Chanel unveils No 1 beauty line fusing fragrance with skincare and sustainability

Chanel has unveiled a major new beauty launch, No 1 de Chanel that fuses fragrance with skincare with a focus on clean ingredients and minimal packaging that could signal a shift in the way it packages products across its range.

The No 1 de Chanel range centres on the revitalising benefits of the red camellia flower (the flower has been a house motif since its inception) and includes a tight edit of products including skincare, multi-use make-up and a fragrance mist.

Skincare includes a powder-to-foam cleanser, moisturising lotion, face mist, serum, face cream and eye cream with a focus on natural ingredients while multi-use make-up comes in then form of a second-skin effect foundation and a lip and cheek balm in six different shades.

To create the line, scientists at the French house worked with Professor Johannes Grillari from BOKU University, to study the process of senescence, which is central to each product. Most cells in the body can divide a limited number of times, but senescent cells stop dividing but are not eliminated, so they remain in the body. Chanel used models in its lab to mimic the first steps of senescence to test its plant active ingredients, including red camellia, and found that it could prevent the onset of senescence, even in a stressful environment, and enhance skin vitality by 67%.

But the approach to packaging is as interesting as the products themselves with Chanel dispensing of paper leaflets and shrink wrapping, as well as introducing refillable options and making use of recycled and recyclable materials. Some 80% of the line comes packaged in recycled glass. This could be a sign of what is to come across its celebrated beauty range.

The No 1 fragrance is also a major innovation and is designed to be a light option for everyday wear combining notes of citrus, red berries, jasmine and rose. It's designed to act as a treatment, as much as a fragrance, and promises to boost the skin's vitality.  Its introduction follows a year in which the house celebrated its emblematic No 5 fragrance, which was first introduced 100 years ago.

No 1 de Chanel is on sale now with prices starting at £38 for the lip and cheek balm and rising to £90 for the fragrance mist and serum.