Although flowers have been used in beauty potions since the dawn of time, modern science is still working to isolate and harness their most potent properties. Luxury brands have been implementing flowers in their products for years now, and the results have been nothing short of amazing, plus they've become very popular skincare products nowadays. Here are five luxury brands that use flowers in their skincare products (which you can easily find at any makeup store or pharmacy).
Flowers in Skincare Are a Must for These Five Luxury Brands
It's incredible to see how flowers just make anything better. Whether they be gifted to make someone smile, or bought to be placed at your favorite spot at home, even to having them present in your skincare products, flowers have so many uses and benefits that many may not be aware of yet. If you're a skincare junkie, you'll want to pay close attention to these luxury brands using flowers in their skincare lines, proven to have effective results overall (with frequent use of course).
1. Chanel - Camellia Flower
The Chanel No. 5 has been around for a century, and in that time, the Maison had earned a reputation for using the crème de la crème of flowers in its skincare. Its most recent blockbuster beauty collection, No. 1 De Chanel, exemplifies this. The camellia, the brand's emblematic bloom, and Gabrielle Chanel's favorite flower are at the collection's heart.
Chanel has cultivated the flower in open-air laboratories in Gaujacq village, southwest France, since 1998. The camellias are grown in the ground using environmentally friendly agricultural practices. The project is a collaboration with Jean Thoby, a camellia expert whose botanical conservatory garden houses the two mother plants of Camellia Japonica Alba Plena.
Chanel's research uncovered the benefits of red camellia extract from the Camellia Japonica 'Czar' species. The odorless flower has an enduring quality, as evidenced by petals unaffected by water or cold. They are hand-picked at full turgescency and contain protocatechuic acid, a powerful and nutritious molecule not found in the previous camellias studied. This species, in particular, can support skin vitality, translated into the No.1 De Chanel range, which addresses the first stage of skin aging. Its antioxidant content rejuvenates and keeps skin looking young.
The formulas in the collection contain up to 97% natural and renewable ingredients, with camellia derivatives accounting for 75% of the total. Various plant parts are used in the formula and packaging to reduce waste. The extract is used for its rejuvenating properties, while the camellia water soothes. The oil obtained by pressing the seeds keeps the complexion moist, while the seed shells are used in the 'Revitalizing Cream' packaging.
The range comprises nine products, including the new Powder-To-Foam cleanser that becomes creamy upon contact with water. Other skincare products include a pore-tightening lotion, a revitalizing serum, a smoothening cream, and an accompanying eye cream to target dark circles and puffiness. As for makeup, red camellia oil is infused into the hydrating foundation, and lip and cheek balm. The Léau Rouge Revitalizing Fragrance Mist keeps skin fresh all day while functioning as a fragrance. The camellia is odorless, but its scent is reimagined as a floral bouquet of jasmine, orange blossom, and rose. An exquisite skincare and makeup line with the benefits of the camellia flower! PS: the camellia is also Chanel's fashion emblem.
2. Guerlain - The Orchid
The luxurious Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Cream, a cult beauty elixir for over 15 years, is synonymous with the most advanced orchid skincare research.s. Endowed with extraordinary longevity, these blooms provide potent cosmetic anti-aging properties. Guerlain's Orchidarium's most recent research has discovered the secret of infinite longevity, which was discovered in the deepest roots of an extraordinary duo of orchids chosen from over 30,000 species.
The first is Gastrodia Elata, a legendary herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine that grows in the mountains of Yunnan and other parts of China. Aside from its exceptional regenerating properties, a precious fraction extracted from its roots has been found to immediately combat a lack of cell oxygen and to protect skin cells. The second is the Dendrobium Fimbriatum, which lives on the surface of tree trunks or branches and can remarkably survive. Its extraordinary aerial roots, in particular, synthesize a wide range of molecules.
The regenerative power of both orchid roots has now been concentrated in the cutting-edge Orchid Totum technology. This molecular extract, which is made up of many different molecules, helps to regulate cell respiration, fight hypoxia, and, for the first time, targets a longevity enzyme, PHD3, which can dramatically reverse the visible signs of aging. Guerlain collaborated with the prestigious Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich to discover the enzyme.
Aside from the Orchid Totum, the Guerlain Orchidée Impériale Cream 2022 has an exceptional sensory feel infused into a formula made up of 96% naturally derived ingredients. The cream is ultra-fine, soft and emollient, rich and plumping, and provides all-day hydration. After seven days of use, study subjects aged 18 to 72 had skin that appeared three years younger, based on a comparison of dermis density using approximately 6,000 skin ultrasounds. Dermatologists' clinical evaluations also revealed a significant improvement in the visible signs of aging, ranging from increased radiance to wrinkle reduction to increased hydration.
3. Clé de Peau Beauté - The Rose
Clé de Peau Beauté's Synactif collection, inspired by detoxifying spa treatments and backed by cutting-edge science, was launched in 2004 and sits at the pinnacle of the luxury Japanese beauty brand's offerings. It targets the skin's natural impurity removal processes and supports the skin's self-beautifying system for youthful, radiant, sculpted beauty.
