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).
Key ingredients: Black diamond particles, centella asiatica extract
At a whopping $2190 per ounce (thereby blowing its competition right out of the water), 111Skin's face cream is about as high end as they come. The ostensibly pricey diamond powder is supposed to serve as an advanced delivery system for all the other ingredients, including collagen-stimulating centella asiatica extract, humectant hyaluronic acid, antioxidant vitamin E and more.
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.
