When it comes to beauty products, do the price tag matters? Why are some products so expensive anyway? The answer usually lies in the technology and ingredients used.
Advocates might point out how these products incorporate luxurious ingredients (think caviar) in their concoctions and tout the innovative and advanced technologies that promise to help us achieve the complexions of our dreams.
In the gallery below, we round up 19 premium beauty products that live up to their reputation as couture’s answer to skincare.
Your skin deserves the best, and if you’re looking for the ultimate pampering treatment that your skin will love, consider La Prairie’s luxurious Skin Caviar Luxe Cream. Boasting a potent blend of skin-loving ingredients, the cream works to deliver the right amount of hydration while firming your skin at the same time. Here, the protein-rich caviar extract in the formula also helps to nourish your skin, and it also plumps up lines and restores skin density for a bouncier, more youthful-looking complexion.
By now you would have probably heard about Chanel Beauty’s N°1 skincare line which has already been lauded for its incredible texture, scent and results. But if you’re still on the fence on which product to splurge on, then you might want to consider this number from the skincare line.
Formulated with red camellia extract and red camellia oil, the N°1 De Chanel Revitalising Cream contains 95% naturally derived ingredients and 70% camellia-derived ingredients. Boasting a velvety texture that helps to visibly smooth wrinkles and leave skin feeling as soft as a baby’s skin, the cream also helps to protect against external aggressors, and helps to enhance your skin’s youthful glow.
When it comes to some of the best Japanese skincare innovations, brands like Shiseido are one of the few that you can definitely count on. Touted as the pinnacle of technological breakthrough and sensorial pleasure, this nourishing serum cocoons the skin with a moisture veil, setting the basis for plump and healthy skin.
After a few uses, the serum will leave you with visibly supple, radiant and hydrated skin as it slows down the signs of ageing, and helps to support and repair the skin’s barrier.
Want something that’s lightweight yet effective? Consider The Serum from Cle de Peau. Housed in a limited edition bottle, this serum works to effectively target daily skin concerns by delivering the right amount of moisture to the skin, while supporting the absorption and efficacy of the other skincare products in your routine.
On top of that, the product is also said to help strengthen your skin from within, and with continuous use, it works to enhance your complexion, revealing a softer, smoother texture with increased suppleness, resilience and hydration.
You can’t turn back time but you can reverse signs of ageing if you’re using the right product. And while there are plenty of options out there in the market, this particular serum from Guerlain is probably one of the few that are worth investing in.
Made with a potent blend of antioxidant raw ingredients including black bee Royal Jelly, the serum helps to resurface the skin and reduce wrinkles, while making your skin feel smoother and it also helps to reduce the appearance of your pores.
The French Maison’s newest super serum from its most luxurious skincare range Sublimage is meant to repair and regenerate complexions while you snooze. It is powered by a chronopeptide that increases the expression of two different genes, which are capable of resetting skin’s biological rhythms to optimise cell renewal at night.
It then works together with a complex composed of orange blossom and vanilla planifolia using an innovative patented bio-fermentation process. These active ingredients heighten antioxidant protection; improve skin detoxification; reinforces cellular detoxification; and activates the skin’s regeneration process to repair damaged complexions while you sleep.
The brand’s iconic La Creme is now fortified with an advanced formula that incorporates the highest percentage of its Skin Empowering Illuminator Complex to enhance skin’s nighttime mechanism for it to better regenerate and repair while we catch some Zs. It is also made with a CeraFerment extract, which is rich in ceramides, to plump up complexions for a more supple and youthful-looking complexion.
For a traditional Korean approach to an anti-ageing skincare routine, opt for this luxurious cream, which is part of the brand’s most luxe anti-ageing skincare line (thus, it’s hefty price tag). It is fortified with reishi mushroom and an Active Ginseng Cell Complex that help to restore, recharge and treat visible signs of ageing while its rich texture lathers on smoothly and easily for a pampering ritual.
This intensive treatment targets three specific deficiencies of fatigued skin: potassium, responsible for cellular metabolism energy; omegas, which treat micro-fissures and sagging skin; and ceramides for cellular cohesion and a healthy skin barrier function. The Rose de Granville contains potassium, omega-3, 6 and 9 fatty acids and manganese to treat all three deficiencies for healthier and strengthened skin. It also features a micro-encapsulation technology and a double-extraction process to obtain the full reparative powers of the Rose de Granville.
