The Solution (10) to all my sensitive skin problems

A quarter of this, a spoonful of that, and a little water, and voilà, my face cream is ready! It may sound like I am just trying out a DIY, miraculous beauty recipe I found online, but what I am doing today is actually quite serious. I am wearing a white coat, for a start, with a Chanel logo on my breast pocket — this is making me feel like a pro. I am surrounded by scientists with decades of experience under their belts, and I have a formula on my hands that is the result of year-long research. Let me tell you all from the beginning: I am in Pantin, a few kilometres outside Paris, in the labs that develops all of Chanel’s beauty products. We are here for one simple reason, which is to personally test La Solution 10, Chanel’s face cream specially suited for (permanently or temporarily) sensitive skin.

I must confess something here: I am 34 years old, and until a few months ago, I didn’t use any moisturiser for my face, simply because everytime I tried out cosmetics and skincare products, I always ended up with the opposite result of what I had set out to get. Instead of feeling like my skin was enriched by these treatments, I often ended up dealing with undesired side effects. The problem was, in short, that I have very sensitive skin. This means that it reacts negatively to a lot of products, even to those specifically made for sensitive skin. This was why when Chanel told me about La Solution 10, gave me the chance to visit their labs, as well as the opportunity to meet Dr Amy Wechsler, a dermatologist who would help me answer all my questions, I jumped at the chance.

So here I am, in protective goggles and a white coat, testing the formula that Chanel has developed for people like me, who have always struggled to find a treatment that suits their skin. According to research, it seems that a number of people have sensitive skin issues, and that the number of women with particularly sensitive skin is on the increase. This might be due to multiple reasons that range from pollution, to sudden changes in weather. The other culprit is stress. Not that kind of stress you can take care of by going on a vacation, but “chemical” stress, which kickstarts a series of changes in our cellular tissues, and can make our skin highly sensitive, and particularly reactive. How did Chanel manage to find a formula that can suit so many women? By following one simple rule: less is more. La Solution 10 owes its name to its composition of only ten ingredients, of which Silver Needle White Tea extract is the main one. The importance of this extract, which enhances your skin’s immune defenses, and gives it glow and moisture, was discovered in Chanel’s labs after years of research. The remaining ingredients list is simple enough to be written on the cream’s packaging, and it is thanks to this minimalistic approach that it can be applied successfully on so many skin types.

I ask the dermatologist all sorts of questions: can I use it every day? Can I use it as a base, and then match it to a more specific treatment, such as sunscreen? Will you start a makeup product line for sensitive skin? Can I keep this white coat? (Well, I tried.) The answer is yes to almost all questions. You can apply La Solution 10 de Chanel both on distressed skin only — when pollution is particularly bad, or after dermabrasion treatments — or as your everyday skincare, if you have sensitive skin. And yes: a makeup product line is on its way. And about that white coat… It seems like I will have to give it back. That’s too bad.