LUST-HAVE | CHANEL Sublimage Essential Revitalising Concentrate

SINCE WE'RE on the subject of serums this week. we need to tell you about the next big launch. Mark your calendars for Friday, October 8th because CHANEL is launching a new serum (or concentrate) in its Sublimage range (famed for its Planifolia PFA (vanilla planifolia + polyfractioning process)).

And it features yet another new ingredient to the beautyscape - the Golden Flower of the Himalayas aka Golden Champa aka the heal-all flower. You'll see it on CHANEL ingredient labels at Golden Champa PFA (polyfractioning is used again to extract the flower esters and maintain their integrity. I am unable to tell you what polyfractioning is... yet). Apparently the flower can help detoxify and revitalise skin. How? Well, what I've read is that Golden Champa PFA is anti-oxidizing and "induces active cellular revitalization by stimulating the expression of two essential enzymes... DT-Diaphorase and GST". There are all sorts of other scientific-sounding claims about the increase in ATP (energy/food) for cells, reduction in peroxized lipids in DNA, etc., however I would need a scientist to first explain such things to me and, second, verify whether this is true or not in order to tell you, one way or another, in this space today, if Golden Champa can do all those things.

That said, I, for one, will be trying it. And why not (tho I won't be spending this much on all my beauty products)? CHANEL does not disclose the amount of money it spends on research per year (which we take as a sign that it's A LOT), nor do they depend on suppliers for their active ingredients, instead choosing to grow their own. Their extraction processes are highly secretive and, well, if they're that intensive on the R&D side, I'd like to see if the fruit of their collective labor works. Wouldn't you? Plus, the Sublimage range has received rave reviews from consumers since its 2006 launch. 

It is pricey at £290.00 for 30ml, but, I've been using La Mer The Concentrate (not cheap) for ages -- and I LOVE it (love it), so I understand prioritizing my purchases (Dove soap or jojoba oil at cleanser for a snip but an expensive serum if it works, I use it daily and am judicious with applying it).

Needless to say, Xavier Ormancey (Chanel's Director of Active Ingredients) seems to spare no expense, nor leave any rock unturned, in his search for un-paralleled active ingredients for CHANEL skincare. 

Sources:

• Beauty in full Bloom, The Times, September 2006
•  CHANEL press office 

FROM THE FRONT | Illamasqua opening first stand-alone shop!

WOO! ANYONE familiar with the cult British beauty brand will be happy to hear this, especially if you live within the ring Road or happen to be visiting London anytime soon. PLUS, there are going to be courses (YAY) for those with yearning to learn a bit more about applying makeup or, as Illamasqua would have it, finding your alter ego through makeup.

• WHEN: Soon. Exact date TBA
• WHERE: 20 Beak Street, London W1

We're waiting with bated breath. Find out more here.

SHOP THE PAGES | New feature alert!

ONE OF THE things that I have had on my mind since early 2007, when I was first in the throws of launching my beauty website and my old blog, the beloved Cult Beauty Blog (RIP. Remember her? Bless... I do miss the ol' cult-beauty.blogspot.com. Perhaps we'll revive her one day), is how to actually translate magazines to the internet. Now, I know it's a bit cheeky of me to do this, but how cool would it be to simply click on the pages of the magazines you love and buy the products you're coveting right then and there, online?

Enter SHOP THE PAGES, the new feature where you can actually browse and click select pages from the most recent magazines.

For the sake of not pissing off said glossies (we heart you and just want to share our glossy love!) or infringing on copyright, we are only scanning select pages and don't make any money off of it. It's purely for content.

Credit cards (you do have a monthly budget, right? Stay within it!) at the ready!

CLICK HERE TO SHOP THE PAGE.