Have you ever noticed the small rose on a bottle of Lancôme Génifique serum – as well as every other Lancôme product? There’s a reason for it. Lancôme can trace its roots back to 1935 when it began as a fragrance house started by Armand Petitjean. The company was named for the ruins of castle Le Château de Lancosme and the roses that surrounded it. Lancôme launched with five different scents and continues to embrace a single rose as its symbol.
Since then, Lancôme continues to sell fragrance but has expanded to become one of the largest skincare companies in the world. One of its best-known products is the Génifique anti-aging serum. Here’s a look at Lancôme’s Génifique line, what it sells and is right for you?
OUR TOP SKINCARE PICKS
| Rank | Brand | Link | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carrot & Stick | Review | |||||
| 2 | Formulyst | Review | |||||
| 3 | Skinceuticals | Review | |||||
| - | Lancome Genifique |
Is Lancôme Génifique Worth The Money?
Lancôme Génifique skincare products are priced in line with department store finds. Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Serum starts at $52 for a .67ml bottle while the 3.4oz bottle retails for $178.
Advanced Genefique Starter Kit is $35, and the Advanced Génifique Yeux Eye Cream is $67. Génifique Youth Activating Second Skin Mask contains six sheet masks and sells for $107.
In our opinion, Lancôme Génifique products aren’t worth the money, simply because there are other skincare brands that offer similar products that are less expensive.
One brand is Carrot & Stick, a clean skincare brand that perfectly balances the gentle nurturing of plants with the powerful results of innovative science.
What is Lancôme Génifique?
Lancôme Génifique is an anti-aging serum that launched in 2009. The company says that the formula was inspired by 14 years of research and 197 formulation trials.
Since then, over 15 million bottles of Génifique have been sold worldwide. The formula (and packaging) underwent a makeover in 2013 and became Advanced Génifique.
Lancôme promises results in just seven days with the product, and says that it can help improve the skin’s “radiance, elasticity, firmness, skin tone, and smoothness.” The Génifique line also includes an eye cream, eye serum and masks. Products are sold individually as well as in kits.
How Does Lancôme Génifique Work?
Lancôme Génifique says that its users will have smoother, brighter-looking skin in just one week. The formula for the serum is patented, and one of the key ingredients is bifidus extract, which Lancôme says helps strengthen and protect skin’s moisture barrier. Bifidus extract is a pro-probiotic bacteria. Some studies suggest that as an antioxidant, it may help prevent damage from UV light and may help soothe sensitive skin while helping to strengthen the skin’s barrier.
Other key ingredients include hyaluronic acid, a moisturizing all-star that can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water and helps draw moisture to the skin, as well as dimethicone, which helps fill in fine lines temporarily and makes the product glide onto the skin.
What Products Are In the Lancôme Génifique Collection?
Lancôme Génifique started with just the serum but now includes a small range of products. Here’s a breakdown.
Advanced Génifique
One of the key ingredients is bifidus extract, which Lancôme says helps strengthen and protect skin’s moisture barrier. Bifidus extract is a pro-probiotic bacteria. It also contains Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C and Glycerin.
Alternatives: Carrot & Stick The Repair Serum. It contains 7 plant-based peptides to help promote smoother looking skin.
Advanced Génifique Hydrogel Melting Sheet Mask
The single-use sheet mask is designed to strengthen and protect the skin’s moisture barrier. One sheet mask contains the same amount of bifidus extract found in a full 30ml bottle of Advanced Génifique serum.
Advanced Génifique Yeux Eye Cream
This eye cream has a gel-like texture and is formulated to improve the look of dark circles while hydrating the eye area.
ALTERNATIVES: If you are concerned about aging around the eyes , one product we recommend is Carrot & Stick The Eye Cream.
Advanced Génifique Eye Light Pearl
Instead of tapping the product on with your pinkie, this eye serum comes with a 360-degree eye massage applicator. The serum is meant to leave the eye area looking brighter and firmer.
Génifique Youth Activating Second Skin Mask
A single sheet mask contains half a bottle of the Genefique serum, and is designed to deliver a boost of moisture and leave skin looking brighter.
Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Starter Kit
This $35 kit contains two Advanced Génifique Hydrogel Melting Masks, a small bottle of Advanced Génifique Youth Activating Concentrate and Advanced Génifique Yeux Youth Activating Smoothing Eye Cream.
Advanced Génifique Regimen Activating & Illuminating Set
This skincare kit includes four products-Crème Radiance, a foaming cleanser, as well as the eye serum, eye cream and a melting mask.
