Chanel Creams Compared: What the Ingredient Lists Share and Where They Differ
From N°1 de Chanel and Hydra Beauty to Le Lift and the Sublimage creams: we lined up the ingredient lists Chanel publishes to see what every cream shares and what sets each one apart.
- All 5 creams share 8 ingredients besides water. The shared list is short: humectants such as glycerin and sodium hyaluronate, two pH adjusters, a preservative, tocopherol and fragrance.
- What differs is the base: which ingredients come first, whether water leads the list, and how much oil, petrolatum, wax or silicone sits in the top ten.
- Every one of them contains fragrance.
At a glance
| N°1 de Chanel Cream | Hydra Beauty Camellia Water Cream | Sublimage La Crème Texture Universelle | Le Lift Crème | Sublimage L'Extrait de Crème | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ingredients | 35 | 34 | 56 | 38 | 63 |
| Where water sits | #3 | #1 | #1 | #1 | #1 |
| Oils, petrolatum, waxes in the top 10 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
| Silicones in the top 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Fragrance | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Labelled fragrance allergens | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Found only in this cream | 9 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
Ingredients are listed from most to least down to about 1%, so the first ten show what the cream is mostly made of.
The first ten ingredients
| # | N°1 de Chanel Cream | Hydra Beauty Camellia Water Cream | Sublimage La Crème Texture Universelle | Le Lift Crème | Sublimage L'Extrait de Crème |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camellia Japonica Flower WaterPlant extract | WaterBase | WaterBase | WaterBase | WaterBase |
| 2 | GlycerinHumectant | Camellia Japonica Flower WaterPlant extract | SqualaneEmollient | GlycerinHumectant | Coco-Caprylate/CaprateEmollient |
| 3 | WaterBase | SqualaneEmollient | GlycerinHumectant | AlcoholSolvent | GlycerinHumectant |
| 4 | Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl OlivateEmollient | GlycerinHumectant | Pentylene GlycolHumectant | PropanediolHumectant | SqualaneEmollient |
| 5 | Camellia Oleifera Seed OilPlant oil | AlcoholSolvent | Butylene GlycolHumectant | DimethiconeSilicone | Pentylene GlycolHumectant |
| 6 | Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) ButterPlant oil | Lauroyl LysineHumectant | Canola OilPlant oil | Lauroyl LysineHumectant | Butylene GlycolHumectant |
| 7 | Cetearyl AlcoholFatty alcohol | PropanediolHumectant | Cetearyl AlcoholFatty alcohol | Camellia Oleifera Seed OilPlant oil | Hydrogenated Canola OilPlant oil |
| 8 | Jojoba EstersEmollient | Hydrogenated Canola OilPlant oil | Camellia Oleifera Seed OilPlant oil | Coco-Caprylate/CaprateEmollient | Limnanthes Alba (meadowfoam) Seed OilPlant oil |
| 9 | Pentylene GlycolHumectant | Pentylene GlycolHumectant | Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) ButterPlant oil | Cetearyl AlcoholFatty alcohol | Cetearyl AlcoholFatty alcohol |
| 10 | Behenyl AlcoholFatty alcohol | DimethiconeSilicone | C12-16 AlcoholsFatty alcohol | Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP CopolymerThickener / texture | DimethiconeSilicone |
In every Chanel cream (8)
Besides water, these appear in all 5 lists. The brand’s own name for its signature ingredient does not appear on labels, which use standard (INCI) ingredient names.
ArginineCaprylyl GlycolFragranceGlycerinPropanediolSodium HyaluronateSodium HydroxideTocopherol
What only one cream contains
Chanel N°1 de Chanel Cream 9
Hydrogenated Ethylhexyl OlivateJojoba EstersBehenyl AlcoholCamellia Japonica Seed OilCeramide NPPhytosphingosineSodium PolyacrylateHydrogenated Olive Oil UnsaponifiablesSodium Gluconate
What the brand saysRed camellia face cream with camellia ceramides and a peptide that aims to plump, smooth and protect skin for a younger look.
Chanel Hydra Beauty Camellia Water Cream 7
Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root ExtractPEG-60 Glyceryl IsostearateSilicaAscorbyl GlucosideTin OxideTitanium Dioxide (CI 77891)Mica
What the brand saysLight illuminating fluid with camellia water that hydrates and leaves skin looking more luminous and even.
Chanel Sublimage La Crème Texture Universelle 2
Canola OilCitric Acid
What the brand saysUltimate anti-aging cream centred on Vanilla planifolia that aims to regenerate and smooth the skin, suited to all skin types.
Chanel Le Lift Crème 3
Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) ExtractIpomoea Batatas Root ExtractHydrochloric Acid
What the brand saysFirming face cream with alfalfa-derived botanicals that aims to smooth the look of wrinkles and give a lifted feel.
Chanel Sublimage L'Extrait de Crème 7
Vanilla Planifolia Leaf Cell ExtractSwertia Chirata ExtractEthylhexyl PalmitateSucrose LaurateSucrose PalmitateO-Cymen-5-OlCI 15510
What the brand saysRich double-emulsion repair cream built on Vanilla planifolia extracts and Himalayan swertia, meant to rejuvenate the look of skin and leave it radiant and toned.
How to read this
- An ingredient list shows what is in a cream, not how it feels. Texture and finish depend on amounts and processing the label does not show.
- “Only in this cream” is within this brand’s creams on our site; the same ingredient can be common elsewhere.
- Formulas change and can differ by country. Compare with the list on your own pack.
Questions
Are Chanel creams basically the same formula?
They share a core of 8 ingredients besides water, but the base around it is different in each cream — which is why the first ten ingredients look so different.
Why is water not the first ingredient in some of them?
Ingredients are listed from most to least, so whatever comes before water makes up a larger share than water does. Listed ahead of water — N°1 de Chanel Cream: Camellia Japonica Flower Water, Glycerin. None of these is an oil, petrolatum, wax or silicone.
Is there a fragrance-free Chanel cream?
Not among the 5 creams on this site — each lists fragrance. Each product page shows the labelled fragrance allergens under “Watch-outs”.
Sources: each cream’s ingredient list as published on the brand’s official website (linked on every product page). Ingredient types from this site’s ingredient dictionary.