Beautémia
Let's connect
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Newsletter
  • Feed

World's Most Expensive Skincare Review > My 10+Years with Best Luxury Beauty (La Mer VS La Prairie VS Sisley VS Chanel VS Guerlain)

Published by Jasmine Seo
Tagged with: Beauty, Make-up, Skin care, Anti-Aging, Anti-Pollution, Detox, Brightening / Lightening, La Mer, La Prairie, Chanel, Guerlain, Sisley, Chantecaille, Natura Bissé, Cellcosmet, Swiss Perfection, Dior, Spa, Nail Art, Serum, Mask, Intensive Treatment, Suncare, Face, Face Oil, Shopping, Beauty - Comparison / Tips, Beauty - Is Expensive Skincare Worth It?, Beauty - New to Luxury skincare

I've contemplated for the past few months if I should make a special post on the world's most expensive skincare products that I've been religiously using for 10+ years. It doesn't always equate most expensive = best = luxury in the beauty industry from my years of personal observation, but at least I think that the brands that I will mention in this post deserves some spotlight. Meaning, those brands may be a safer bet for you if you are thinking of getting one. Regardless, I was thinking of keeping this as a personal record for future reference, but I decided to share it with you as it's my website's 5 year anniversary and also 10+ year anniversary with major high-tech luxury skincare brands including La Prairie, Sisley, La Mer and Guerlain :). Just to be noted, there are other luxury skincare companies that I haven't mentioned on this post, so please don't limit your options simply because I'm not mentioning here just yet. And I'm not writing this to encourage you to get the expensive products but to share my experience with different luxury skincare brands. This post is a sequel to the luxury skincare brand comparison post that I wrote earlier.

Just A Dream

If you want to know more about my general observations and experiences with those brands depending on different skin types and desired results, please refer to my old post as I talked about them in great detail. Anyway, today I will focus more on my personal thoughts on the brands' progression over the past few years with top 5 products that are worth more spotlight than others. Having said that, the products that I personally prefer may not work on your skin exactly in the same way that they do on mine as we all come from different backgrounds and have different lifestyles. I have pretty much normal/slightly sensitive skin most of the time, but I have dehydration issues and monthly hormonal breakouts. I also personally prefer products with luxurious textures and a glowy finish.

Just to have another excuse to indulge myself, I also got my Chanel themed nail art done at Y's Nail to celebrate this special moment :3. Hehe >_<

Anyway, let's get started! :)

La Mer

Who Owns the Company?

Estée Lauder Company

Best Launches

Worst Launches

Jasmine's Top 5 picks

Additional Comments

I can clearly see that the company has been trying to expand their lines and give more options to their customers, which is very nice but I feel that they are rushing too much. I'm a little concerned that the company might lose its identity and just turn into a more fashionable brand. Personally, I'm not quite certain about the path that they are taking, but we will see.

Full reviews

La Prairie

Who Owns the Company?

Beiersdorf

Best Launches

Worst Launches

  • La Prairie White Caviar Illuminating Cream

Jasmine's Top 5 picks

Additional Comments

I feel that the company has been testing water especially on those premature skincare lines. The best example for this is the frequent relatively mid-priced product line turnover. If it's an upgrade, it's understandable, but when you discontinue Marine Biology collection (marine based) and change it to Swiss Ice Crystal line (botanical based). How should we interpret? Why did you even bother doing all the renewal for the Marine Biology collection, when in the end you discontinued them all? Customers could have started using the Marine Biology collection because of its ingredients and price, but now they're left with no marine-based option at that price point. Abandoning customers like this doesn't sound very luxurious, does it?

Full reviews

Sisley

Who Owns the Company?

D’Ornano family

Best Launches

Worst Launches

I cannot really think of worst ones as the company does deliver results.

Jasmine's Top 5 picks

Additional Comments

I personally really appreciate the path that the company's taking as it's very coherent to their brand heritage. They hardly discontinue their products, yet they are timelessly effective and gentle. And their launches always somehow make sense to be added to the existing skincare line or even as a new line. The way they do their business is indeed luxurious and I do enjoy their timeless classiness.

Full reviews

Guerlain

Who Owns the Company?

LVMH

Best Launches

Worst Launches

I cannot really think of worst ones as the company does deliver results.

Jasmine's Top 5 picks

Additional Comments

Just like Sisley, the company seems to be well aware of what's going to work and what's not going to work in the market. Their water's calm without any huge dramatic change unlike some other luxury skincare companies. I love the fact that they've finally been putting more weight on their Orchidée Impériale Exceptional Complete Care line which is my favourite amongst their skincare products. I'm always looking forward to the company's next move as they have never disappointed me so far in terms of the efficacy. However, it'd be nice if they could keep their fragrance more subtle and also phenoxyethanol low in their ingredient list.

Full reviews

Chanel

Who Owns the Company?

Wertheimer family

Best Launches

Worst Launches

Jasmine's Top 5 picks

Additional Comments

I really hope that the company will do something about their artificial fragrance in their skincare lines. Perfume is indeed a part of the company's spirit, but it doesn't mean that it needs to compromise what it takes to be a true luxury skincare brand. I don't expect them to get rid of the fragrance as it has become already a part of the brand's identity, but at least I expect them to lower the percentage of fragrance in their lines. It's also necessary for the company to do more market research before the launch. You cannot sell the products purely with CC logo, you need to focus on quality as other small businesses proving themselves with their quality at affordable prices. I believe that it's time to re-think the skincare identity that the company wants to pursue; timeless vs trendy.

Full reviews

Verdict

Even after years of using high-tech skincare products, I still believe that topical skincare products cannot be compared to the in-office treatments that are delivered by dermatologists. So if you are interested in more dramatic, corrective and instant results, I still think that it's recommended to consult with a reliable dermatologist rather than getting disappointed by topical products. However, if you have started early in a skincare regime, then those skincare products will help your skin age more beautifully and naturally, which is more relevant to my case thanks to my family's influence.

By any chance, if you are looking at those luxury skincare products solely due to your acne or problem-prone skin, then it's best to see your dermatologist as soon as possible. Prescribed ointment and treatments done by dermatologist will work more effective than those over-the-counter products, which will also lower the chance of getting unwanted acne scarring from mistreatment by oneself. And for those with extremely sensitive or eczema-prone skin, I suggest checking those skin barrier strengthening products that have been also recommended by my family dermatologist.

Where to buy

Recommendations

comments powered by Disqus
Like this post?
Subscribe for more!