Orlane Creme Royale, one of Orlane's most expensive products at $382 per ounce, also contains gold, which continues to be a trendy skin care ingredient for its antioxidant and skin-firming properties even though it was named "allergen of the year" in 2001 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society (go figure!). And oh yeah, about that royal jelly? It's essentially the secretion of honey bees that is fed to bee larvae — a little gross, but hey, if it works, we're game.
Kanebo's cult-favorite moisturizer runs about $496 per ounce — but there's a good reason: Sensai claims it is the first line to introduce super-fine Koishimaru silk, once "reserved exclusively for the Japanese Royal Family's use," into its skin care. Extract from the silk supposedly hydrates skin and promotes hyaluronic acid synthesis, along with the other cell-renewing stimulants in the cream (Japanese seaweed extract, beta-carotene, and so on). So, essentially, you're getting the royal treatment.
Made from "over 30 ingredients" that were then "engineered into 5 revolutionary complexes," this fancy-pants skin care cream does not mess around (and for roughly $588 per ounce, it certainly shouldn't). It's packed with a "peptide blend of advanced factors" (aka growth factors) as well as a potent cocktail of botanical extracts, ceramides, hyaluronic acids, antioxidants and even a macro-algae-derived compound designed to soften lines.
Perhaps one of the most recently buzzed-about creams because of its indecent price tag, La Prairie's Cellular Cream Platinum Rare contains exactly that — the "most precious metal on earth." Contrary to popular belief, at $706 per ounce, it's not the most expensive or "over-priced" skin cream in the world — but it is more expensive than La Prairie's other offerings, Cellular Radiance Cream ($406 per ounce) and White Caviar Illuminating Cream Extraordinaire ($344 per ounce).
At first glance, the ingredient list for this $714-per-ounce cream doesn't look particularly unique. But mysterious acronyms abound, such as ACE (Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme), aka vitamin A, and MACC (Methyl Aminomethylcyclohexane Carboxamide HCI), which "strengthens the functions of lymphatic channels." Add hyaluronic acid, vitamin C-ethyl and rose fragrance (made from a "rare and special variety of rose") and you've got yourself one complicated-sounding cream that tops even Cle de Peau (their next-expensive cream, La Creme, is $442 per ounce).
Designer lipstick? $29. Top-of-the-line eyelash curler? $19. Eternal youth in a jar? Evidently, the sky's the limit. While beauty and skin care secrets go from today's obsessions with Botox and sunscreen all the way back to Cleopatra's milk-and-honey baths, maintaining a youthful appearance has always involved smooth, hydrated skin. That said, although the world's most legendary beauties regularly get expensive facials and splurge on high-tech treatments, we bet even they think twice about dropping an entire grand on a palm-sized tub of anti-aging moisturizer. (You read that right; we said "an entire grand.")
So what makes skin care so ridiculously expensive? Well, aside from the selling power behind a luxury brand name or celebrity spokesperson, trendy ingredients such as gold, platinum and caviar, time-intensive research, and impressive packaging are some of the main contributors to the whopping prices of face cream. And while many of these pricey products seem to work according to their fans, resentment over high prices can sometimes undermine their success. For example, Chanel's much-hyped Sublimage Essential Regenerating Cream was once called "a waste of time" that was "most certainly not worth even close to the price" despite pleasant reviews that called it a "miracle cream." Ouch.
While you need not be a Kardashian to afford effective, sans frills skin care), you can still get a kick out of these freakishly expensive anti-aging skin care creams — and the key (ingredients) to their success. Let your eyes do all the splurging on this one.
