If you were a fan of Chanel's discontinued Le Blanc intensive treatment ampoules, you might have wondered about their successor. I personally found the ampoules work pretty good, but not for the price of $400+. Certainly it wasn't the most popular product within Chanel skincare despite the fact that the company has renewed the product constantly throughout the years until they finally decided to discontinue. So my guess was that the company would launch a leave on mask in a jar like their Sublimage overnight mask as the current trend is either that or a set of sheet masks.
However, it turned out that they just changed it to have simpler packaging and reduced the price. This new Chanel Le Blanc L'Extrait was launched in Asia earlier last year and I must admit that I instantly fell in love with its sleek clean packaging.
Application
It's still an intensive night treatment and you basically have to finish the ampoule serum within 4 weeks. It replaces your regular serum, so you just need to put on a moisturiser afterwards. If you have been using any brightening serum including Chanel Le Blanc Serum, then you can continue using it during the daytime as Le Blanc L'Extrait is meant to be for nighttime use only.
Scent & Consistency
Scent-wise, I was very pleasantly surprised that Le Blanc L'Extrait has no typical strong Chanel scent or even cooling sensation. It smells just pleasant, that's all.
As the nature of the product is a concentrate, I expected it to feel more rich and emollient at first. However, it leaves no sticky or oily residue although even though it's still a lot more dense than their regular Le Blanc Serum.
It has tiny particles that make skin look luminous and quite photogenic. It just gives that beautiful natural glow, which doesn't feel that artificial.
Active Ingredients
The potent combination of CHANEL-patented* TXC™ technology, VCE** and rose hip oil delivers highly efficacious whitening actions, to precisely and comprehensively address all factors of an aging complexion. Together, they:
- Act on all factors of the pigmentation process, immediately and in the long-term, to reveal an even and brighter complexion;
- Accelerate the melanosome degradation process, which naturally slows down with age, and break down melanin accumulation in the skin, to reduce all kinds of dark spots, including age spots, and prevent new ones from appearing;
- Prevent melanocyte and keratinocyte aging, which leads to hyperpigmentation, hypopigmentation and dullness, to restore even, radiant and youthful skin.
Specially developed for CHANEL, 2-Year pearl extract is derived from Akoya pearls that are carefully matured for an optimal 2-year period. The extract from these rare pearls effectively prevents protein oxidation on the skin surface for a brighter complexion with light-reflecting translucency. It also contains a high concentration of glycine, a main component of the skin's natural moisturizing factor, for optimal hydration. Luminous and moisturised, the skin reveals pearl-like radiance day after day.
*Active ingredient developed using atechnology exclusive to CHANEL - International patent application.
** Ethyl ascorbic acid
Effectiveness
Most of all, I love the fact that they dropped the price for their brightening treatment in the renewed version as it's more affordable to consumers now. However, the dropper doesn't work properly and feels too small to pump the concentrate. The instruction says I need to hold the dropper firmly, but getting the right amount for me isn't easy at all. It has been literally an exercise for my thumb and index finger -_-... Oh dear Chanel, please do something about this cheap quality dropper.
Other than the quality compromised dropper, the actual product itself has been working fine. It never broke out my skin even when my monthly was approaching. My skin felt smooth to touch and I didn't have any discomfort or dehydration issues with Chanel L'Extrait. Due to its velvety finish, it works great even as a make-up base for the evening out. Although it doesn't have that much soothing or calming benefits, it's subtly hydrating enough to be used over Spring and Summer after sun exposure.
It also healed and lightened my PMS spots fast, but I haven't seen that much improvement in existing sun spots on my skin. At least, I haven't seen the increased number of sun spots, so I guess it has been somewhat working from a preventative measure. Chanel L'Extrait isn't a laser treatment, meaning you cannot possibly expect it to erase old dark spots completely just like other over the counter products. Nevertheless, it's a good product for the price that you pay for preventing spots from darkening. Like other brightening products, it's important to apply a sunscreen once every 2 hours daily during the treatment and avoid products containing retinol for the best efficacy.
Where to buy
- Nordstrom (Free shipping & samples)
- Saks Fifth Avenue (Free shipping & samples)
Recommendations
- Chanel Hydra Beauty Micro Creme & Micro Serum
- Chanel Le Blanc Essence Lotion Healthy Light Creator
- Chanel Le Blanc Serum (Healthy Light Creator)
- La Mer The Brilliance Brightening Mask (Blanc de La Mer)
- La Prairie White Caviar Illuminating Pearl Infusion
- La Prairie Swiss Cellular White Intensive Illuminating Mask