What Ingredients Are in Lancôme Génifique Skin Care Products?
The Lancôme Génifique serum, which forms the basis for the Génifique line, is formulated with commonly used skincare ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, which holds up to 1,000 times its weight in water, as well as dimethicone, which helps the product glide on to the skin and temporarily fills in fine lines.
The key ingredient is the probiotic bifidus extract, which is thought to boost hydration and protect the skin’s barrier. This ingredient is also found in Estée Lauder’s Advanced Night Repair.
Other ingredients include glycerin, a humectant, and hydroxyethylpiperazine ethane sulfonic acid. Known as HEPS, it helps establish a neutral pH in water-based skincare products.
Serums contain a higher concentration of active ingredients and penetrate deeper into the skin. Our favourite serum is Carrot & Stick The Repair Serum. It contains 7 peptides for smoother, firmer looking skin.
Where Can I Buy Lancôme Génifique Products?
Lancôme Génifique products are available on its own website, and in department stores such as Macy’s, Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Saks and Bloomingdale’s. Lancôme is also sold at Ulta and Sephora.
Is Lancôme Génifique Cruelty Free?
SkinCeuticals is owned by L’Oréal, and according to the company, L’Oréal “does not test any of its products or any of its ingredients on animals and has been at the forefront of alternative methods for over 30 years.”
Do Lancôme Génifique Skin Care Products Work?
When trying to decide if a product works, it’s important to keep in mind that everyone’s skin may react differently to the same product, so a little trial and error and some research into customer reviews are always helpful.
According to Lancôme, the product has received over 130 international awards and says that clinical results after eight weeks on 34 women showed improvement in these areas: radiance was boosted by 52%, texture +57%, resiliency +49%, elasticity +50%, firmness +49%, sagginess +46%, fine lines +42%, wrinkles +46%, clarity +47%, and even skin tone +42%. Lancôme’s own website has over 16,000 reviews of the Génifique product, with more than 10,000 reviewers giving it five stars.
Feedback includes “This is my everyday serum for life!! I love it. This gives my face a natural glow” and “I love the way my skin feels after using this product. Not heavy or greasy… YES!.” Customers who gave it a low rating complained that it caused irritation or did nothing for their skin. Others were put off by the fragrance. “I was really excited to try this item. However, it broke me out SO TERRIBLY — I have never seen my face break out the way that this serum has!! I am beyond disappointed for such a supposedly luxurious item to be destroying my skin! My skin has never been the same after using this product. What a shame.”
On Sephora, Lancôme Génifique gets over 40,000 “loves” and has a 4.5 out of 5 star rating from nearly 1,200 reviews. Fans call it “the holy grail” and “worth every penny.” Customers who didn’t like the serum said it made their oily skin worse, or did nothing for them.
The product has scooped up its fair share of editorial awards. Allure’s readers gave the product a Reader’s Choice award for three consecutive years (2011-2013) and New Beauty’s readers named it The Best Anti-Aging Serum in 2015. British Good Housekeeping tested the serum in 2018 and gave it a 77/100 score. The Good Housekeeping Verdict was “The light texture of this serum absorbs quickly into the skin, without any oily residue. A couple of testers initially found it tight on the skin, but this subsided with further use. Over 80% said that skin felt smoother and 78% said that skin appeared brighter.” The magazine noted that some reviewers found the serum to be sticky and that more than the recommended three drops of serum were needed to cover the face and neck.
TheFutureDerm.com reviewed Lancôme Génifique in 2010 and gave it a 3 out of 10 product rating, citing that the ingredients were not impressive. MakeupAlley users give it 3 out of 5 stars from around 400 reviews, and 42% of customers recommended it.
What Are Some Alternatives to Lancôme Génifique?
If you’re looking for skincare products to address the signs of aging, we recommend Carrot & Stick. Carrot & Stick maximizes the use of powerful ingredients and minimizes the use of superficial ones, resulting in advanced skincare solutions that help promote healthy, more youthful-looking skin.
Michelle Foley Original review: Sep 15, 2023.
I’ve used Lancome Genifique for 10yrs. During that time I’ve noticed a definite improvement in my skins tone and brightness. I was born and raised in Florida, USA but have NEVER been a sun bunny as I have fair skin, hair and eyes. But even so, when you live in the sunshine state you’re exposed to UVA/UVB on a continual basis. Lancome products have always been a constant in my makeup regime. The products are expensive! BUT I trust the name and years of science and research. I will continue to be a loyal follower.💗
BTW… I’m 51 and no one EVER guesses me to be over the age of 40 EVER!! I wish we could upload photos! 😆