The new formula is now equipped with lime tea concentrate to offer enhanced environmental protection and defence against free radicals. Also included in the mix is its propriety concentrated Miracle Broth to calm and treat inflammation while strengthening skin’s natural barrier. Plus, it even treats and prevents visible signs of ageing.
Formulated with black diamond truffle and developed with advanced sculpting technologies, this potent cream aims to promote natural collagen production while restoring clarity for a youthful and healthier-looking complexion. Plus, it delivers optimum moisture to the skin to plump lines and wrinkles, while firming up loose, sagging skin.
This is made with precious Abyssinian oil that is rich in the unsaturated fatty acids required for skin hydration. It works alongside Candeeia oil, which is known for reducing inflammation. Tephrosia seed extract, known in Ayurvedic medicine for its calming benefits, helps to treat redness and skin sensitivity while diamond dermal powder works to impart a radiant glow to complexions.
This elevated take on Lancome’s Absolue White Aura promises petal-soft skin. Containing the Absolue line’s signature Grand Rose Extracts, which is a blend of three roses – the Damask Rose, Centifolia Rose and the specially bred Lancôme Rose, it helps with accelerated skin regeneration, plus a brighter complexion and a reduction of dark spots with prolonged use.
If you aren’t a fan of heavy creams, you’ll appreciate its smooth gel-like texture that’s instantly absorbed and leaves skin velvety smooth. In fact, it’s so light you can use it during the day without any greasy residue. Another draw: it smells like a dream.
Made of black diamond particles, these form microspheres that penetrate deep into the dermal layer of the skin to deliver ingredients like Centella Asiatica, hyaluronic acid and the brand’s proprietary NAC Y2 formula.
Centella asiatica, a herb which speeds up cellular regeneration, also stimulates the production of collagen types I and II. In addition, the NASA-approved NAC Y2, provides the skin with powerful antioxidant benefits to keep cellular inflammation at bay for a healthier, younger-looking complexion. This extravagant cream also has a rich and nourishing texture to instantly relieve dry skin.
If parched skin is your concern, you’ll want to consider this radiance-boosting moisturiser that’s enriched with camellia floral water. A white camellia extract, is combined with a hyaluronic acid derivative to restore hydric balance, while antioxidant-rich blue ginger extracts protect skin from free radicals and reinforce skin’s natural defense system.
Fine, pearly particles reflect light and blurs imperfections so you get a luminous complexion that’s ready for the camera.
If signs of exhaustion from wedding preparations are showing up on your face, Korean luxury skincare brand Sulwhasoo’s antioxidant-rich Bloomstay skincare line helps tackle the signs of ageing for a youthful bridal glow.
The Bloomstay Vitalizing Cream has plum blossom and yuzu extracts, as well as a compound of five fruit and seed extracts – plum, red bean, quince, Korean pine seed, and black sesame. It helps to improve skin’s smoothness and suppleness, while protecting against external irritants.
This luxurious skin treatment contains precious saffron and sake extract to activate skin’s youth genes so collagen production is accelerated. Meanwhile, it also contains amino acids and hyaluronic acid to improve skin’s ability to retain moisture for a firm, supple and radiant complexion.
Brides looking to combat fine lines, wrinkles and other signs of ageing can expect immediate and long-term results with this multi-action anti-ageing serum. With a lightweight consistency and formulated with powerful peptides and botanical stem cells, it sends signals to skin cells to amp up collagen production, as well as reduce the appearance of dark spots.
It also contains an algae-derived blend that forms an invisible film over skin surface for an instant firming effect. This antioxidant-rich potion not only shields the skin from environmental hazards, but also blue light that are emitted from electronic devices.
Thanks to the extensive research that the brand has put into the field of glycobiology (the study of the structure, function and biology of carbohydrates), the scientists at YSL Beauty have discovered that Moroccan Saffron pistils contain the highest amount of crocetin, a compound that displays remarkable antioxidant properties to keep cellular inflammation at bay. In turn, this results in a delay in oxidative damage for skin that remains younger and healthier for a longer period of time.
Made with the prized Moroccan Saffron pistils, YSL Beauty’s Or Rouge line offers unparalleled youth-preserving benefits for those who seek the very best in luxury skincare. Splurge on the Or Rouge Creme Fine, a non-greasy lightweight cream that instantly nourishes your complexion while infusing with a powerful antioxidant boost like no other.
All the items are independently selected by our editorial team. If you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. But we only recommend products we love. Promise.