Synactif is a complete and holistic regimen that provides a combination of efficacy and experience, the latter of which is enhanced in part by a key ingredient: the Synactif Rose. It was first commissioned by France's renowned Delbard nursery in search of a fragrance that would embody the relaxing, harmonious, and purifying qualities of the Synactif line.
So perfect was the result that the rose won the Best Fragrance Award at the Bagatelle International Rose Competition. The fragrance is inspired by the moment the flower blooms, releasing its precious scent for a mere few hours in the mornings of May. It was then incorporated into each step of the Synactif regimen to offer the ultimate sensorial experience.
4. Dior - The Longoza Flower
The longoza flower, grown in the Maison's garden in the heart of the Indian Ocean, is the secret behind Dior's Capture Totale collection. Madagascar is home to a biodiverse ecosystem with 13,500 endemic flowers, 75 percent of which are not found anywhere else.
A Dior garden in the Ranomafana area of the rainforest combines traditional hand-harvesting with a rigorous extraction method. The house has been researching the legendary longoza for 30 years. The scarlet flower, which means 'eternal' in Madagascan, never dies and regenerates when cut, earning it the nickname 'Phoenix flower'.The longoza can resurrect itself in the harshest of environments. As a skincare extract, it has a powerful regenerative quality in the face of cellular fatigue - a condition in which cells struggle to renew and absorb nutrients, leaving the complexion vulnerable to visible signs of aging. The extract helps the skin's mother cells by resetting them with powerful nutrients to restore the complexion's radiance.
This year, after five years of research, Dior unveils its breakthrough development of the Longoza-Ferments Blend – a first in the Capture Totale range. The biotechnology solution is created through a 10-step flash multi-fermentation process, during which the flower is put into contact with 10 ferments for 10 days. In its natural state, longoza seeds contain 50 active molecules. This innovation maximizes their active molecular content, triggering optimal efficacy and ability to be absorbed by the skin.
The newly launched Capture Totale Intensive Essence Lotion contains a 75 percent infusion of this potent blend. This high concentration helps the skin cells to achieve the house’s pillars of skin quality including clearness, moisture, and strength. With daily application in the morning, the skin is reset for the day. Plumpness and radiance are restored, while signs of fatigue and stress are visibly reduced.
5. Lancôme - Absolue Perpetual Rose™
The rose may be the world’s most well-known and adored flower. A symbolic flower in so many moments of life, it’s also a primary part of Lancôme’s heritage as a beauty brand. The first rose was created for Lancôme in 1973 and is known for its exceptional color and long-lasting blooms. It was the first rose used in biotechnology for skincare. Now, 37 years later we feature a new variation of the precious flower at Lancôme with the Absolue Perpetual Rose™.
What is the Absolue Perpetual Rose™? A unique hybrid rose with more than 80 white, scented petals, it has been carefully curated for use in our skincare. An ode to the luxurious anti-aging skin care products they create, it’s almost as though this rose is powered by the secret of youth. Unlike other roses that just bloom once or twice per year, this rose continuously blossoms in every season, thus showing its exceptional vitality as a true phenomenon of nature. Not only have roses been used for their skincare line, but also as part of their perfume collections.
Lancôme's International Scientific Director, Dr. Annie Black, explained what the composition is of the Absolue Perpetual Rose™ extract and why is it unique compared to other roses. According to Dr. Black, the unique terroir of the Plateau de Valensole contributes to the one-of-a-kind potential of this rose. Part of the Verdon Natural Park, near the Gorges du Verdon and its lakes in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, the privileged location benefits from a climate that is half-Mediterranean and half-Alpine and allows for exceptional quality roses to be grown on the Plateau.
The beautiful rose fields of the Plateau de Valensole are carefully overseen by third-generation farmer, Madame Emmanuelle Ravel, who ensures each rose receives the love and care it deserves. The exquisite rose fields contain over 5,000 different rose bushes which bloom on three acres of land and are grown according to organic farming principles.
The Absolue Perpetual Rose is organically grown and special care and consideration are in place for the extraction process. Hand harvested in the early morning when the flowers start to bloom, the roses are swiftly brought to the nearby factory for extraction. The secret is to waste as little time as possible between the harvest in the fields and the extraction process. It is extracted for its use in skincare uniquely and sustainably, captured through a unique green technology process that enables upcycling of ingredients that were previously discarded for use in the company's skincare formulas. In this process, CO2 is leveraged to extract the exclusive rose molecules while producing minimal rose bio-waste.
Grand Rose Extracts is Lancôme’s Proprietary Blend of rose extracts sourced exclusively from the South of France and is infused in their Absolute Skin Surface Cell Renewing Serum. In this formulation, the Absolue Perpetual Rose™ is paired with Rose Centifolia extract, also known as Rosewood, an ingredient that was usually discarded during extraction, but is now upcycled and used for the first time as an antioxidant.
It's amazing to see how flowers are being used more and more for different purposes. If you're keen to hype up your skincare routine, these might be the next products you're looking for.
Header image by @chanelbeauty
