The buying guide: Best luxury skincare products

Luxury skincare has never been more diverse, or more confusing, than it is in 2025. Every season brings a wave of new launches — some promising to erase wrinkles overnight, others to deliver radiance through rare ingredients sourced from across the globe. 

With price tags that often match a fine-dining experience or even a weekend getaway, choosing wrongly is an expensive mistake. After nearly a decade of writing about, testing, and frankly hoarding creams, serums, and essences, we’ve seen both the breakthroughs worth celebrating and the overhyped disappointments.

Which luxury skincare brand is best?

Still, what makes luxury skincare different from the rest isn’t only the price point; it’s the science and philosophy behind the brand. Sulwhasoo builds its entire identity on ginseng research, Clarins anchors its formulas in plant science, while Chanel treats skincare as an extension of couture. The best skincare brands don’t just sell hydration — they sell heritage, innovation, and a promise of transformation.

This top luxury skincare brand guide brings together the year’s most noteworthy luxury skincare launches. Each one offers something unique, from regenerative serums inspired by medical science to personalised collagen masks crafted for your exact skin needs.

Whether you’re searching for the best anti-ageing cream, a lightweight serum for humid climates, or a post-procedure recovery solution, these products represent the cutting edge of beauty in 2025. 

Think of it as your roadmap through the noise — a people-first guide designed to help you invest with clarity and confidence.

The truth is, there’s no single “best” luxury skincare brand. Sulwhasoo is revered for ginseng research, Clarins for plant science, Chanel for its high-fashion skincare couture, and Aesop for sensorial yet practical formulations. 

The right choice depends on what your skin needs — lifting, hydration, recovery, or radiance — and what philosophy resonates with you. This guide showcases ten standout launches of 2025 to help you decide.

Chanel SUBLIMAGE L’Extrait Huile Lèvres: Best for plump, hydrated lips

Chanel extends its most precious skincare line with the SUBLIMAGE L’Extrait Huile Lèvres, proving that top luxury skincare brands can reach even the lips. This treatment combines Vanilla Planifolia from Madagascar and Swertia extract from Bhutan with a strengthening peptide, regenerating lips overnight so they appear plumper, smoother, and redefined by morning.

Housed in a couture leather sheath woven with gold-lamé tweed by Maison Lesage, it embodies Chanel’s artistry as much as its skincare science. At $458, it is both a beauty treatment and a collector’s piece — indulgent, effective, and unmistakably Chanel.

Aesop Lucent Facial Refiner: Best for smooth, refined skin

Aesop’s Lucent Facial Refiner brings a new dimension to luxury skincare by merging gentle exfoliation with replenishment. This rinse-off mask combines BHA and PHA, providing an effective alternative to harsh physical exfoliants.

Vitamins B5, E, and F work in tandem to hydrate and nourish, while essential oils like frankincense and sandalwood lend a calming sensorial touch. The gel-cream texture feels indulgent, transforming exfoliation into a ritual.

With regular use, it smooths texture, refines pores, and brightens dull skin. Perfect for those with dry or sensitive skin, this is luxury exfoliation that delivers results while preserving comfort.

Clé de Peau Beauté Key Radiance Care: Best for complete facial care

Clé de Peau Beauté elevates daily rituals with its enhanced Key Radiance Care range, a three-step luxury system built on 40 years of research into “Skin Intelligence”. The regimen — serum, lotion, and moisturiser — works holistically to increase smoothness, glow, and firmness by over 30 per cent in just four weeks.

It uses rice koji fermentation and circadian rhythm science to strengthen the skin barrier and refine contours, while packaging is made with recycled glass to reflect sustainable luxury. 

For those seeking a complete, intelligently designed routine from one of the most prestigious luxury skincare brands, this collection stands apart.

Sulwhasoo The Ultimate S Cream Rich: Best for lifted, toned skin

Sulwhasoo’s The Ultimate S Cream Rich demonstrates why the brand continues to lead the Korean top luxury skincare brand. At the heart of this innovation lies the Ginseng Berry SR, a breakthrough ingredient discovered after more than 10,000 hours of research.

