“WHY IS RETROUVÉ MORE EXPENSIVE THAN OTHER BRANDS?”

In my position as Director of Customer Service, I am often asked about the pricing of our products, especially the moisturizers. I am pleased to explain in depth here.

Focus

Most brands are generally conceived around a marketing plan, on a budget, within a certain time frame, and with profit margins in mind. Since Jami initially created the products that would become Retrouvé solely for her family’s personal use, she did not need to adhere to such established marketing principles that can create unnecessary barriers to realizing and bringing to market one’s ultimate creation.

Jami’s focus was simply to create the most supremely effective skincare formulations with scientifically proven ingredients used in the highest concentrations, set in multipurpose preparations, housed in optimally protective packaging. This mandate is wonderfully effective but also costly to achieve.

Origins

Jami had always been interested in the idea of developing a more high-powered product: At Kiehl’s, she often directed her chemist to make more potent versions of her favorite products just for her own use. Once she and Klaus sold Kiehl’s, Jami continued to create formulations with her chemist, solely for her family, that she could not find in the marketplace, utilizing the most concentrated ingredients and innovative technologies available for maximal benefit to the skin. Because the products were initially for her personal use only, no compromise was made in the cost, quality, or research behind the ingredients or processes used to develop the formulae.

Jami’s Vision

Retrouvé is the realization of Jami’s personal skincare vision; and, as a result, no detail has been overlooked. The creation of Retrouvé products is an artisanal, complex process. For this reason, some have described Retrouvé as “haute couture skincare.”  (While we appreciate such accolades, our main concern is that the products bring beneficial results - which they do!)

Ingredients

Wherever possible, we source the highest grade of ingredients on the market from suppliers who have ethical and sustainable business practices and history of quality. For example, our squalane is of the highest grade and is more expensive due to the fact that it is sustainably plant-based and not derived from animals. We have now also begun to source some of our ingredients from the Heidegger family’s permaculture ranch in Malibu, CA – where Klaus cultivates sustainable farming practices to provide quality produce.

Each ingredient that we use is chosen to work synergistically with the skin and drive the potent ingredients to the dermis, the deeper layers of the skin. All of the anti-aging ingredients that we incorporate in our formulations are also used at very high levels: Many people do not realize that if an ingredient is tested to work at a certain percentage, then that is the amount that must be used in the product in order for it to produce the intended results on skin. (This is generally referred to as the “clinically effective level.”) It is very common for skincare companies not to utilize the necessary/full amount, yet despite that, still to make the claim for the ingredient. In contrast, Retrouvé features the clinically effective – and thus more costly! - levels of highly concentrated moisturizing and antioxidant ingredients. Thus, our products produce visible results, as clinical studies have verified.

Multi-Purpose Formulations

Retrouvé allows you to simplify your skincare routine: Our potent, multi-purpose moisturizers eliminate the need for a plethora of products that address only a singular skincare issue. Each of our hydrating preparations contains a synergistic blend of ingredients that address myriad skin concerns such as fine lines and wrinkles, firmness, elasticity, and brightness. They also incorporate a very high level of beneficial antioxidant ingredients to help the skin to nourish, repair, and strengthen itself. Why purchase four or five different products when one Retrouvé product will do the job and deliver visible results??? And because our products are very concentrated, a little goes a long way.

Airless Technology

We utilize the most optimal packaging available to protect our potent formulations and the viability of such high concentrations. Retrouvé is made under vacuum, allowing ingredients to be mixed together at high speeds, without incorporating any air. Following this process, the formulae are then dispensed directly into black-tinted, airless bottles that help to shield the ingredients from light and air.

Embracing these advanced technologies helps to eliminate oxidation, preserve the integrity of the ingredients over a prolonged period of time and decrease the amount of preservatives necessary to provide an adequate shelf-life.