Beauty Tips For Body Care
How did I come to sample La Mer? In March of 2017 Glossybox UK released a special edition La Mer box which contained the following items: The Intensive Revitalizing Mask, Creme de la Mer Moisturizing Creme, Treatment Lotion, Eye Concentrate, Revitalizing Hydrating Serum, and Micellar Water. Yes, the samples were tiny and surprisingly lasted a lot longer than I expected. I was impressed, honestly impressed with it. I also happened to be browsing Nordstroms and noticed they had an La Mer Introductory Collection which contained: The Treatment Lotion, Eye Concentrate, the Regenerating Serum, and another jar of the Creme de la Mer Creme.Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream. I originally hated this cream and wondered what all the fuss was about. I’d read online that Nivea and this cream were practically identical in terms of the main ingredients. I’m staring at my huge blue tin of Nivea cream and I can guarantee the first few ingredients of Nivea are: Water, Liquid Paraffin (aka Mineral Oil), Cera Microcrystallina, Glycerin, Lanolin Alcohol and more Paraffin. Compare that to Creme de la Mer: Algae (Seaweed) Extract, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Isohexadecane and so forth. Ingredients are listed in order of their concentrations The first five ingredients or so are typically the bulk of the formula and usually include glycerin (an excellent moisturizer). But that doesn’t mean an ingredient has to be up top to change your skin. So, with CdlM, the top ingredient is their specialized Algae where as Nivea has water. I have zero issues with Mineral Oil and I also find most people will apply Nivea all over their bodies (and faces) as a great and cheap heavy emollient moisturizer, but will balk at La Mer’s use of this. We can debate this another day.As for performance - I found out the reason I hated this so much was because I was not using it correctly. I ended up putting more on my face than needed and rubbed it in….getting frustrated in the process. Putting too much product on your skin no matter what it is - serums, moisturizers, eye cream, can have negative effects. I found the best short version on how to apply is here: 3 step application. I was applying too much and not letting the creme turn transparent in my hand/fingers was the first giant mistake. Once I ‘mastered’ this technique, Creme de la Mer because a game changer for my skin during the winter. I found for me, it was best to use this a night as my last step, or during the really cold, windy, and dry months as more of a protectant for my skin during the day.Would I buy again? Absolutely. The best part is even if you buy the littlest jar it will last you quite a while.The Moisturizing Soft Cream Don’t want to get fussy with the original CdlM with warming it up in your hands and having to pat/press it into your skin? Then the Soft Cream is for you. The sample jar I got from the sales associate lasted me about 2 weeks. As with the original, a little bit goes a LONG way and there is also a tendency to apply too much of this thinking you need more than you do. Don’t want that mineral oil in your face cream…Soft Cream does not have it, so another bonus for this variant. Do I recommend the Soft Cream? Yes - if you want to avoid the Mineral Oil and don’t want to fuss with 3-step application routine.The Moisturizing Soft Lotion As the name implies, this is a lotion rather than a cream. I had tried the Soft Cream first and thought it was the bees knees and had little faith in the Soft Lotion. As with this line it’s easy to apply TOO much, which makes it feel awful on the face and may be the reason one doesn’t like the product. I did this with the lotion. Once I took a step back and applied less the heavens opened up and shined a light on my face. This lotion dries/settles into an almost satiny feel. Out of the three, the lotion has been my favorite (and I have really dry and dehydrated skin).The Eye Concentrate I was lucky to get two generous sized samples and can speak miracles to this product. I’m in my 40’s and this de-puffed under my eyes like nothing else and softened the fine lines (crows feet). It also turned the crepe like skin on my lids around as well. Apparently it used to contain retinol but after speaking to La Mer via email, they have removed the retinol. Are there other eye creams that perform just as well as the La Mer Eye Concentrate? Yes….but it will only work with one target area and not all target areas for me like this one does.Regenerating and Hydrating Serums If I could - I would buy both and use both daily. If you don’t have dry or dehydrated skin, I would recommend the Regenerating serum. I actually passed part of my sample to another friend to try and she told me she bought the Regenerating Serum that week…and 6 months later and she is still using it and swearing by it. Regenerating Serum is more for the 40 year old plus crowd (I fall into this category) and the Hydrating can be used by any age.Intensive Revitalizing Mask I use Sisley Face Masks and I would compare this one to Sisley’s Black Rose Face Mask. I loved the smell of this, how little of the product I needed to use to gain maximum benefits. Is this necessary to have and use? No, but it is a luxurious mask that brightens my mood and spirits.Cleansing Micellar Water Signature La Mer scent, did a really fabulous job of taking off makeup. Skin felt great afterwards. Cannot justify $90 on micellar water though.Cleansing Foam I may not have been able to open my wallet for $90 micellar water, but I sure can for the Cleansing Foam. The sales associate told me I needed just the tiniest bit to build a super rich later with a smidgen of water and she was right. I can’t even explain how wonderful my face feels after using this. It is worth every penny.The Treatment Lotion This is La Mer’s version of an ‘essence’. I can’t explain how it work, but it makes a serious difference in how my serums and moisturizers sink in and perform. Night and day difference in the performance of the products I use after this. You don’t need much of the lotion at all, it’s a bit thicker and you apply with your fingers/palm of hands and even the sample bottle lasted me a month!If you had to buy just one product - The Treatment Lotion, you can use just this after cleansing and you’ll see a difference in how your products perform.If you could buy just two products - The Treatment Lotion and one of the moisturizing creams. If you aren’t sure between the original and the Soft Cream, go with the Soft Cream. If you’re not sure between the Soft Cream and the Soft Lotion…I would go with the Soft Lotion if the weather is hot and humid where you live.If you could buy just three products - The Treatment Lotion, moisturizing cream of your choice and Eye Cream (if you have fine lines and more ‘mature’ age like me) or the Cleansing Foam for everyone.Final note/thoughts on La Mer When I was in my 20’s and 30’s I used to make fun of people who bought and purchase La Mer. I considered it such a waste of money. I’m not even sure why it bothered me so much what people spent their money on - you want to spend $250 on a face cream and your budget allow - go ahead and do it…why should my opinion (or someone else’s opinion) of what you do with your own cash influence if you buy it or not. That’s like you wanting to buy an Audi A8, but all your friends call it a ‘waste of money’ and tell you to buy a Honda Civic, which is a fabulous car, don’t get me wrong, but the Audi has more of what you want - the extras, the ride, the road performance, the bells and whistles. You don’t NEED a 3,000 sq ft house with an acre of land for a family of four when a townhouse of 1,680 sq ft is plenty. Do I need La Mer? No. I don’t need the fancy car or the mini mansion house either, but they are nice to have and own.I also wanted to state that I found La Mer to be more geared toward the ‘ahem’ more mature customer - 40 year age range and up. Even I admit that my skin has changed and certain products I used even 5 years ago aren’t cutting it anymore. I can see a definitely difference in my skin - how it feels, how it smooths fine lines, in short - I want to keep touching my face even though I need to knock my hand away - after I use La Mer. I’m perfectly happy to also combine La Mer products with Avene or Bioderma and other drugstore/pharmacy brands as well. I find I don’t need to use foundation as much anymore.I hope you enjoyed my review of La Mer products. If you’ve tried a product I didn’t list here, please add it below in the comments. I hope to make this a running list or ‘tag’ of La Mer reviews that users can reference in the future.
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by Millietops
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