Sorry, But I also regret to inform you this cult-favourite $240 serum is totally worth it - here's why
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When I first read the headline “I Regret to Inform You Vintner’s Daughter Is Totally Worth It”, I was hoping the exact opposite was true as I scanned over the product’s $240 price tag.
I generally become more interested in popular items after being simultaneously overwhelmed and underwhelmed by all the hype about them. My thought process remains the same: If everyone else is using it, why would I want to?
Maybe maintaining this avoidant behaviour is for the sake of preserving my own opinions and steering clear of the placebo effect that today’s health and wellness trends bring on, and it seems to bode me well.
Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum
SHOP IT: The Detox Market, $240
In the case of Vintner’s Daughter’s Active Botanical Serum, I recently forced myself to accept the fact that my skepticism over its “life-changing” results had been proven wrong six years after its initial release.
I’ve tested, used, reviewed, researched, seen and read about so many other moisturizing serums with gorgeous ingredient lists that contain nearly as many nutrients as the Active Botanical Serum, but I can no longer deny that it’s something special.
But is it really worth the $240 price tag? I just finished my first bottle - you can read my thoughts below.
The short answer
After much consideration, I would say yes - the Active Botanical Serum is worth what you pay for it, especially for how long the bottle can last you.
If you’re into skin care and have a constant rotation of products to run through, you’ll find this particularly true. As someone who writes a lot about beauty, skin care, and skin care products, I fall into this category and I’m almost embarrassed to admit that my first bottle of Active Botanical Serum lasted me about a year.
That said, I would recommend using it consistently after cracking the seal to preserve the freshness of the actives inside the sophisticated black and gold packaging.
The excitement over and devotion to the Vintner’s Daughter brand was something I experienced firsthand during the time I worked as a “Skin Expert” and Detox Ambassador at The Detox Market. Women from all over the GTA would call in looking for the stuff, claiming stake in our limited supply that was securely stocked in a cabinet as if it were a pile of precious jewels.
The list of awards that the Active Botanical Serum has won this year includes the title of Best Anti-Aging Moisturizer Oil from Harper’s Bazaar. The founding product in the Vintner’s Daughter line also ranks among 34 of the world’s best beauty products according to Vogue.
Inspired by founder and CEO April Gargiulo’s background in the world of fine winemaking, the Active Botanical Serum takes 21 days to produce, a process which labs initially turned away from because it simply took “too long.”
Described as a “luxurious face oil, formulated with 22 of the world’s most nutrient-rich botanicals for nourishing and restorative moisture,” Gargiulo’s signature Phyto Radiance Infusion steeps the powerful nutrients of whole plants into the Active Botanical Serum over the three-week period.
Afterward, the heightened effects of the brightening vitamins, balancing minerals, moisturizing fatty acids, nourishing omegas, free-radical fighting antioxidants, and restorative phytoceramides make this serum liquid gold.
The long answer
If anything, the brand’s extensive two-year research period into producing the Active Botanical Serum with responsibly-sourced ingredients and chic recyclable packaging adds to its value, in my opinion.
If you admire brands that do the work to justify their pricing, you might be interested in learning more about the 21-day infusion this serum undergoes.
Starting with whole plants like calendula, lavender, lemon peel, alfalfa, nettle, and dandelion, a temperature-controlled extraction process is completed to draw out their benefits in optimal ratios. This procedure could be compared to cold pressing juice, where fruit and vegetables are gently pressed in order to get the highest nutrient content from the pulp.
Among the Active Botanical Serum’s other glow-inducing ingredients are firming avocado, vitamin A-filled carrot seed, pore-shrinking hazelnut, omega-rich sea buckthorn, healing tamanu, and anti-inflammatory turmeric.
To effectively deliver nutrients to the skin, Gargiulo also created the Push/Press Method of application pictured below to support circulation and increase absorption. It’s easy to follow, stimulating, and helps work excess product into the skin (which is easy to accidentally squeeze out of the dropper bulb!).
To buy, or not to buy?
Similar to how Gargiulo believes that “shortcuts cannot be taken when you insist upon making the very best of something,” skin care aficionados know that there are few timesaving methods and products that truly support an aging process like that of fine wine.
Unironically, one of the best comes from Vintner’s Daughter; the brainchild of a winemaker herself.
For as badly as your bank account will probably hate the $240 dent, at least you can feel good about the fact that Vintner’s Daughter donates 2 per cent of every bottle sold to charitable organizations and nonprofits, including the Sierra Club and The Conservation Fund.
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