The Chatelier Routine: Natural Luxury Skincare for Mature Skin

There is a particular kind of woman who comes to us having tried everything clinical. The acids, the retinoids, the actives with numbers in their names. Her skin is not worse for it, exactly, but it is tired of being managed. What she wants now is a routine that feels like care rather than treatment, made from ingredients she recognises, that still does something.

That is the woman Chatelier was made for, and it is why we carry the full range. This is our guide to it: what each product does, how they fit together, and how to build a routine from them for skin over 40.

About Chatelier

Chatelier is a Dutch skincare house founded by Laura Kaats, who studied chemistry before building a brand around a simple principle: that natural ingredients, properly formulated, can perform. Every product in the range is made from 100 per cent natural ingredients, with a significant share from organic farming (in Soft Complexion, it is 93 per cent). It is packaged in recyclable glass, and the brand plants a tree for every product sold.

The range has been well recognised in Europe. Vogue Netherlands named Pure Cell Protection its Best Facial Oil of 2020, and Eye Lift its Best Eye Cream of 2021.

One honest note before we begin. Chatelier formulas carry natural floral scents. Most skin is perfectly comfortable with them, but if yours is currently reactive or you know you are sensitive to fragrance, patch test first, or start with our barrier repair protocol and come back to Chatelier once your skin has settled.

The range, product by product

Instant Plump: the hydrating serum

Instant Plump is the first layer, and the product we would choose if you were buying only one. It is a silky, light serum built around hyaluronic acid in multiple molecular sizes, so it hydrates at more than one level of the skin. Alongside it: sea fennel, a botanical source of vitamin A compounds; red algae to smooth; spilanthes, a plant extract used to soften the look of expression lines; a gentle touch of lactic acid for texture; and aloe, arnica and lavender to calm.

Use it: morning and evening, on slightly damp skin, before anything else.

Bright Complexion: the radiance serum

Bright Complexion is for dullness, uneven tone and the marks that years of Australian sun leave behind. It combines kiwi fruit water and rosehip oil (both sources of vitamin C), sophora flavescens, a botanical that inhibits the enzyme responsible for pigment production, lactic acid for gentle renewal, and grape seed extract for antioxidant support. It is oil-infused but light.

Use it: in place of, or after, Instant Plump if tone is your main concern. We cover how it fits with other brightening treatments in our guide to dullness and pigmentation after 40.

Crème Défense: the day cream

Crème Défense is a light, whipped day cream designed to protect. It contains alga nori, which the brand includes for its ability to absorb UVA, plus vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, horsetail extract, green tea and a gentle fruit acid.

It is important to be clear: Crème Défense is a moisturiser with some added UVA protection. It is not a sunscreen, and Chatelier says so plainly. In Australia, you still need a broad-spectrum SPF 50+ over the top every morning. Ours is the Outside Beauty SPF 50+ Face Crème, and our guide to SPF for mature skin explains why it matters more than anything else on this page.

Use it: every morning, after your serum, before SPF.

Eye Lift: the eye cream

Eye Lift is a soft, silky eye cream with vitamin C and rosehip for brightness, lactic acid for gentle renewal, carrot extract, rosemary to support circulation and reduce the look of puffiness, and avocado for hydration. The brand recommends tapping it from the inner to the outer corner and along the brow bone, which is as much about massage as product.

Use it: morning and evening. We compare it with our other eye creams in The Best Eye Cream for Women Over 40.

Pure Cell Protection: the night oil

Pure Cell Protection is a lightweight facial oil, despite the "serum" in its name, made from six botanicals: rosehip, evening primrose, marula, starflower and meadowfoam seed oils, and calendula. These are rich in the essential fatty acids the skin's barrier is built from, which is why an oil like this makes such a difference to skin that has become dry and tight with age.

Use it: six to ten drops in the evening, pressed into clean skin before your night cream.

Soft Complexion: the night cream

Soft Complexion is the richest product in the range: macadamia, shea butter, jojoba and argan for nourishment, evening primrose, green tea and vitamin C for repair, and lavender and calendula to calm. It is designed for dry to normal skin, and particularly for skin that feels uncomfortable by the end of the day.

Use it: every evening, as the last step.

The routine

Morning: cleanse or rinse, Instant Plump (or Bright Complexion), Eye Lift, Crème Défense, SPF 50+.

Evening: cleanse, Instant Plump (or Bright Complexion), Eye Lift, Pure Cell Protection, Soft Complexion.

If you want to build up gradually, start with the three products that cover the most ground: Instant Plump for hydration, Pure Cell Protection for repair, and Soft Complexion for comfort overnight. Add the day cream and eye cream once those are part of your routine.

A note on layering

Several Chatelier products contain a small amount of lactic acid for gentle renewal. On its own this is well tolerated. If you also use a stronger exfoliating serum, such as Veriphy Power Trip, or a retinoid, keep those to two or three evenings a week and watch for stinging or tightness. More is not better.

Who Chatelier is for

Women who want a complete routine from one considered house. Women whose skin is dry, tired or dull rather than congested. Women who would rather use botanical ingredients, beautifully presented, and still see a difference. And women who simply enjoy their skincare: the texture, the glass, the ritual at the end of a long day. That matters more than the industry admits. A routine you look forward to is a routine you keep.

For how Chatelier sits alongside the other products we would recommend for skin over 40, see our edit of the best anti-ageing skincare products for over 40s in Australia.