When Guerlain launched Youth Watery Oil back in 2013, it was instant love for me and has been the one product I maintain in my skincare routine to this day, often regardless of what other range/brand I might be testing at any given time. For 2021, this cult-fave oil has been reinvented as Advanced Youth Watery Oil — and while I wouldn’t have believed something so amazing could be improved upon, it actually has. There’s a reason that one bottle of this precious oil is sold every 26 seconds; it delivers.
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From Guerlain’s bee initiative on Ouessant Island, France
If you follow me on Instagram (@ommorphia) then you’ll have no doubt seen me posting about this beauty on my stories. “Coco” — as I’ve named her — isn’t technically my cat, but has been coming to my yard & home daily since April and has more or less ‘adopted’ us. She is absolutely gorgeous & the friendliest feline on the planet … with a an epic curiosity to match. As I was setting up my props for this post, she immediately took the opportunity to jump in and be a part of it all; turns out, she’s the best prop of all!
As a Guerlain Bee, I was invited to a private virtual cocktail event hosted by Guerlain and featuring Belvedere Vodka. A few days before the event, I received a box containing everything needed to prepare a signature honey-based cocktail … all I had to do was add ice & enjoy … which I absolutely did!
Right before the Advanced Youth Watery Oil launch event, all the Guerlain Bees (I believe we’re about 10 across Canada) were invited to a private virtual cocktail with Belvedere Vodka — a Polish brand whose beekeeping & sustainability initiatives closely align with those of Guerlain — where we learned how to make a signature honey cocktail. I can’t express how absolutely delicious, fresh & bright this was … and I’m definitely planning on making more!
Abeille Royale Advanced Youth Water Oil (CAN $194.00/50 ml, 1.6 fl oz) | Reinvented to meet today’s standards, this cult-fave oil still comes housed in the iconic honeycomb-inspired bottle, but which now includes 10% recycled glass in its composition. Even its outer box (which is made of recyclable FCS cardboard) has been redesigned to adjust to the size of the bottle, thus reducing packaging to only what is strictly necessary. So what’s new? For starters the formula now contains 95% naturally derived ingredients, with the remaining 5% helping to optimize its integrity over time. More importantly, however, the legendary Black Bee Honey from Ouessant Island (France), is now enriched with 3 other honeys from equally legendary places: Corsica (France), Ikaria (Greece), and Åland (Finland). For 2021, Guerlain created the BEELAB: the first research platform dedicated to bee products and their power to repair the skin, and based on intensive testing and information from this platform, the brand has developed Black Bee Repair Technology that is said to act on “5 different levels, with skin repairing itself 9x faster than before“. Dispensed via a pipette/dropper, another star ingredient in the formula resides with the micro-beads of Commiphora Oil (myrrh) that melt on contact with the skin, leaving no greasy residue behind. The crowning touch has to be the complete traceability of all the ingredients, sourced from beekeeping methods that are not only respectful of bees, but of the environment as well. I can’t think of any other luxury brand that goes this extra mile, so … well done, Guerlain.
Advanced Youth Watery Oil may in fact be an oil, but it feels ultra light, smells absolutely divine, is absorbed well into the skin without any tacky residue, and can be used a multitude of ways; after cleansing and before your serum to help plump, smooth, and illuminate the skin, as the final step in your skincare routine to “lock in” all ingredients applied before it (that said, I prefer adding this oil right before my other cult-fave from this range, the Double R Renew & Repair Serum), during the day by pressing it gently over your makeup using the palms of the hands to help refresh & revitalize the skin, or finally by adding a drop to your foundation to help moisturize & smooth the skin. With consistent use, what you’ll get is a complexion that’s visibly plumper, which in turn almost seems to”fluff up” fine lines (and thus making them appear less noticeable), a more even tone, and a gorgeous healthy-looking radiance to cap it all off. Not bad, huh?
About the BEELAB: a multidisciplinary platform, it’s split into 3 research areas with global scientific visibility. Each is led by a renowned scientific expert — a leading figure with recognized work & publications, helping to push the standards and expertise to the highest levels. The 3 hubs — The Bee, Bee Products, and Skin Repair — interact to find solutions to fundamental questions about bee products, as well as selecting raw materials in order to find new cosmetic applications for the skin. In a nutshell, there’s a ton of science-backed research & product development that go in the making of every single product in the Abeille Royale range. A TON.
By the way, I highly recommend you visit Guerlain’s website to learn the unique massaging technique with this oil. I confess that I don’t always do all the massage steps, but when I do, my skin has an absolute WOW moment … I guess that means I should stop being lazy and do the technique all the time, lol
What you’re looking at here, are my treasured bottles of this oil — minus several empties that have long since been recycled. If you consider the scope of my beauty/skincare collection as well as everything that comes in on a frequent basis, the fact that this product is one I’ve gone through multiples of, speaks for itself.
When I was approached to become an ambassador for Guerlain, I had no hesitation as this is a brand I’ve long been a loyal fan of and what’s more, the Abeille Royale skincare range checks off all my boxes: products that provide visible results, are created mindfully, and back a worthy initiative — bees & their survival, a cause that’s so close to my heart. Considering that the original Youth Watery Oil has been one of my staples since its launch, I had no doubt I’d absolutely adore the Advanced version — and I was right. Plus the fact that it now also contains honey from my beloved mother country Greece, only makes me love it more!
Available at Sephora, Shopper’s Drug Mart/Pharmaprix, Holt Renfrew/Ogilvy, Nordstrom, Guerlain Boutiques and online
Kindly provided by Guerlain for my unbiased consideration