Should You Spend $1,550 On An Anti-Aging Serum?
Lots of products out there promise to freeze your face in time. But with prices ranging from $5 to $2,000, how do you know which to believe? Dior’s newest treasure product is Prestige La Cure, a three-step anti-aging system that debuts in September and will retail for $1,550.
“Each of the three bottles are designed to work together over a timespan of three weeks, in order to create incredible results,” the press release for the product reads. “Week one resets the complexion, week two renews and week three perfects.” With a price like that for just three weeks of use, it had better perfect.
While we’re all for preventative treatments, keeping up with this product use forever is going to cost you. A year of everyday use will amount to a whopping $26,940.50 – exponentially more than a full face of Botox injections twice per year cost at top Manhattan dermatologist – around $1,500 per visit.
But is Dior’s new Prestige La Cure better than Botox? “Dior’s scientists extract active ingredients from the Dior Gardens’ rose de Granville at the height of its bloom, when its molecular power is three times more concentrated than any other time,” the press release asserts. “In order to capture the full potential of the rose, it must be picked within one hour of full bloom. As a result, Dior Prestige La Cure can only be produced in small amounts, making it one of the most rare skincare regimens available today.” While that explains the price, is the result all that it’s chocked up to be?
“For me, as a consumer, I look for evidence that a product works,” Cosmetic chemist Joyce de Lemos told Byrdie. “If I look at a brand like Murad, Perricone MD, or SkinMedica that actually puts forth the effort to create clinical tests, and shows me evidence that their product actually works, then at least I know I’m buying something that the company put money into proving.” De Lemos notes that buying into pricier products means paying for the “elegance” of the formula. High end skincare brands include a proprietary blend of ingredients in their products that can’t be found in the aisles of the drugstore. Some may have wonderful effects on your skin, but others may contain 90% water and 10% active ingredients, which will still be included on the ingredients list.
De Lemos advises looking for “tried and true ingredients that work. Retinol is one of them – so much science has been done on the value of it. Vitamin C, vitamin E, and ferulic acid have all been proven to work,” she says. “The takeaway is people should just note the main ingredients in the product they’re buying, do the research, and look for proof that it works.”
So what does this mean for Prestige La Cure? Its active ingredient hasn’t been backed by science – yet – so we’ll probably hold out on dropping this month’s rent on three weeks of serum, per de Lemos’s advice.
