Balancing Act

Chanel's White Essentiel Nourishing Whitening Cream is by far the best moisturizer I have ever used. I know I had been rather loose with the term "best" only because there is more than one product out there that satisfies each one of us whether in terms of performance, price point, or even fragrance, packaging and brand. 

I had second thoughts about the product when I bought it mostly because it cost me a whopping HKD 765 (roughly Php 4,000), by far the most I had spent on a pot of moisturizer. I was feeling adventurous when I shopped for skincare and cosmetics that day and simply asked the sales staff in The Lee Gardens branch of Chanel cosmetics to recommend a moisturizer that (a) suited my combination skin & (b) one that I could use in hot weather. Soon enough, I found myself shelling out more than what I had budgeted for, which was around HKD 500. At its price tag, I expected a moisturizer that came in a glass rather than a plastic container and a cream so thick I only had to use one tiny dot per application. I decided to go with the product, though, since up to that point Chanel skincare never failed to deliver and satisfy.

And so with all my expectations intact, I waited for the product to blow me away day after day. The realization that my new moisturizer is in fact a super cream came a couple of months into using the product.  See, when it comes to beauty products, the worn out adage Never judge a book by its cover always applies. In this case, never judge creams on the first week of using it unless of course the product caused rashes and breakouts. Going back to the cream, I noticed only recently, that is 4 months into using the product, that my skin was noticeably glowing, smooth and hydrated. My cheeks developed a natural rosiness that neither came from being exposed to sunlight or from blush ons. The usual one or two red spots that I had grown accustomed to were nowhere to be found. The super lightweight cream that I had almost deemed not worth its price was actually gradually changing the overall balance of my skin. Now, I'm thinking about picking up my next pot to see if it will continue to work its magic on me.


Update: as of my latest purchase, Chanel White Essentiel has been renamed as Le Blanc Whitening Moisturizing Cream. Everything is the same except for the packaging which is now a glass jar instead of a plastic one.