Luxury skincare has superior ingredients, packaging and results.
Luxury skincare also appeals to your sensory, emotional and fantasy desires.
As such, luxury skincare is expensive.
Is luxury skincare worth the money?
This article will discuss:
- What is luxury?
- What is a luxury brand?
- Why buy luxury goods?
- What is luxury skincare?
- Is luxury skin care worth the money? 7 things to look for:
- 1. The results of luxury skincare
- 2. The ingredients of luxury skincare
- 3. The active ingredients of luxury skincare
- 4. The packaging of luxury skincare
- 5. The brand - founder, brand story, ethics
- 6. Customer Service- shipping policy & return policy
- 7. The experience of luxury skincare
- Summary
- References
What is luxury?
Luxury is an indulgence in something that provides pleasure, satisfaction, or ease.
Luxury is difficult to define, as luxury is a relative concept.
Historically, the term “luxury” was applied to products that were both rare and scarce and available only to the elite few (Nueno and Quelch, 1998; Hauck et al, 2007).
Luxuries were items controlled through that scarcity or by sumptuary laws (Hauck et al, 2007).
Sumptuary laws were common in the 13th to 15th centuries to prevent extravagance in private life by restraining luxury goods, such as clothing, food, and furniture (Black's Law Dictionary).
Historically, sumptuary laws were intended to regulate and reinforce social hierarchies and morals.
During the Industrial Revolution, more wealth was brought to the masses and luxury became more attainable. As a result, the “democratization” of luxury since the 19th century occurred at such a pace that luxury itself was constantly being redefined (Hauck et al, 2007).
At the end of the nineteenth century, a new definition of luxury emerged: “things you have that I think you shouldn’t have” (Twitchell, 2003, p. 43).
The goods and services once reserved for the elite became more available to everyone (Hauck et al, 2007).
Over the past two decades, the luxury market has undergone some dramatic changes. A variety of goods are now classified as luxury goods, including wine, automobiles, fashion, food, jewelry, perfume, makeup and skincare.
What is a luxury brand?
"Luxury brands are associated with consumer perceptions of a high level of price, quality, aesthetics, rarity, extraordinariness, and a high degree of non-functional associations" (Heine et al, 2012).
Some dimensions are present in multiple definitions such as high quality, rarity, premium pricing, and a high level of aesthetics (reviewed by Ko et al, 2019).
In 2019, Eunju Ko and colleagues summarized the literature on luxury brand marketing, and provided a definition of "what is a luxury brand?"
"A luxury brand is a branded product or service that consumers perceive to:
- be high quality,
- offer authentic value via desired benefits, whether functional or emotional,
- have a prestigious image within the market built on qualities such as artisanship, craftsmanship, or service quality,
- be worthy of commanding a premium price; and
- be capable of inspiring a deep connection, or resonance, with the consumer."
The average luxury brand is associated with three characteristics: high price tag, high quality and aesthetics. Typically, luxury brands or products will attempt to associate their brand name with these three associations and to show their target consumers that their brand encompasses these three features. The average luxury brand also has a clear brand identity and signature, places emphasis on product integrity, and offers their products at a premium price (Genier, 2014).
Why buy luxury goods?
There are many reasons why people buy luxury goods, including status and pleasure.
For younger people, the most important reasons for buying luxury goods are for improving the quality of life, pleasure and entertainment (Hack et al, 2007).
Research has shown that younger people are significantly more likely to self-gift and buy on impulse than older people. They are also more likely to buy for status reasons (Hack et al, 2007).
For older people, the most important reasons for buying luxury goods are for improving the quality of life, pleasure and relaxation (Hack et al, 2007).
Older people enjoy buying luxury goods and services to beautify their homes (Hack et al, 2007).
What is luxury skincare?
Luxury skincare is superior in terms of ingredients, packaging and results. As such, luxury skincare is expensive.
Luxury skincare also appeals to your sensory, emotional and fantasy desires.
Some examples of luxury skincare include:
May Lindstrom, Tata Harper, Vintner's Daughter, La Prairie, Sisley Paris, La Mer, Laurel Organics, and Dry Skin Love.
Learn more:12 Best Cleansing Oils - Luxury Skincare for Dry Skin
Is luxury skincare worth the money?
Luxury skincare can be expensive.
Is luxury skincare worth your money?
Here are 7 things to look for when determining to purchase:
- The results of luxury skincare
- The ingredients of luxury skincare
- The active ingredients of luxury skincare
- The packaging of luxury skincare
- The brand - founder, brand story, ethics
- Customer Service- shipping policy & return policy
- The experience of luxury skincare
1. The results of luxury skincare
Luxury skincare should deliver results and improve your skin.
