Girl, put your records on — and your face cream, too.
Bonjil, a new “neurosensory” skincare line, says listening to soothing music while applying serums and balms will help the products do their jobs.
But not just any tune or toner will 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.
“Wind it. The melody plays. The nervous system shifts. Only then does the skin receive,” Bonjil’s website says.
The broad concept, experts say, is sound. 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.
“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.
But whether the high-priced melodies of a bespoke box are the secret ingredient to a flawless face remains to be seen — and heard.
“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. “Can we make the leap between the science that’s established and this product? I think they’re going to have to do some studies to show that.”
From chore to ritual
Bonjil’s flagship launched earlier this year on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side. While most cosmetic companies target skin first, Bonjil says it uniquely targets stress first.
“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. “And Bonjil, from what I know, is the only skincare brand that really has addressed this.”
At an opening event this summer, the company committed to the five-senses bit. A live violinist played a lilting score while a rosy fragrance filled the air. There was tea to drink, pink and blue-hued boxes to admire and an aesthetician to massage hydrating balms into attendees’ forearms and hands.
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).
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.
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.
“Music surrounds you. Scent lingers. Skincare meets the skin. Tea is poured. Each sense unfolds as part of one continuous Ritual,” Bonjil’s website explains.
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.
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. So far, it’s selling best at events in Palm Beach, the brand’s publicist said.
“It’s the repetition of that [ritual] night after night, putting you into that calm mood,” Joseph said. “And there’s great data that something like that is going to reflect in the 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.
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.
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.
“This isn’t just your drugstore skincare. This is not only curated from the chemical level of the products themselves, but the whole experience,” Joseph said. “[The founder] chose certain songs that evoke certain 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.
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.
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. “But if you really want to maximize and really get the most out of the experience — that’s why it’s a premium product and that’s also why it works.”
Pitch imperfect
To outside experts, some of Bonjil’s claims are a bit off key.
Yes, research shows that music, and particularly music of certain frequencies, can help activate the body’s rest-and-digest system and lower stress. Neuroscientist Stephen Porges designed “The Safe and Sound Protocol” based on that data years ago.
But, Barr said, “we can’t borrow credibility for the studies that he did in his work with certain frequencies and then apply that entire field as proof that this music box works.”
And yes, there’s strong research showing that chronic stress isn’t a good look — contributing to conditions like acne and psoriasis, and even making it more difficult to heal from wounds. Dermatologists also know it can weaken the skin’s outer layer, which in turn can affect how well various therapies perform.
But does that mean healthy, wealthy beauty buffs will develop a more radiant glow from a nightly routine set to the serene sounds of a Bonjil box?
“The problem is that there isn’t any real evidence showing music to help healthy individuals with wrinkles,” said Christopher Choi, a board-certified internal medicine physician at Concierge Wellness Center in Las Vegas.
“Generally speaking, Bonjil probably works,” he added, “but is it worth paying the steep price? I don’t think so. Other cheaper cosmetic products will probably work just fine.”
Barr also worries that even a well-intentioned protocol may backfire — amplifying stress rather than muting it.
“Women may blame themselves if they don’t feel relaxed, if they don’t feel rejuvenated, and start believing that somehow there’s something wrong with them because this particular regimen, ritual, or music box didn’t work,” she said.
“I just never want nervous system regulation to become one more thing that a woman feels like she’s failing at, because that is just not the case.”
Still, Barr said, the knock-on effects of a calming ritual — better sleep, more mindful meals — may brighten your complexion and mood. You just may not need to shell out thousands of bucks for the lift.
Instead, clear clutter from your bathroom counter. Light a scented candle. Turn on a soothing song. Caress your face instead of just slapping a product on.
But if you have the want and means for a product like a Bonjil box? Barr won’t tune you out.
“If someone needs that tool and they can afford that particular tool, fantastic. If it invites them into creating a new habit that supports their overall health and well-being, amazing,” she said. “But you also can create your own version of it at home.”
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