The influence of the camellia flower on Chanel's DNA can be seen throughout everything the French atelier creates. Rumored to have been Coco Chanel's favorite flower, the blooms have been integrated
(both prominently and subtly) into the house's clothing, designs, fragrances, and skincare. Paper versions even adorn the brand's iconic shopping bags.
Traditionally, it's the white camellia flower that was a source of inspiration—but today the bold red camellia steps into the sun with the launch of No. 1 de Chanel. The nine-piece collection makes huge strides for the brand in the arenas of efficacious, clean skincare and makeup.
It took ten years of research at Chanel's Open Sky laboratory, located in the south of France before the scientists discovered No. 1 de Chanel's age-defying breakthrough: the red camellia extract. The ingredient is said to prevent skin cells from becoming sluggish, which results in dull, tired-looking skin (the fancy word for this phase is senescence).
Your skin can be sent into the senescence phase in several different ways, including internal aggressors (hormonal changes, stress, illness) and external factors like pollution or overexposure to the sun. But red camellia extract, which is filled with antioxidants, shields skins from these stressors, supporting each cell to function better and for longer.
No. 1 de Chanel is the cleanest skincare and makeup line, as well as the first refillable one, from the brand to date. The formulas are made with up to 76% of the anti-aging camellia (think petal and seeds)—allowing the skin to reap all its benefits—and overall, contain up to 97% ingredients of natural origins.
The eye-catching red bottles are green, too. The weight has been reduced by 30% (lighter shipping costs mean a lighter carbon footprint for each product) and the cap of refillable Revitalizing Cream isn't made of solid plastic. Instead, it's been hollowed out and filled with crushed camellia seeds—repurposing byproduct waste into something useful.
You can even get those anti-aging benefits from the ingredients in your makeup routine, too. There are 20 shades of the semi-sheer Revitalizing Foundation and six cream blushes that not only impart a dewy glow—each plump and infuses skin with antioxidants, too.
The full No. 1 de Chanel lineup includes a powder-to-foam cleanser, eye cream, serum, fragrance mist, foundation, and Revitalizing Lotion. And while the gorgeous design dons a signature red logo, you can use the products knowing that it's actually green.