Bonjil, a new “neurosensory” skincare line, says listening to soothing music while applying serums and balms will help the products do their jobs.
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products → say → jobs
But not just any tune or toner will do.
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tune → do → ?
You can buy the brand’s proprietary products in a $3,445 music box designed to engage each sense, reduce stress and therefore — the theory goes — enhance appearance in ways a self-care ritual set to any other soundtrack could not.
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ritual → buy → soundtrack
The melody plays.
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melody → play → ?
The nervous system shifts.
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system → shift → ?
Only then does the skin receive,” Bonjil’s website says.
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website → receive → ?
The broad concept, experts say, is sound.
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experts → say → ?
Music can equal less stress, less stress can mean a healthier skin barrier, a healthier skin barrier can make it more receptive to topical treatments.
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it → equal → treatments
“It’s not just the drop in cortisol leading to better skin, but it’s also that drop in cortisol leading to more efficacious skin care,” Walter Joseph, a board-certified plastic surgeon and Bonjil’s chief medical advisor, told The Post.
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Joseph → ’ → Post
But whether the high-priced melodies of a bespoke box are the secret ingredient to a flawless face remains to be seen — and heard.
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are → price → face
“The mind-skin connection is very real,” said Keira Barr, a double board-certified dermatologist in Sacramento, California, who specializes in the intersection of skin health and mental health.
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who → say → health
“Can we make the leap between the science that’s established and this product?
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that → make → science
I think they’re going to have to do some studies to show that.”
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they → think → that
From chore to ritual
Bonjil’s flagship launched earlier this year on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side.
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flagship → launch → Side
While most cosmetic companies target skin first, Bonjil says it uniquely targets stress first.
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it → target → stress
“The skin is the biggest indicator of health and wellness in our bodies, and when we are not aligned and calibrated, our skin will show,” Joseph, who has a bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience, said.
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who → align → neuroscience
“And Bonjil, from what I know, is the only skincare brand that really has addressed this.”
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that → know → this
At an opening event this summer, the company committed to the five-senses bit.
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company → open → bit
A live violinist played a lilting score while a rosy fragrance filled the air.
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fragrance → play → air
Even members of the lowly public can still experience Bonjil’s in-house — and recently upgraded — “ritual” once for $50 (which can be applied toward a purchase).
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which → experience → purchase
The offering includes a personalized stress assessment (Where does stress live in your body? What’s the last time you did something for you?) and hands-on pampering while the music box chimes.
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box → include → you
A recent visit featured an utterly relaxing scalp and face massage, red light and aroma-therapy, and the thoughtful application of Bonjil products that yielded a dewy glow.
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that → feature → glow
“Music surrounds you.
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Music → surround → you
Scent lingers.
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Scent → linger → ?
Skincare meets the skin.
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Skincare → meet → skin
Tea is poured.
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Tea → pour → ?
Each sense unfolds as part of one continuous Ritual,” Bonjil’s website explains.
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website → unfold → Ritual
The idea is to give potential clients a taste (and touch, sound, smell and view) of what they could experience every day at home — if they have the funds.
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they → give → funds
While there are multiple boxes and a la carte items at differing price points, the premium purchase comes with seven products, including $110 soothing toner pads, a $200 caviar eye cream, a $300 hydrating cream and a $385 anti-aging serum.
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purchase → be → pads
So far, it’s selling best at events in Palm Beach, the brand’s publicist said.
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publicist → sell → Beach
“It’s the repetition of that [ritual] night after night, putting you into that calm mood,” Joseph said.
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Joseph → put → mood
“And there’s great data that something like that is going to reflect in the skin.
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something → ’ → skin
In his position paper published on the Bonjil site, for example, Joseph reviewed 15 meta-analyses that looked at how interventions targeting different (or all) senses affect cortisol, which can impact the skin.
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which → publish → skin
His findings suggest that when you engage all senses in a stress-relief protocol, you can reduce cortisol more than twice as much as when you use just one.
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you → suggest → one
As such, Bonjil was built on the belief that its lotions, serums, perfumes and creams work best when cortisol is low and sense engagement is high.
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engagement → build → belief
This is not only curated from the chemical level of the products themselves, but the whole experience,” Joseph said.
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Joseph → curate → products
“[The founder] chose certain songs that evoke certain emotions.”
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that → choose → emotions
Those include Pachelbel’s “Canon,” Ion Ivanovici’s “Donauwellen,” a Chopin waltz, and Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli’s “Time To Say Goodbye,” with customers selecting their tune of choice before checkout.
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customers → include → checkout
According to Bonjil, each composition is set to a particular tempo due to work showing 60 to 80 beats per minute can fire up the vagus nerve — the conductor of the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest” nervous system — most strongly.
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beats → accord → system
The whole package, Joseph said, strikes a valuable and irreplicable note, all the way down to the luxurious look of the box.
“There’s always a dupe for everything,” he said.
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he → say → everything
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
