See What Happens When We Asked Cool Girl Dawn Koh To Try Out Chanel's New Sublimage L'Extrait De Nuit Serum

You can’t deny the benefits of sleep on the complexion.

The general rule of thumb: adults need between eight and nine hours of rest daily with doing so at night – when most of the body’s restoration work occurs – being key.

This in turn helps to optimise everything from metabolism to mental health and, yes, skin renewal. But that’s easier said than done – especially now. 

According to an article in Time magazine in June, our quarantine life may have put our body’s biological clock in a funk. Working from home and being less exposed to outdoor light and darkness can screw with the circadian system, it seems.

READ MORE: The Importance Of Beauty Sleep And How To Look Fresh And Rested Without It

Dr David Neubauer, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a faculty member at the school’s Sleep Disorders Center shared: “Maybe you’re staying up later, eating regular meals in the evening, but snacking or napping during the day. We have had people in whom circadian rhythmicity disintegrates.”

Introduced in stores here recently, Chanel's Sublimage L’extrait de Nuit is no sleep doctor-in-a-bottle, but can be said to come close. The latest newcomer to the brand's premium Sublimage range, this night serum is purportedly the first in the industry to be based on chronobiology, a field of science that studies how the day-night cycle affects human organisms when the earth rotates. (Consider it the sibling to the cult Sublimage L'extrait treatment released five years ago.)

Created by the team at Chanel Research, its formula contains a naturally derived chronopeptide that essentially helps skin reset its biological clock and activate cell renewal. Giving this honey golden concentrate an added mega dose of regenerative power are the stem cells of the Vanilla Planifolia plant and a complex of fermented floral elixirs.

READ MORE: 5 Classic Skincare Ingredients Your Skin Will Thank You For

Fans of Sublimage would be familiar with the Vanilla Planifolia, an orchid species that's central to the range. Its stem cells produce active molecules that boost skin's rejuvenation process. One of the floral elixirs in L’extrait de Nuit is also distilled from it and helps shield against free radicals; the other is extracted from orange blossoms grown in southeastern France and is known to improve skin detoxification.

Ultimately, what users get is a luxurious yet lightweight serum that promises to have the same protective, strengthening and reinvigorating effects on skin as a solid night of good sleep.

To put this sensorial miracle worker to the test, we roped in skincare enthusiast Dawn Koh, aka the fashionably adventurous yet effortlessly cool co-founder of Singapore cake company Chalk Farm.

READ MORE: Chanel’s Latest Sublimage Range Is Couture Skincare In A Jar

The Le Cordon Bleu London-trained Koh embodies the busy woman for whom Chanel's Sublimage L’extrait de Nuit was made. "There is no one size fits all approach. And less is more," she says of her skincare routine. "My night time routine involves a cleanser, serum, eye cream and moisturiser. If I’m feeling in need of an extra boost, I throw on a leave-on mask."

With that in mind, we set Koh on a 21-day-long trial with L’extrait de Nuit as part of her routine before bed. Below is her weekly diary of the experience, selfie included.