What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (2025)

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Is there really such a thing as the best moisturiser? The short answer is yes. And with Winter’s chill hitting hard, there’s never been a better time to invest in luxurious creams, emollients and balms that are guaranteed to offer an essential hit of hydration.

If you’re searching for moisturisers that truly deliver, let your skin be your guide. There’s no need for a long hard look in the mirror — it is January after all — but take a moment to determine which key areas need a little extra attention. Is your skin flaky, cracked and sore? You’re most likely experiencing the effects of the harsh winter and suffering from extremely dry skin. Opt for thick-textured moisturisers to help protect your skin barrier. If you’re feeling especially tight and looking dull, your skin may be dehydrated, which is where moisturisers rich with hyaluronic acid come in. And don’t be fooled if you have combination or oily skin — you’ll still want to add a moisturiser into your routine. In fact, skipping this basic skincare step could actually be counterproductive, resulting in overproduction of oil as your skin tries to compensate.

These days the most coveted prestige face creams can set you back more than a grand — and that’s just for 50ml. But what exactly are you paying for? Rare, precious ingredients, state-of-the-art labs devoted to research, and top-tier scientists working tirelessly to create serums and lotions that might actually make a difference.

Keep scrolling to discover the best luxury moisturisers on the market.

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (1)

Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream

Professor Augustinus Bader has become a household name when it comes to luxury skincare, but before the sleek indigo and rose gold packaging, there were over 30 years of research, development and exploration into the body’s capacity to heal. With a deep passion for stem cell biology and regenerative medicine, Professor Bader developed the groundbreaking Wound Gel in 2008 — a cream so potent and transformative it healed severe skin traumas without the need of surgery or skin grafts. At the heart of Augustinus Bader’s entire skincare range is TFC8® (Trigger Factor Complex), a blend of natural amino acids, vitamins, and peptides. The brand’s iconic Rich Cream is a thick, emollient-like product, ideal for colder climates. Over time, it works to maintain the elasticity of skin by preventing transepidermal water loss from your natural barrier. Expect more supple, plump and smooth skin and even reduced signs of fine lines, wrinkles and hyperpigmentation from first application.
Details £240 for 50ml, Augustinus Bader

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What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (2)

Chanel Sublimage L’extrait de crème

Chanel’s latest Sublimage skincare range is a compilation of over two decades of research, including studies into the effects of circadian rhythms on the skin. These studies uncovered that sleep is essential in order to maintain good skin as it gives cells time to repair and rejuvenate. As it turns out, a moisturiser which gives the effect of a good night’s sleep on your skin may just be priceless. If you’re unable to get those essential hours in bed, then adding Chanel’s nourishing moisturiser L’extrait de crème to your nighttime routine promises to rejuvenate skin by accelerating its natural reviving mechanisms. Active fractions of Vanilla Planifolia act as an antioxidant, while squalane hydrates and Licorice root extract brightens.
Details £530 for 50g, Chanel at Harrods

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (3)

La Prairie Life Matrix Haute rejuvenation cream

At £1,550 a tub, La Prairie has raised the bar when it comes to luxury moisturisers. Since the 1930s, longevity science and the pursuit of eternal youth has been a key focus at the legendary Swiss clinic, Clinique La Prairie. Research over the following 90 years have resulted in the new Life Matrix Rejuvenation cream which launched at the end of last year. The transformative skincare product enables skin cells to live their best lives and behave like a more youthful version of themselves. The structure of the skin is strengthened with increased collagen content, resulting in visible improvements in firmness, elasticity and plumpness in your complexion.
Details £1,550 for 50ml, La Prairie at Harrods

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (4)

Sensai The ultimate cream

Designed to support the skin’s natural repair system, this cream’s rich formula is probably best suited to post-menopausal skin as it is thick and super-hydrating. It works to lock in vital moisture with Sakura extract, rice bran oil and Koishimaru silk, which research shows has some parallels with human skin proteins. It also contains enzymes that transport ingredients to the dermis layer of the skin to stimulate hyaluronic acid production. In late 2024, the cream’s ingredients were upgraded with the addition of a protein that supports fibroblast cells, promoting the production of collagen and elastin.
Details £670 for 40ml , Sensai at Harrods

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (5)

Genaissance de la Mer: the Serum Essence

Back in the 1950s, aerospacephysicist Dr Max Huber suffered a lab explosion that left him with severe burns to his face. As part of his quest to heal his wounds, he discovered Miracle Broth, a blend of fermented giant sea kelp, vitamins and minerals that went on to become Crème de la Mer’s calling card. A more concentrated version of this formula came about when a scientist at the Max Huber Research Labs discovered crystals forming in a beaker of Miracle Broth that were even more potent than their progenitor. After countless experiments to recreate the phenomenon, Genaissance de la Mer was born. Crafted in small batches, the signature fermentation process takes three to four months. The Essence claims to help skin to appear smoother, tauter and more polished by strengthening the skin’s barrier, which weakens with age.
Details £690 for 30ml, La Mer

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (6)

