London: Made from crushed pearls, caviar and exotic antioxidents such as grapeseed extract, alpha lipoic acid and green tea – these are the world’s most expensive face creams:
Révive Intensité Volumizing Serum – Cost $600 for 1 ounce/$600 per ounce
Made with keratinocyte growth factor, this serum is said to turn over dead skin cells eight times faster than normal skin, plumping trouble areas like frown lines and crow’s feet. Dr. Gregory Brown, RéVive’s founder and president and a plastic surgeon, says he never intended to use his research on epidermal growth factor–published in 1989 in the New England Journal of Medicine–to make a skincare line. “I started making it for my mother and me, then I started giving it to patients, and then a friend of a friend was head of Neiman Marcus and suggested I started making it for the store,” he says.
Sisley-Paris Sisleya Elixir – $390 for four 5 ml pumps/$582 per ounce
This elixir is said to fight everyday stresses and strains by stimulating the synthesis of HSP proteins with a natural extract of weeping willow. It also fights free radicals with vitamin E acetate, a natural extract of gingko biloba and marine extracts.
Packaged on a velvet tray, this haute-couture cream comes complete with a silver spatula for application. According to the company, “La Crème gently diminishes spots, freckles and uneven tone, rebuilds elasticity and resilience, and replenishes moisture lost from the daily effects of the environment and lifestyle on skin.”
Clé de Peau Beaute La Crème – $475 for 1 ounce/$475 per ounce
Packaged on a velvet tray, this haute-couture cream comes complete with a silver spatula for application. According to the company, “La Crème gently diminishes spots, freckles and uneven tone, rebuilds elasticity and resilience, and replenishes moisture lost from the daily effects of the environment and lifestyle on skin.”
Dermagentics DNA Test & Custom Anti-Wrinkle Night Cream – $400 for 1 ounce/$400 per ounce
After a quick swabbing of the inner lining of the cheek, the Dermagenetics lab measures genetic propensity for collagen breakdown and wrinkling. The company then makes a night cream based entirely on the custom needs of your face. www.dermageneticsusa.com/home.html
Natura Bissé Inhibit-Dermafill – $385 for 1 ounce/$385 per ounce
Formulated with a 40% concentration of a bioengineered octapeptide and 10% Dermafill Complex, this Spanish product is marketed as an alternative to Botox. It “naturally augments the tissue volume, to plump up deeper wrinkles and to replenish loss of volume experienced due to aging,” the company says. Piperina nigrum, an extract of black pepper, reportedly speeds up absorption.
www.naturabisse.es
Kanebo Sensai Ex La Crème – $500 for 1.36 ounces/$368 per ounce
Made with a moisturizing component called bio-hyaluronate and natural extracts from apricot kernels, this cult favorite among beauty insiders promotes microcirculation, enriches the skin and aids in the elimination of fine wrinkles. The product also contains a silk fibroin derivative, a protein that reportedly holds up to 300 times its weight in water, which means it’s a good moisturizer.
www.kanebousa.com
Dermalab Swissline Cell Shock 50% Pure Cellular Extract – $265 for 8 0.1oz pumps/$331 per ounce
50% pure cellular extract provides a high concentration of biological lifting and moisturizing ingredients that are said to increase the skin’s oxygen absorption, stimulate cell metabolism and accelerate cellular reproductive activity.
Available at www.dermalab.com
Darphin Replenishing Anti-Wrinkle Serium – £310 for 10 0.1oz ampoules/$310 per ounce
This serum is reported to provide both greater elasticity with iris isoflavones and firmer skin with vital essence of mamaku. Horsetail extract is said to improve skin tone, while rose extract softens. www.darphin.com
Valmont L’Elixir des Glaciers – $490 for 1.7oz/$288 per ounce
With extracts of coneflower, sea buckthorn and rosa moschata (don’t worry, we’re not sure what those things are either), this haute-couture Swiss-made product is said to promote cellular exchanges, energize cell metabolism and stimulate the skin’s natural defense systems. Available at www.cvl-cosmetics.ch/
N.V. Perricone MD Neuropeptide Facial Conformer – $570 for 2oz/$285 per ounce
Dr. Nicholas V. Perricone, dermatologist and author of The Perricone Promise and The Wrinkle Cure, has an array of anti-aging skincare therapies, the most expensive of which contain peptides and neuropeptides–amino acids and substances released by the brain that are said to transform the skin.
Available at www.nvperriconemd.com
Orlane Hynotherapy – $470 for 1.7oz/$277 per ounce
Though marketed as a “psychodermic anti-aging product,” the age-defying capabilities of this cream seem to come from a rather obscure ingredient: red tocol arctic cranberry, which is said to have a high concentration of Omego-3 fatty acids.
AmorePacific Time Response Skin Renewal Crème – $400 for 1.7oz/$235 per ounce
AmorePacific has isolated and stabilized EGCF–the most vital ingredient in green tea–and adapted it for skincare. The company even cultivates its own green tea at the foot of Halla Mountain on Iush Jeju Island off the coast of Korea. Other key ingredients include a form of red ginseng that is purported to stimulate collagen synthesis.
Guerlain Sérénissima – $210 for 1 oz/$210 per ounce
Guerlain Sérénissima has Guerlain’s patented ingredient, H-Captine Complex, which is meant to hydrate and replenish skin. Ginko biloba is also added to preserve the skin’s elasticity.
Available at www.guerlain.com
Estée Lauder’s Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lifting Eye Crème – $100 for 1oz/$100 per ounce
With fifty-four ingredients from around the world–including a powder of crushed South Sea pearls that is said to even skin tone–Estée Lauder’s Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lifting Eye Crème is said to even skin tone and radiance. Moisture magnet hyaluronic acid also plumps the skin, thereby diminishing the appearance of fine wrinkles.
Available at www.esteelauder.com