For example:
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser is a luxurious experience that makes your dry skin feel clean, nourished, soft, calm and protected.
Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser is the best cleansing oil for dry skin.
After just one use of Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser, you will notice an improvement in the texture and appearance of your dry skin.
5 Benefits of Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser:
- Your dry skin will feel clean with skin barrier intact.
- Your dry skin will feel nourished with essential nutrients.
- Your dry skin will feel unbelievably soft and smooth.
- Your dry skin will feel calm and comforted.
- Your dry skin will feel protected.
Learn more: Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser - 5 Benefits Cleansing Oil for Dry Skin
2. The ingredients of luxury skincare
Luxury skincare products should contain premium ingredients.
Luxury skincare is made with premium ingredients, in terms of source of ingredients, processing of ingredients, performance, effects and results.
Premium natural ingredients
Dry Skin Love Skincare is made with natural plant ingredients that are minimally processed and unrefined, so they retain their nutrients, color and aromatic compounds.
Raw ingredients are more difficult to formulate with due to strong colors, aromas and inconsistent textures, and require more time, effort and knowledge to work with, compared to refined ingredients.
However, unrefined plant ingredients are superior in their benefits for skin care, as they are packed with nutrients, including vitamins, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds.
We put incredible thought and effort into sourcing our precious ingredients.
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser is made with nutrient-rich plant oils, herbs, flowers, microalgae extract and aromatic essential oils.
Every single ingredient has multiple benefits for your skin.
Learn more: Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser - Full Ingredients
Extra virgin coconut oil
Virgin coconut oil makes your skin feel soft and lubricated.
Read more: 5 Benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil for Your Dry Skin
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser contains organic extra virgin coconut oil that is cold-pressed and unrefined. Our coconut oil is Fair Trade and comes from a sustainable source.
Our virgin coconut oil has a strong natural coconut aroma that is rich, buttery and sweet.
We infuse our virgin coconut oil with calendula flowers, chamomile flowers and whole vanilla beans, resulting in a rich, creamy, decadent aroma.
Learn more about our Signature Aroma
Apple seed oil
Apple seed oil (Pyrus malus) is cold-pressed from seeds that would otherwise go to waste in the juice industry, and is considered a ‘zero waste’ seed oil.
Apple seed oil can soften your skin and strengthen your skin barrier.
Read more: 5 Benefits of Apple Seed Oil for Your Dry Skin
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser is made with organically crafted, cold-pressed apple seed oil.
It has the most delightful aroma.
Top notes of real apple - sweet, complex and mouth-watering, with hints of marzipan. Fresh, warm and comforting. It smells divine.
Hemp seed oil
Cold-pressed, unrefined hemp seed oil (Cannabis sativa) is a rich vibrant green and is packed with essential nutrients, including fatty acids, vitamins and antioxidants.
Hemp seed oil makes your skin feel nourished, soft and calm.
Read more: 5 Benefits of Hemp Seed Oil for Your Dry Skin
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser contains organic hemp seed oil that is cold-pressed and unrefined. Our hemp seed oil is from Canada. It has a rich vibrant green color and a grassy aroma.
3. The active ingredients of luxury skincare
Luxury skincare products should contain high concentrations of active ingredients or more unique ingredients, which all add to their cost.
Active ingredients such as fatty acids, ceramides, vitamins, antioxidants, and humectants can be very expensive.
Active ingredients have multiple benefits for your skin, including anti-inflammation, anti-aging and antioxidant activity
Active ingredients can target particular skin concerns, including dry skin, redness and inflammation, aging skin, sunspots, and barrier repair.
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser contains several active ingredients, including:
- Vitamin E from sunflower seeds
- Chamazulene from blue chamomile
- Astaxanthin from microalgae
Vitamin E protects skin against sun damage
Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that can protect your skin from stress, UV damage and premature aging. It can also keep your skincare fresh longer, as vitamin E prevents oxidation and rancidity in oil-based formulas.
The best evidence for a beneficial role of topical vitamin E exists for photoprotection. Many studies have shown that applying vitamin E prior to ultraviolet exposure significantly reduces acute skin responses, such as erythema and edema, sunburn cell formation and lipid peroxidation (Thiele et al, 2007).
Chronic skin reactions due to prolonged sun exposure, such as skin wrinkling were also diminished by vitamin E skincare (Thiele et al, 2007).
Skincare containing a-tocopherol at concentrations ranging from 0.1% to 1% are likely to be effective skin care measures to enhance antioxidant protection of the skin barrier (Thiele et al, 2007).
Interestingly, researchers have shown that rinse off products containing vitamin E as alpha-tocopherol in concentrations as low as 0.2% leads to significantly increased levels of vitamin E in the stratum corneum of human skin and protects against lipid peroxidation in vivo (Ekanayake-Mudiyanselage et al., 2005).