Sisley Supremÿa la Nuit the supreme anti-aging skincare lotion

The ultimate beauty sleep, this deeply repairing cream jump-starts a glowing complexion by working on three key factors of skin renewal. First, scientists have discovered that it’s not only the brain but also the skin that releases melatonin (the sleep hormone) while we snooze, and it is this topical melatonin that plays a fundamental role in regulating our skin’s nocturnal cycle. The bad news is that the older we get, the less melatonin we produce. However, Sisley has developed a “Fundamental Regeneration Complex” that works to stimulate the production of melatonin in skin, compensating for its decrease due to ageing and stress. This complex also encourages the production of sirtuins (youth proteins). The foremen of the skin structure, these cells are in charge of quality control and ensure that when cells replicate, they are healthy. Lastly the formula also works to detox skin by stimulating a process called autophagy — a form of cellular cleaning that helps cells to eliminate oxidised proteins — so, come morning, your skin should be clearer and brighter.
Details £580 for 50ml, Sisley at Harrods

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What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (7)

La Prairie Platinum Rare haute-rejuvenation cream

Inspired by the work of Dr Paul Niehans, a pioneer of regenerative medicine who was based at the Clinique La Prairie clinic in Switzerland, this cream is designed to help slow the ageing process by reanimating sluggish cells. As we age, cellular activities slow and over time the stem cell activity in the different layers declines, causing weaker function and thinner skin. This formula is centred on La Prairie’s secret, patented cellular complex, which works on epidermal stem cell renewal, helping to speed up cell turnover as we age. It is paired with a platinum multipeptide (a mix of three peptides attached to spherical platinum particles) that supports collagen formation and the cell renewal process. Surprisingly for such a potent cream, Platinum Rare feels light and does seem to smooth skin, and clinical trials have proved that long-term use can help to re-establish skin density.
Details £1,395 for 50ml, La Prairie at Harrods

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (8)

Clé de Peau Beauté Synactif cream

Backed by 20 years of extensive research into the lymphatic system in collaboration with the Cutaneous Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, the aim of the Synactif line is to target the skin’s natural processes of purification. It’s inspired by detoxifying spa treatments and the theory is that the removal of impurities (such as cellular debris and altered proteins) creates an optimal condition for the skin to thrive and regenerate. Clé de Peau, which is owned by the Japanese skincare giant Shiseido, has access to a dedicated research team that developed an effective botanical blend of lamium leaf, cinnamon and white mulberry bark extracts that were found to help keep the skin’s natural purifying network in the best condition and slow down deterioration due to ageing. Synactif Intensive Cream is formulated with no fewer than 20 active ingredients. Its unique manufacturing process and equipment, specially designed for this cream, means it takes three times longer to make than a conventional cream and only a few people are qualified to work on it. With continued use clinical evaluations showed an increase of skin firmness, elasticity and a brighter complexion from the first two weeks. The results of these clinical trials were further endorsed by consumers who said that their facial skin appeared clearer and firmer and had sharper contours.
Details £1,075 for 40ml, Clé de Peau Beauté at Harrods

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (9)

111Skin Celestial Black Diamond cream

Developed by the London-based cosmetic surgeon Dr Yannis Alexandrides, the Black Diamond cream contains NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine), an ingredient often used in hospitals to prevent side-effects caused by drug reactions and toxic chemicals and famously tested on astronauts in supplement form in space where it was found to inhibit fatigue. Back on Earth, rather than a pill, Alexandrides has created a topical NAC-Y 2, a proprietary blend of NAC with brightening vitamin C and horse-chestnut extract. Also in the mix are diamond particles that have a mild exfoliating action on the skin, as well as more traditional ingredients such as Retinyl Palmitate, a form of vitamin A that helps boost collagen, and hyaluronic acid for hydrating and plumping. Alexandrides says: “I measure the benefits of my skincare products in how they prolong my office procedures — they have to have visible results that enhance both my surgical and non-surgical treatments.”
Details £600 for 50ml, 111Skin

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (10)

Lyma Skin serum and cream

“A feat of engineering, this is less a moisturiser and more a topical treatment,” says Lyma co-founder Lucy Goff, who employed a team of plastic surgeons, dermatologists, geneticists and biochemical engineers to create this dynamic two-step routine. The formula is packed with cutting-edge active ingredients that give the products a strong medicinal smell and vivid mustard-yellow hue. These include SNAP-8, which minimises the appearance of expression lines by inhibiting acetylcholine (a neurotransmitter), which in turn reduces muscle contractions, so when you frown, grimace or smile the expression lines will be less pronounced. Then there’s Aurafirm P, an active ingredient derived from fermented oat — the fermentation process increases the concentration and bio-availability of key beneficial nutrients, allowing it to have prebiotic, probiotic and postbiotic effects on the skin. This helps to maintain the natural ratio of its microbial population. There’s also Quercetin, a natural flavonoid with powerful antioxidant activity — clinical trials have demonstrated that it can balance the skin when it presents allergy-like symptoms, thereby soothing and reducing redness. The formula is so comprehensive it must be applied in two steps: a serum first, followed by the cream. Recommended for those wanting results over a luxury experience.
Details £495 for 50ml, Lyma

What’s inside the £1,000 moisturisers? (2025)
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