Ageless Beauty. You know, it’s how Cindy Crawford still doesn’t have a wrinkle and Gwyneth Paltrow appears to not have aged. It’s also botox. But for some of us, we don’t want to resort to botox when we hit the big 4-0. I was recently told that you needed to start an anti-aging regimen when you were around the age of 21. I’m 21. Naturally, I freaked out and bought all the eye cream and moisturizer I could find. I am constantly getting told that I look way older than I am; in high school that was great, but now that I am a soon-to-be college graduate, that’s the last thing I want to hear. Instead of moping around with a wrinkle-covered forehead, I went to the professionals that sell the products the celebrities claim is essential to their everyday lives and I got to try it out for myself.
La Mer
Everyone talks about La Mer. They either rave about it, swear by it, or they trash talk it because it is so expensive. Chrissy Teigen stated that her La Mer moisturizer was the number one thing she always has in her bag, therefore I went straight to this high class line. La Mer was created by Dr. Max Huber after he suffered severe burns in a lab accident. After 6,000 experiments over the span of 12 years, he developed a fermentation process that transformed sea kelp and other ingredients into what they now call “Miracle Broth”. It is known as the cell-renewing elixir and it transformed the look of his skin. All I needed to know was that it was developed by a scientist to heal his own skin, I mean, that’s pretty cool and fail proof, right?
La Mer products range from $90-$700 dollars, depending on what you get and the size. I know, $450 for an eye cream. Simultaneously tempting and revolting. I was able to try several (full size!!!) La Mer items for this post, and I have determined whether they are worth it or if my tub of aquaphor from target will suffice.
In no particular order, the first review is the Replenishing Oil Exfoliator. I use this exfoliator around once every week or two weeks. It instantly made my skin feel all tingly (in the good way) and massaged so easily into my skin. It didn’t feel too rough and left my skin feeling very refreshed. When done, I noticed my skin looked drier but shiny, all that dead skin being washed away. My skin felt extremely smooth and did not look like dried out Spongebob, considering exfoliants tend to overdo themselves with a rougher consistency. However, it’ll cost you $125.
Next is the Cleansing Foam. I typically use a very lightweight cleanser maybe once a day, but normally about 3-4 times a week. If I do too much, my skin will become extremely dry. This cleanser made my face softer, brighter, and I noticed my blackheads were greatly diminished. I don’t wear makeup on my skin unless it is a special occasion, so I really just need natural dirts and pollutants out of my skin. It had the same great smell and tingly feeling of the exfoliator, leaving my face refreshed. However, I have a $30 cleanser bought from my hair salon/also a spa and it produces similar results but without the fancy feeling that the $95 La Mer cleanser gave me. Maybe in the long run this will be worth it, but I feel as though their other products are definitely more worth while than the cleanser. So I’m sorry, but you’re not worth it.
The Regenerating Serum is made for older skin as it is much more medicinal. At a whopping $365, it does not have a pump, you just carefully open the bottle and pour (?) some of the liquid (it is not oily, but has the consistency of oil) on your fingers and then you’re supposed to dab your fingers to your skin, not rubbing it in, as dabbing is supposed to make the skin absorb it much easier. This product may help with older people, but I did not see much of a change in my lines. It also felt a little too strong for my skin and it had a more medicinal smell than that of a nice spa. My skin tends to be on the more sensitive side and this is the first La Mer product where I questioned if it was beneficial or harmful. Also, why is there not a dripper or something? You could easily spill the entire bottle and its contents. This is now debunked as definitely not worth it.
The Revitalizing Hydrating Serum is made for younger skin, stating that it “energizes and hydrates”. The La Mer professional working with me said that this is better for anti-aging, as the above serum is more for those already aged. It is at the cheaper (lol) price of $215. At least it has a pump. I describe it as a liquidy cream, unlike the straight up liquid of the Regenerating Serum. This makes it easier to apply and I definitely do not have the fear of spilling it. I don’t think I’ve been using this long enough to see much of a difference, but this is one that I am excited to wait for the results. I already am starting to see the only two lines I have in my forehead diminish (they’re pretty deep already and I am very self-conscious of them). We’ll continue to wait and see about the faint lines around my eyes.
The Eye Concentrate was the one I was the most excited for. At $235, it is one of their most popular products and comes in a small glass container. I have many small lines around my eyes because I am constantly squinting (bad eyesight and never wearing sunglasses). I also suffer from extremely dark circles under my eyes. I mentioned before that I never wear face makeup, and when I do put on concealer under my eyes it never is enough to cover the dark bags. This eye concentrate I used one time and the next morning I woke up to almost no dark circles. I could’ve cried. I’ve used some creams for dark circles before and they never work for me, but this one did overnight. I am already nearing the end of my container and I’m trying to sell my belongings in order to buy more. They also have an eye balm intense that targets wrinkles more than the concentrate does and is slightly cheaper $225 (I know, such a bargain). I may invest in that instead to see if there is much of a difference.
The Lip Volumizer is a $75 lip gloss that is supposed to soften, plump, and hydrate your lips. It feels like a sticky glossy chapstick. I use aquaphor on my lips every night and all throughout the day as I suffer from dryness. It keeps my lips super soft and shiny and is not sticky like a gloss. The La Mer lip volumizer does not compare to my trusted aquaphor that I get a tub of for $9 at Target. Not not not worth it !
The Crème de la Mer is the moisturizer that made La Mer what it is today. It is their number-one bestseller and the smallest jar is $90. It has the trademark La Mer smell, and feels like soft butter (weird but I like it). A little goes a long way and I put it all over my face and it does not feel sticky or like I just coated it in lotion. It is a thick moisturizer but I feel like I did nothing to my skin, it is as if my skin just naturally hydrated itself. How is it that something so thick can be so weightless? This is one of the main things about La Mer that I love. Such a weightless product makes my skin is brighter, smoother, and healthier and it lasts all day. This definitely is something I would continue to splurge in as other moisturizers either give me the occasional zit, feel sticky and need time to dry, or just do not work well enough. WORTH IT.
Finally, the perfecting treatment. As I have now said several times, I don’t wear makeup on my face; however, I still want my face to look bright and pretty, right? This $245 lightweight cream goes on and does what it says, it perfects. It evened out my redness and gave a soft shine to my face. I really can’t describe what all it does, it just works magic. I gave several samples to my friends and they all say the same thing, this is the one face item they would splurge on. Sadly, it was discontinued and no longer sold in stores. You can still buy it online but apparently stores replaced it with a primer that they claim does the same thing. We shall see if their words ring true.
That’s it, my very lengthy review of La Mer products. It provides a glimpse into the world of the elite and if you would rather invest in skin care than a nice purse, try some of these products. There are a few I have certainly committed to and will shamelessly spend my last dollars on, but others that are definitely not worth it. I will say though, there is a great feeling of putting something so fancy and well made onto your skin, making you feel as though you are reversing time and becoming your most beautiful self. Maybe that feeling makes it all worth it, or maybe it proves that this is all placebo. We will see in twenty years.
URBAN FLEUR 