The You Deserve category is generally dedicated to extravagantly priced beauty and fashion items that I’ve reviewed long enough to declare to be of excellent quality and worth your hard earned cash. Sometimes, luxury beauty items earn their price based solely on name brand or scarcity, or because of a celebrity connection. The products I feature in You Deserve posts are expensive but legitimately worth it. Still, the latest item I’m reviewing as a You Deserve made me ask myself some important questions.

— When do you know you need a concentrated anti-aging skincare product?
— How much is too much, when it comes to topical skincare?
— Is there a point where you should just consider an injectable or filler product, instead of trying expensive ointments?

The answers I’ve come up with are as follows:

— If you suspect that you could use a concentrated anti-aging skincare product, then yes, you need one. In my opinion the point of these products is for them to be preventative, rather than applied as a salve after you’ve already developed an issue that bothers you. You can’t wait until your neck looks like a photo of the Grand Canyon from space before you decide “oh hey, I should use a cream to sort this out.” It’s kinda too late by then.

— How much is too much, depends on your budget. But if you’re spending beaucoup bucks on Loubies and Jimmy Choos and not investing in your skincare…that’s a mentality I can’t understand. If you’re willing to spend more than $500 on a handbag but not willing to spend that much on your skin, your largest organ, the thing people first notice when they meet you? IDGI.

— I’ll admit it, I’m still kind of afraid of injectables. I know SO MANY people who get them. Regularly. Please know I’m not judging anyone’s choices, I’ve just seen what bad work looks like and it gives me pause. Plus I don’t yet think I need anything of that nature (but I’m sure a cosmetic dermatologist would gently disagree with me). At this stage of the game, I still feel more comfortable using a topical skincare product. I’m currently obsessed with finding perfect creams and serums to keep my skin looking and feeling flawless.

So when the lovely folks at Vital Juice asked me to review Algenist Concentrated Reconstructing Serum, which retails for $95 for a 30 ml bottle at Sephora, I was VERY excited.

Before I go any further, Who the heck is Algenist and why are their products so pricey?

Algenist is a company founded by biotechnology scientists based in San Francisco, who have discovered microalgae-based alguronic acid, a “compound responsible for regenerating and protecting the microalgae cell.”

Basically these microalgea based products promise to significantly improve the appearance of your skin and tackle a number of major skincare issues, including wrinkles, aging, loss of radiance, dark spots, and loss of firmness. Algenist promises to correct, enhance, and protect with their alguronic acid products.

Does it work, though?

I’ve been using this serum for a little bit under a month now, and I’m going to go ahead and say yes.

Here’s what I’ve noticed since I’ve started using it — my skin feels SO much better after I use it. This serum is light and creamy to the touch, and smells faint and fresh, like a fancy spa or a mild ocean-scented candle. I usually apply it after my skin has been cleansed for the evening, and I use it on my face, my neck, and my décolletage. My skin absorbs it very readily, and I’m not left with a face that’s greasy to the touch — although you can touch your face and feel that there’s a light application of a silky-feeling product on afterwards, and even the morning after.

In the time that I’ve been using it I can say that I’ve seen a gradual and steady improvement in my hyperpigmentation situation, and the area under my eyes that can often look tight, dry and tired, looks significantly less so when I use the serum consisitently. Consistency is key with any skincare product, so I’m going to continue using this serum until the bottle’s through. So far I’ve only got raves for its quality. Is it for everyone? Maybe not. But if you’re the kind of bella who spends beaucoup bucks on designer labels, this is the kind of skincare you deserve.

Click here to check out their complete skincare range.

What are your thoughts, bellas? How much is too much, when it comes to topical skincare?