Chanel Ultra Correction Lift: Travel Essentials Set

April 6, 2011

My skin recently had a mini freak-out session due to weather changes and work stress. My usual go-to items weren’t doing anything to speed up the recovery and given the weather/seasonal changes I felt that my skin needed a change. (This happens around the same time every year and most of the time my skin clears up on its own.)

I spotted this cute set at Nordstrom a little over a week ago – perfect timing for me. New and limited edition, Chanel has released a mini travel skincare set in the Ultra Correction Lift formula. It retails for $175 with smaller trial sized items encased in a black zip pouch. As much as I love Chanel, my experience trying their skincare line hasn’t been wildly successful since they discontinued my favorite Age Delay line. I have tried the Ultra Correction Lift and Ultra Correction Line Repair range during makeovers (Chanel will often give you a wonderful mini facial to prep the skin) but was never quite sold. I decided to give this line a second try.

The ingredients, description and benefits according to Chanel:

Sculpting Firming Concentrate (0.5 fl. oz. airless pump) “ELEMI PFA* Derived from a pure botanical found in Indonesia, the Elemi tree, for traditional use in healing, and purified to its most potent essence. The unique ingredient helps boost the production of tensin — providing benefits beyond those of elastin and collagen — to help rebuild and strengthen the supportive dermal network. Skin appears lifted from within.
Lifting Firming Day Cream SPF 15 (0.5 oz. jar) An anti-aging treatment with high-performing star ingredient elemi PFA* stimulates the production of tensin, improving the quality of skin’s collagen and elastin fibers, and helping to improve their bonds within the skin to create a firm supportive network. Lush cream, luxuriously textured and delicately scented, delivers a very soft, matte finish, with ultimate comfort, for a visible lifting effect.
Ultra Firming Night Cream (0.5 oz. jar) High-performing star ingredient elemi PFA* stimulates the production of tensin, improving the quality of skin’s collagen and elastin fibers, and helping to improve their bonds within the skin to create a firm supportive network. Velvety cream, luxuriously textured and delicately scented, intensely nourishes for a plumping and firming effect, specifically formulated for skin’s night function.
Comes with two mini black spatulas for the creams

I asked my sales associate how much of a “deal” this was so pulled out her calculator for the breakdown. We did it in a hurry but found the set was approximately the same price proportionally. Concentrate retails for $165, Day Cream retails for $150, Night Cream retails for $165. To buy all 3 items in the full size would have cost me around $500.

While $175 is pricey for skincare that might not work, it certainly was a lot more affordable than buying three full-sized items for $400+. I thought this was the perfect set for me to try out and test everything given a few raves from my friends.

Thoughts to date: I have been using these items since the 26th of March (so approximately 11 days). I’ve been using the concentrate and day cream everyday under foundation. With the night cream – I haven’t been as disciplined and have only used it 3 times. I think I will need at least a full 3 weeks to make a concrete decision on how I truly feel about these. Skincare can take time to really take effect.

The first two days my skin became a bit red on the cheek areas, but I thought this could have just been to my own personal stress. I kept using it to see if my skin would improve. In addition, I got a sample of the new Express Lifting Firming Mask at the counter and tried that as well. After 11 days of testing my skin I have smoother softer skin. My disaster spots are almost gone. I don’t know that I will see any lift as I don’t really have any sagging areas yet on my face.

The Concentrate is a gel-like texture that applies smooth and non-sticky. My SA recommends patting it into the skin rather than rubbing, but I’m still more of a slathering-type of person when it comes to skincare. There is no detectable scent.

The Day Cream is on the thicker side with a slightly tacky feeling. It does dry down a little to be non-sticky. There is a noticeable scent which I cannot describe. It’s not overpowering and fades within a few seconds. I have a highly sensitive nose and cannot stand strong fragrances in skincare.

The Night Cream is thick but smoother than the day cream with the same scent. I haven’t been using the Concentrate with the Night Cream even though it is recommended. I personally would rather save it for the daytime.

I need a few more weeks to see if this is something that I like or if my skin is just simply getting better on its own. I will update in about a month with further thoughts. The packaging however is beautiful. The pouch is a decent size for travel and the black holder inside is easily removable so you can fit more items inside. The only downside is that is made of a nylon material which I think can get dirty easily if not careful.

Have you tried Chanel Skincare? If so – what have been your experiences? Any favorites? I’ve received countless samples of their Sublimage over the years – most of which I have gifted away. Every now and then I’ll try one of my samples and I find it too rich for my skin. Still, they are nice to try and I can’t tell you how many of my friends are always eager to take my unwanted samples off my hands.

FYI – a number of you have asked about my update on Vitalumiere Aqua foundation. It was reviewed in more detail a month ago, re-linked here for your convenience. Hope this helps!