Disclaimer: The product featured was provided for review.
I am always testing out new face masks but even the most expensive face masks I've tried never cost over $100. So imagine my shock when
Lancome sent over their new
Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask, priced at a whopping $450 CAD! Formulated with rare Damascus rose and dog-rose oil perfectly encapsulated in micro-pearls that preserve the ingredients' freshness, the Rose Serum Mask is certainly a thing of luxury. I've given the product a few tries so I'm ready to share with you my thoughts on this decadent face mask. To read on, click.......
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| Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask |
Packaging:
The Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask comes in a large and luxurious gift box (as one would expect with such an expensive skincare item). Inside is a hefty glass jar holding the Ultimate Mask Rose Pearls (30ml) and an adorable dish and spoon set for mixing the mask. Below the jar is a pull-out drawer containing 14 individual tubes of the Ultimate Mask Serum Base (8ml). By doing a little calculation, I was able to determine that the kit contains a total of 142ml of products and because there are 14 individual Serum Bases (ie. 14 uses), each treatment consists of ~10ml of product.
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| Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask |
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| Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask |
Formulation:
The Rose Pearl portion of the mask consists of "perfectly controlled concentrations of rose essence" encapsulated in little squishy beads using an "advanced microfluidics encapsulation technology. Also contained in the pearls are apricot oil, hyaluronic acid, and carrot root extract. The Serum Base packaged in the individual one-time use tubes, on the other hand, contains sodium citrate, glycerin, flax extract, and peony extract.
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| Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask |
The main highlight of the Rose Serum Mask is that it is prepared fresh before each use so all the ingredients remain potent and intact. To prepare the mask, use the included spoon to scoop one spoonful of Rose Pearls into the included dish. The dish has a tiny depression on the bottom; one scoopful of Rose Pearls should just form a single layer in the little reservoir.
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| Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask |
After scooping out the Rose Pearls, break open a tube of the Serum Base and squeeze its content into the dish on top of the pearls. Next, gently mix the serum with the pearls and wait approximately three minutes until the pearls are completely dissolved.
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| Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask |
Finally, after the mask preparation is fully mixed, apply on cleansed skin and leave on for five minutes. Before we delve into the result, it's worth mentioning how amazing this mask smells! With a blend of rose with what smells like a dash of peach, the scent is literally heaven!
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| Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask |
The Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask has a very light and slightly runny cream-texture. After application the mask feels immediately tingly-nowhere as intense as a peeling mask but strong enough that I felt a bit of discomfort. After five minutes, the mask doesn't set but dries just a tad. It removes easily with the help of a damp washcloth and my skin feels noticeably softer, very much like a baby's bum if I do say so myself. My face looks brighter and completely refreshed and I feel that mask also had a bit of a firming effect. Admittedly the mask is fantastic, but is it $450-fantastic? Probably not given how many reasonably priced high-end face masks are out there. With that said, this is hands down the most luxurious face mask I've ever tried, both in terms of packaging and formulation.
Availability:
The Lancome Absolue L'Extrait Ultimate Rose Serum Mask is available online at
Lancome.ca and in stores at Lancome counters.
