Chanel Blue Serum

Do you know what a 'blue zone' is...? We admit: nor did we. But these turn out to be areas of the world where people live longest. They include Sardinia in Italy, the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica, Ikaria in Greece and Okinawa island in Japan. The idea, then: Chanel has harnessed some of the key anti-ageing botanicals from those areas: Costa Rican green coffee, Sardinian olive and lentisque (they spell it lentisk) from Greece. From extracts, powerful ingredients have been harnessed in Chanel Blue Serum.

But as ever, a product only works if you use it. This sounds like the most obvious beauty advice any beauty editor dished out anywhere ever – but the simple fact is that the pleasure factor is key, and this definitely scores. It's lightweight, it smells pretty (slightly powdery, rather than aromatic), and – look in the mirror, here – it seems to give skin an energising 'jolt'. If your budget is fairly 'luxe', it's a beautiful addition to a skincare regime. Long-term benefits? Too soon to tell. But diligence, as ever, is the watchword (and do use the technique we detail below).

Goes right back to what we were saying: use it. Or forget about results.

A bonus, so far as we're concerned – and something we think we'll be seeing more of from them – is that Chanel is really working to minimise packaging, here: the outer cardboard peels off, revealing the pump-action bottle within. (So: no guilty chucking of a Chanel box straight in the bin.)

Chanel Blue Serum/£81 for 30 ml at johnlewis.com

PS It comes with a special application technique, below, for optimum results.

• 1 - Jawline: pressure points from the medium line between the chin and lower lip, then deep smoothing movements to the earlobes.

• 2 - The corners of the lips: pressure points from the corners of the lips, then deep smoothing movements on the cheeks to finish on the ears.

• 3 - Nostrils: pressure points from the external part of the nostrils, then deep smoothing movements to the temples.

• 4 - Forehead: pressure points with all the fingers from a vertical line in the middle of the forehead, then deep smoothing movements to the temples.

• 5 - Temples: perform 3 circular movements on the temples with the fingertips, then go behind the ears and finish down to the clavicles.