I am simply dying for Creme De La Mer – something about getting older and wanting allegedly one of the best creams out there. The cream, the eye concentrate..it will be in my grubby hands soon!
Checking out eBay, I noticed lots of Creme De La Mer’s, 30ml for around £70 for 30ml, (buy it now) going for a tiny bit less if at auction. The retail is £88 at the moment.
I debated about buying one online but decided against it – there is not real way of knowing if what you have in the jar is real (especially if you have never used it before) and by the time you have taken it to a counter to verify, your eBay seller is on a plane to Panama.
Here are some observations I have made about authentic, fresh La Mer creams.
1. They come in GLASS jars, in white. Not plastic.
2. The box it comes in is thick cardboard, and has slightly raised areas where the text is. It’s matte textured.
3. When you open it, the seal is a plastic white thing, the kind you can just lift of – it is not sealed. This also applies to the foundations.
4. The cream is white – a very pure white and has a scent which is slightly sea like, medicinally. I read that some people were filling La Mer jars with Nivea cream – Nivea I think has quite a fresh, typical skin cream smell, this is much more medicinal and is very thick in texture.
5. Under the jar is a white spatula and a tray the cream can sit in.
That is all I can think of right not that made it stand out to me. I would personally pay a bit more and buy an item from the counter because you can never really tell if something is authentic just by looking at it over the net. Counterfeit goods are generally very very good these days too so be careful!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
Rumor has it that La Mer and Nivea are owned by the same company and that the (German-made) Nivea and La Mer cremes are very similar in texture. It would be great to try both and ascertain the similarities/dissimilarities. Perhaps your local La Mer counter offers tiny samples so you can try it out first?
I strongly suggest you score for samples over the counter, test it, and NOT purchase over ebay. Who knows it could be the authentic packaging but we don’t know what’s inside..
Just wondering, what does the phrase ‘lemming’ mean?
Hey Mandy
As a matter of research I went and bought a 30ml jar of this. Now, I can see why people use Nivea – it has a similar texture but the medicianl smell of La Mer is unmistakable compared to the Nivea.
Hey Nikki
I visted the counter! On ebay its cheaper but it isnt CHEAP and not worth the risk!
Hey Li!
It’slike when you really want something you are ‘lemming’ it. Childish, I know!
Hello all – I would like to say that I tried Estee Lauder Creme de la Mer its it did NOTHING for my skin.
It is very expensive at $165 for 2 ounces! It was supposedly to heal burns received in an accident; The reality is that this very chemical laden cream doesn’t contain anything particularly extraordinary ingredients. In fact, the majority of ingredients can be found in CVS-Brand Moisturizers.
For long term effect on wrinkles and a treatment that naturally aided my skin, I used the Vitamin Enhanced Face Firming Serum from the Made from Earth skin care line. This serum uses natural organic ingredients to improve your skin cells around your eyes and I have already seen a MAJOR DIFFERENCE AROUND MY EYES.
In 3 days around my eyes, I have seen a reduction in the fine lines. . You can actually feel it working right after you put it on. . . .I highly recommend it as an EX-crème de la mer user….and a woman who is healthy…and a woman who is tired of all the different expensive creams out that that make promises that they do not live up to….you can find them at madefromearth.com.
I recently switched to only using face creams that contain real plants, fruits and/or juices. No more chemicals for me! Chemicals in skincare products will cause your skin to sag in the long run. That’s because those chemicals don’t belong there and impact your skins elasticity.
Hey Paula
I have the Creme de la Mer – I stopped using it at the moment because i’m not noticing a mad improvement (although the Eye Concentrate is EXCELLENT).
I am also trialling some other fairly high end creams that are good for the skin and will be reporting on them soon!
I make my own version of the natural cream, which is rich in consistency, has a slightly medicinal scent as its aqueous phase is herbal extracts. People who order it from me comented on the similarity with the Creme de la Mer. I make small batches and do not use preservatives. The effect in the skin texture is evident after a couple of applications. I was also told that it helped such conditions as psoriasis and eczema.
I sell it at a fraction of the price, as I have a full time job and this is my long standing passion. My previous formulation was laboratory tested and approved for sale. Since then I have added more interesting components and still working on improving the design.
Ingredients:
Extract of camomile, rosemary, licorice root, soybeans, butter beans, casio bark, cinnamon bark, cardamone; Olive oil, Shea butter, Cacao butter, Wheatgerm oil, Beeswax, Avocado Oil, Polyglyceryl oleate, Whey collagen, Soy Lecethin, Stearic acid, Neem oil, Jojoba oil, Coconut oil, Tocopherol Acetate, Almond oil, Castor oil, Sorbitol, Alpha- Tocopherol, Sea Buckthorn oil, Branched chain amino acids (BCAA: leucine + isoleucine + valine), Glutamine Peptides, Glycine, Proline, Glutamine, Aosain (sea algae extract), Betain, Hyaluronic acid (plant based), Retinyl Palmitate, Bisabolol, Allantonin, Citric acid, Xanthan gum, Urea.