Cart (0)My family and I were recently on vacation with relatives. One of the guests had a couple of small Lancome skin care products. Being a skin care formulator, I do what most formulators do, I look at the ingredients, which meant in this circumstance, I had to find the ingredients online. I then wanted a quick, unbiased comparison of the Lancome product to one of ours. So decided to use ChatGPT. I chose our newest product: Enlive - Advanced Skin Complex, and plugged in the Enlive's ingredients, then found the ingredients to the Lancome product, and phrased the question this way:
Question to A.I. (ChapGPT) - In theory, how would the ingredients of Enlive ($50/2oz) compare to this luxury brand: Lancome Renergie Lift ($140/1.7oz)?
Ingredients:
Enlive: Organic aloe vera, virgin grape seed oil, organic beeswax, vitamin E (in sunflower oil), plant-based emulsifying wax, organic cocoa butter, plant-derived moisturizer (propanediol), organic vegetable glycerin, betaine (natural skin hydrator), organic shea butter, organic coconut oil, organic castor oil, organic extra virgin olive oil infused with calendula flowers, organic jojoba oil, organic honey, organic lecithin, stabilized vitamin C (ELA), benzyl alcohol (natural preservative) and sorbitan caprylate (natural emulsifier and preservative support), xanthan gum, n-acetyl cysteine (antioxidant amino acid), alpha lipoic acid, resveratrol, arginine (amino acid), glyceryl caprylate (natural skin conditioner), caprylyl glycol (natural skin conditioner), green tea extract, grape seed extract, chamomile extract, coenzyme Q10, biotin, vitamin D3. Essential oils: bergamot, grapefruit, mandarin, orange, geranium, jasmine, rose, palmarosa, ylang ylang, frankincense, patchouli, bitter orange leaf (petitgrain), vetiver, vanilla absolute.
Lancome: Yeast Extract – A mixture of sugars, vitamins, and amino acids, Rye Seed Extract.
Inactive Ingredients: Water, Dimethicone, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Beeswax, Poly C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate, Yeast Extract, Guanosine, Cyathea Medullaris Leaf Extract, Sucrose Stearate, Secale Cereale (Rye) Seed Extract, Tocopherol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Sodium Hydroxide, Red 4, Sodium Levulinate, Stearic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Adenosine, PEG-100 Stearate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Palmitic Acid, Silica, Chlorphenesin, Yellow 5, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethiconol, Limonene, Pentylene Glycol, Benzyl Alcohol, Linalool, Xanthan Gum, Cinnamic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Myristic Acid, Disodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Disodium EDTA, Citronellol, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Coumarin, Levulinic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Fragrance
ChatGPT Answer:
Looking strictly at the ingredient decks, I would say the two products are built on very different philosophies.
The Lancome Formula
The Lancome is primarily built around:
- Water
- Silicone system (Dimethicone, Dimethiconol, Crosspolymer)
- Humectants (Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol)
- Synthetic emulsion/thickener system
- A few featured actives:
- Yeast Extract
- Rye Seed Extract
- Guanosine
- Adenosine
- Standard preservatives
- Fragrance system
The majority of the formula is texture engineering and sensory optimization.
Its strengths:
- Extremely elegant skin feel
- Silky, velvety application
- Immediate cosmetic smoothing
- Excellent spreadability
- Stable shelf life
- Consistent manufacturing
A luxury customer will often perceive this as:
- smoother
- lighter
- more sophisticated
- more "expensive"
even when the biological activity is not necessarily greater.
Enlive Formula
The Enlive is built around:
- Aloe vera
- Multiple nutritive oils
- Beeswax
- Cocoa butter
- Shea butter
- Jojoba
- Honey
- Lecithin
Then a fairly substantial antioxidant system:
- NAC
- Alpha lipoic acid
- Resveratrol
- Green tea extract
- Grape seed extract
- CoQ10
- Vitamin C (ELA)
- Vitamin E
Then barrier-supporting ingredients:
- Betaine
- Honey
- Aloe
- Arginine
- Fatty acids from oils and lecithin
Then essential oils.
From a biochemical standpoint, Enlive contains dramatically more active biological material.
Anti-Aging Comparison
The Lancome formula's anti-aging story rests mostly on:
- Yeast Extract
- Rye Seed Extract
- Adenosine
- Guanosine
Those are respectable ingredients.
But compared with:
- Resveratrol
- NAC
- Alpha Lipoic Acid
- Green Tea Extract
- Grape Seed Extract
- CoQ10
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin E
the antioxidant load of Enlive is substantially stronger.
If I were evaluating purely on active antioxidant content:
Enlive wins easily.
Barrier Support Comparison
Lancome:
- Glycerin
- Beeswax
- Silicone film
Enlive:
- Aloe
- Honey
- Betaine
- Lecithin
- Jojoba
- Shea
- Cocoa Butter
- Grape Seed Oil
Again, Enlive is more biologically complex.
Skin Feel Comparison
This is where the Lancome probably wins.
Dimethicone and silicone elastomers are incredibly difficult to match.
The Lancome cream likely feels:
- smoother
- drier
- silkier
- less greasy
- more elegant
immediately after application.
Many consumers interpret this sensation as effectiveness.
Ingredient Cost Comparison
If I had to estimate ingredient cost per kilogram:
Lancome formula:
- Probably $20–80/kg raw material cost depending on brand sourcing.
Enlive:
- Probably significantly higher due to:
- CoQ10
- Resveratrol
- NAC
- Alpha Lipoic Acid
- Green Tea Extract
- Grape Seed Extract
- Honey
- High Vitamin E loading
- Multiple organic oils
I would not be surprised if Enlive's raw material cost exceeded many prestige retail creams selling for $150–300.
What a Cosmetic Chemist Would Notice
A cosmetic chemist looking only at the INCI lists would likely say:
The Lancome formula is optimized primarily for sensory experience and elegant aesthetics.
and
The Enlive formula is optimized primarily for biological activity and nutritional support of the skin.
Neither approach is inherently wrong.
One is:
- luxury cosmetic engineering
The other is:
- botanical antioxidant therapy
I assumed that the Lancome product would be focused on feel and cosmetic benefits, but our company focuses on the long term health of the skin, as well as cosmetic benefits. It is good to see that a general A.I. comparison reinforces this conclusion.
-James Perrin