Chanel Hydramax+ Active Serum

Sometimes a product gets sent to me and I drool over its gorgeousness before acknowledging that it's not going to be right for me. One such was Chanel's Hydramax+ Active Serum, and while I knew it wouldn't be enough for my skin, this merely meant one of my willing army of Beaut.ie bots, eh I mean testers,  would get to check it out instead

So I wistfully handed it over to the other Beaut.ie sister, who's in her late 20s with normal skin, and a bit of a budding skincare junkie.  Everyone likes getting a bit of Chanel to fondle - that's a Known Fact - and she's previously used and loved the Moisture Boost Fluid in the range, but given our CEC, is this €67.50 bit of kit worth the spend? I want to know if it provides performance enough to justify the outlay.

“I initially really liked the packaging and the smell, it's a nice neat bottle in its own box, and the smell made me think it would be light and refreshing on my skin,”  she reports.

Well that's all well and good, sister dear, but what's it like to use? I've fallen victim in my time to waaaay too many sticky serums that I've just hated using.

“I got into the habit of using it every morning: I start off by cleansing my face with L'Occitane cleansing foam, then lightly apply the serum onto my newly cleansed and dried face. It spreads and sinks in easily, smells really clean and refreshing and makes my face feel, well - lifted or something! That or 5 years younger anyway!” she reveals.

Those are the immediate effects – is it doing anything after a few weeks of use? “It seems to moisturise my nose and chin area well without either drying the skin out or making it greasy, so blackheads are noticeably down in those areas,” the sister says, adding, “all in all, my face does feel an awful lot smoother and softer since I started using the serum, so if I can afford its price tag I would definitely buy it again when this one runs out.”