It works to lift the face along key areas such as the cheeks, jawline, and eye corners while delivering up to 100 hours of hydration. The cream also strengthens elasticity and restores radiance, giving the complexion a rejuvenated finish.

Even its Moon Jar-inspired packaging reflects Sulwhasoo’s heritage, making it a true collector’s item. For those seeking a luxurious anti-ageing cream that blends tradition with science, this is a standout choice.

IDS PepBlu Serum: Best for improving one’s skin barrier

IDS Skincare’s PepBlu Serum positions itself as a next-generation luxury serum built around regenerative science. Using synthetic growth factors like EGF and IGF-1, alongside blue copper peptides, it stimulates collagen production, strengthens the skin barrier, and reduces fine lines.

Unlike many serums, PepBlu is formulated to work seamlessly with other products, whether post-laser treatments or everyday routines. The texture is lightweight, absorbing quickly while delivering deep hydration.

For those seeking resilience, elasticity, and long-term skin health, this serum offers a powerful yet approachable entry into luxury skincare. It’s especially beneficial for sensitive or overworked skin in need of a performance boost.

Allies of Skin Founder’s Essence 56: Best for radiant, youthful-looking skin

Allies of Skin brings forward a unique proposition in the world of top luxury skincare brands with the Founder’s Essence 56. Containing 56 active ingredients — including Ellagic Acid, prebiotics, and a P.A.D. complex — it addresses multiple concerns at once: uneven texture, breakouts, pigmentation, and dullness.

Clinical self-assessments showed 94 per cent of users experiencing improved radiance within weeks. Lightweight yet potent, the fluid absorbs quickly and layers seamlessly under serums or moisturisers.

Developed personally by founder Nicolas Travis to meet his own skincare needs, this essence feels as thoughtful as it is effective. It is a modern luxury essential for those who want their skin to glow and reflect light beautifully.

Revagi The Recombinant Serum: Best for skin recovery, post-treatment

Revagi is rewriting the rules of post-procedure luxury skincare with its recombinant collagen serum. Inspired by tissue engineering originally designed for cardiovascular medicine, its SCIRA complex mimics natural collagen to support rapid healing and skin regeneration.

Already trusted by top plastic surgeons, it reduces redness, calms inflammation, and accelerates recovery after lasers or microneedling. Yet, its benefits extend beyond the clinic, doubling as a daily anti-ageing treatment that boosts hydration and restores firmness.

At SGD 225, Revagi bridges the gap between medical-grade science and luxury skincare, offering both immediate recovery and long-term skin resilience.

Clarins Double Serum Light Texture: Best for anti-ageing (oily skin)

Clarins celebrates the 40th anniversary of its Double Serum with a lighter formulation perfect for warmer, humid climates. The Double Serum Light Texture maintains the same powerful age-defying actives — including turmeric extract and 22 potent botanicals — but reformulates its lipidic phase for a 50 per cent lighter texture.

Clinical tests show enhanced firmness, hydration, and radiance, with a bare-skin effect loved by 96 per cent of testers. Ideal for combination and oily skin types, this version ensures everyone can enjoy Clarins’ iconic anti-ageing science without heaviness.

A versatile classic reimagined for today’s skincare needs, it offers proven results with a featherweight finish.

mtm labo Custom-Blended Collagen Mask: Best for customised collagen infusion

Luxury takes on a bespoke edge with mtm labo’s Custom-Blended Collagen Mask. Each mask is infused with freeze-dried Type I and III collagen, activated before use with a Japanese onsen essence from Shimane Prefecture, known for its skin-healing waters.

What sets it apart is customisation: Clients undergo a professional consultation to determine which botanical extracts will be blended into their personal onsen essence. The result is a treatment that strengthens collagen, restores elasticity, and deeply hydrates, tailored to the unique needs of your skin.

At $427, it exemplifies how luxury skincare can be couture-level personal.