on my forehead became very faint, and the pores on my cheeks looked smaller than usual; I felt like I had discovered another gem of a skincare that I couldn’t live without.

The texture of the cream is smooth and soft, and is lightly fragranced. Even the colour of the cream is subtle.

It’s now been three days since I unwrapped this bottle, and I’m addicted to the increased smoothness of my face. If this is what this essence feels like after three days, imagine what a month (or two) would do.

And this, is what a $750 serum feels like. Sigh… 💸💸💸

And now that you’ve read this article, are you going to buy this product? I believe some girls (and guys) actually will. Even at $750 for 40ml, there are lots of beauty addicts who can’t put a price on fabulous skin. And once I finish this review bottle that I was given in my capacity as an Editor, I think I’ll just cry.