However, not all vitamin E is the same.
Most skincare contains a cheap form of vitamin E that can keep skincare formulas fresh but may not have additional benefits for your skin.
Vitamin E as α-tocopherol may be more efficient in antioxidant production of skin surface lipids and skin barrier constituents compared with vitamin E esters (Choi et al, 2019).
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser contains a premium vitamin E blend called TocobiolⓇ. It is naturally derived from 100% non-GMO sunflower seeds.
It is naturally rich in mixed tocopherols, including 70% alpha tocopherol, 10% beta and gamma-tocopherol, and 18% delta-tocopherol. It also contains moisturizing phytosterols and squalene.
Blue chamomile calms redness and inflammation
Chamomile flowers are rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes, including α-bisabolol, β-farnesene and chamazulene (Srivastava et al, 2010).
Chamazulene, a blue-pigmented sesquiterpene, is formed in the heat during steam distillation from the parent chemical, matricin, a constituent found in the raw plant material, specifically the flowers.
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser contains two types of chamomile extracts.
We use dried whole, organic chamomile flowers that we infuse into organic virgin coconut oil for its warm, calming aroma.
We also use organic blue chamomile CO2, which is rich in potent anti-inflammatory sesquiterpenes, with 24% α-bisabolol, 26% β-farnesene and 15% chamazulene.
Astaxanthin is a potent antioxidant
Astaxanthin is a type of carotenoid pigment that is bright red to orange in color.
Carotenoids constitute a large family of fat-soluble isoprenoid pigments widely recognized as bioactive, responsible for many of the yellow-to-red colors in flowers, fruits, vegetables and microorganisms.
Astaxanthin is a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory and has many benefits for your skin (Davinelli et al, 2018).
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser contains astaxanthin derived from microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis.
Learn more: Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser - Full Ingredients
4. The packaging
The packaging of luxury skincare is a very important consideration.
First off, do you like the packaging?
Do you like how it looks? Do you like the label? Do you like the colors? Do you like the font? Do you like the brand messaging?
Do you like how the packaging feels in your hand? Does it feel heavy and satisfying? Does it feel expensive?
Is the packaging high quality? Does it last throughout the use of the product?
Does the packaging protect the skincare? Does the packaging keep the skincare protected from UV light, air exposure and microbial contamination?
Is the label easy to read? Does it contain relevant information? Does it offer clear instructions?
Is the packaging reusable or recyclable?
Dry Skin Love Packaging
Dry Skin Love packaging is elegant and functional.
From the Miron violet glass to our custom-made boxes.
Dry Skin Love skincare is packaged in Miron violet glass to protect our precious ingredients from light and keep them fresh.
Our glass bottle in topped with a pump lid so less air is in contact with the cleanser, meaning less oxidative damage, so our product stays fresh longer.
Miron violet glass is visually stunning and feels sleek and heavy in your hands.
Miron glass is eco-friendly, made from natural raw materials, reusable and 100% recyclable.
Dry Skin Love product boxes are custom made in Canada.
The ink is vegetable based. The product box is 100% recyclable.
Learn more about Dry Skin Love packaging
5. The brand - founder, brand story, ethics
Do you connect with the brand story?
Who is the founder?
What are the brand ethics?
Founder Dry Skin Love Skincare
Dry Skin Love skincare is founded by scientist Dr. Natasha Ryz.
Dr. Natasha Ryz designs skincare products for beauty, dry skin and pain relief.
Dr. Ryz has a PhD in Experimental Medicine from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and she is a Vanier scholar. She also holds a Master of Science degree and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
Dr. Ryz is the former Chief Science Officer of Zenabis Global, and she oversaw cannabis extraction, analytics, and product development.
Learn more: Why I Started a Skincare Company - Dr. Natasha Ryz
About Dry Skin Love Skincare
Dry Skin Love skincare is made using plant oils, herbs, flowers, roots, plant extracts and essential oils.
We also use vitamins, antioxidants and other actives. We use active ingredients in their recommended amount. No more, no less.
All our natural ingredients are minimally processed to preserve nutrients.
We use natural ingredients that have a long history of safe and effective use
For every product we create, we consider the environmental, health and social aspects of every single ingredient.
Dry Skin Love Skincare is made with Fair Trade ingredients to ensure that producers, workers, and farmers receive fair wages and prices for their work.
Dry Skin Love Skincare is made with organic ingredients to limit exposure to pesticide residues. We use certified organic ingredients, organically crafted ingredients, and wild ingredients that are sustainable harvested in our formulas.
