A line born in 1956 as “the most expensive cream in the world”, a black truffle nicknamed the black diamond, and a patented technology backed by more than fifteen years of research. With two Re-Nutriv Ultimate Diamond gift sets freshly arrived at Olara, the New York house of Estée Lauder gives us the perfect excuse to tell the story of its most precious skincare — and to explain the three-step ritual along the way.
11956: Estée Lauder invents the “creme of cremes”
New York, 1946. Josephine Esther Mentzer, known as Estée Lauder, founds the house that bears her name with her husband Joseph, armed with four skincare products and one conviction: every woman can be beautiful. Ten years later, she dares a bet nobody saw coming in post-war America: launching Re-Nutriv, a cream sold at 115 dollars a jar — presented at the time as the most expensive cream in the world. Unapologetic luxury becomes a skincare promise, and the “creme of cremes” establishes, for seven decades and counting, the house's most precious line — still at the summit of our Estée Lauder collection, among our face care.
2Ultimate Diamond: the black truffle meets science
At the top of the line, the Ultimate Diamond collection concentrates more than fifteen years of research. At its heart: the patented SIRTIVITY-LP™ technology, which stimulates the skin's renewal and regeneration for a visibly smoother, firmer, plumper look. It joins forces with a signature ingredient: Black Diamond Truffle Extract (Tuber melanosporum), grown by master truffle growers in southwest France, then fine-milled and ultra-purified — a process of nearly 10,000 hours — to revive the skin's natural energy and vitality. The result: silky textures that intensely hydrate, plump and illuminate, to be found among our anti-ageing skincare.
3The Re-Nutriv ritual in three steps
The golden rule of skincare, at Estée Lauder as elsewhere: apply textures from lightest to richest. Start with the lotion, on clean skin, which rehydrates and prepares the skin to receive the actives — discover our toning lotions. Then comes the serum, the most active concentrate of the ritual, morning and evening. Finally, seal it all with the cream, which nourishes and locks in moisture — without forgetting the eye care, applied with gentle taps.
Did you know?
If you have ever received a free sample or a gift with your purchase at a beauty counter, you owe it to Estée Lauder herself: she popularised the “gift with purchase” in the 1940s and 1950s, convinced that the best advertising was letting women try her formulas. An idea her competitors deemed ruinous at the time… which has since become a worldwide beauty standard.
4Two gift sets to adopt the ritual
Good news: two Ultimate Diamond gift sets have just landed at Olara. The Pinnacle of Luxury gathers the complete ritual in four products — radiance-revealing lotion (50 ml), serum (5 ml), eye creme (5 ml) and radiance transformation creme (30 ml): the ideal initiation. The Serum + Refill set pairs the full-size Transformative Brilliance serum with its refill — a more sustainable choice for the converted. In between, the Radiance Longevity set completes the family, alongside the legendary Advanced Night Repair serum. All are to be found among our skincare gift sets.
Your questions, answered
What is Estée Lauder's Re-Nutriv line?
It is the house's most luxurious skincare line, launched in 1956 as “the most expensive cream in the world”. Today embodied by the Ultimate Diamond collection, it pairs the patented SIRTIVITY-LP™ technology with Black Diamond Truffle Extract to smooth, firm and illuminate the skin.
In what order should lotion, serum and cream be applied?
From the lightest texture to the richest: first the lotion on clean skin, then the active-concentrated serum, and finally the cream that seals in moisture. Eye care is applied with gentle taps, before or after the cream.
Why black truffle in skincare?
The black truffle Tuber melanosporum — gastronomy's “black diamond” — is known for stimulating the skin's natural energy and reviving its vitality. Estée Lauder has it grown in southwest France, then puts it through a fine-milling and ultra-purification process of nearly 10,000 hours before adding it to the Ultimate Diamond formulas.
Are the Re-Nutriv gift sets available at Olara?
Yes — The Pinnacle of Luxury set (complete 4-product ritual) and the Serum + Refill set have just arrived at Olara, in limited stock, alongside the whole Estée Lauder collection.