Our products do not contain petroleum-based ingredients, mineral oil, parabens, formaldehydes, siloxanes, synthetic or artificial colours or fragrances.
We do not test on animals.
Learn more: Dry Skin Love - How We Choose Skincare Ingredients
6. Customer service- Shipping policy & Return Policy
You should feel taken care of when you deal with a luxury brand.
From the availability of customer service, to ease of payment, a complimentary and fast shipping policy, so that you receive your product quickly.
Dry Skin Love offers complimentary shipping throughout Canada, with purchases over $80.
Love it or return it
We are deeply committed to giving you our very best service.
If you do not love your Dry Skin Love experience, we will accept any full-sized product for a return, as long as it is at least half full and received within 30 days of initial purchase.
7. The experience of luxury skincare
The experience of luxury skincare should be delightful.
From the moment you order, to using the product, you should feel well taken care of when you deal with a luxury skincare company.
You should feel like the company goes above and beyond a regular company does. From the availability of customer service, a shipping policy so that you receive your product in a timely manner, and a return policy if you don’t like the product.
You should feel special - you should receive samples, gifts and surprises when you order a product.
You should receive a hand-written card and genuine thank-you.
And finally, using the product should bring you joy, and it should feel worth it.
You should enjoy the aroma, the texture, the finish and the results.
A moment of luxury
Dry Skin Love Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser is a moment of luxury.
Cleanse, soothe and delight.
Envelop yourself in a sensory delight - from the vibrant color to the mouth-watering aroma, the rich texture, and the soothing finish.
All are designed with your maximum pleasure and delight in mind.
Using Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser helps you connect with your senses and with yourself.
It provides a ritual and a daily moment just for you.
A moment of luxury.
Learn more: Wild Orange Oil to Milk Cleanser - The Experience
Summary
Luxury skincare has superior ingredients, packaging and results. Luxury skincare also appeals to your sensory, emotional and fantasy desires.
As such, luxury skincare is expensive.
When determining is a skincare product is worth your money, it is important to do your research.
Some questions to ask:
- What kind of results can you expect?
- Are the ingredients high quality?
- What are the active ingredients?
- Do you like the packaging?
- The brand - founder, brand story, ethics
- Customer service- shipping policy and return policy
- The experience - how will it make you feel?
Do you think luxury skincare is worth the money?
References
Black's Law Dictionary. Sumptuary Laws. (6th ed.). 1999. p. 1436.
Choi EH. Aging of the skin barrier. Clin Dermatol. 2019 Jul-Aug;37(4):336-345.
Davinelli S, Nielsen ME, Scapagnini G. Astaxanthin in Skin Health, Repair, and Disease: A Comprehensive Review. Nutrients. 2018 Apr 22;10(4):522.
Ekanayake-Mudiyanselage, S., Tavakkol, A., Polefka, T.G., Nabi, Z., Elsner, P., Thiele, J.J. Vitamin E delivery to human skin by a rinse-off product: penetration of a-tocopherol versus wash-out effects of skin surface lipids. Skin Pharma. Skin Physiol. 2005.18, 20–26.
Genier, Roxanne. (2014). Defining the characteristics of luxury products. Available. Defining The Characteristics of Luxury Products - Agence Luxury Accessed: April 1, 2021.
Hauck, W. E., & Stanforth, N. (2007). Cohort perception of luxury goods and services. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal.
Ko, E., Costello, J. P., & Taylor, C. R. (2019). What is a luxury brand? A new definition and review of the literature. Journal of Business Research. Volume 99, June 2019, Pages 405-413.
Nueno, J.L. and Quelch, J.A. (1998), “The mass marketing of luxury”, Business Horizons, Vol. 41 No. 6, pp. 61-8.
Srivastava JK, Shankar E, Gupta S. Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Mol Med Rep. 2010 Nov 1;3(6):895-901.
Thiele JJ, Ekanayake-Mudiyanselage S. Vitamin E in human skin: organ-specific physiology and considerations for its use in dermatology. Mol Aspects Med. 2007 Oct-Dec;28(5-6):646-67.
Twitchell, J.B. (2003), Living It Up: America’s Love Affair with Luxury, Columbia University Press, New York, NY.
Author Information
Dr. Natasha Ryz is a scientist, skin care expert and an entrepreneur. She is the founder of Dry Skin Love Skincare, and she creates skincare products for beauty, dry skin and pain relief.
Dr. Ryz has a PhD in Experimental Medicine from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and she is a Vanier scholar. She also holds a Master of Science degree and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
Natasha is the former Chief Science Officer of Zenabis Global, and she oversaw cannabis extraction, analytics, and product development. Her team brought 20 products to market including oils, sprays, vapes and softgels.
Why I Started A Skincare Company