la mer Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Reviews and Other Stuff

Hello guys! Happy Thursday to you all. My apologies for being kind of MIA lately. I’ve been down with a pretty strong cold and I didn’t wanna risk writing a review while being heavily medicated. LOL. God knows what I might have said, right? Anyhow, I got this really interesting La Mer product that I wanna talk about. It’s been released recently and it’s a limited-edition. The last time I check, this particular product is almost slowly getting sold out. Now that’s something. The latest La Mer The Bronzing Powder ($85) is a sight to behold. A vision in soft powdery pink and champagne waves embossed on a matte tan bronzer and encased inside a beautiful rose-gold pearly white compact. The packaging looks glam and luxurious though it can feel a bit delicate. The top half/cover of the compact can be used as a mirror since it’s quite reflective even though it actually houses a real mirror underneath once you flip it open.

According to La Mer, this bronzing powder is meant to feel like a silky pressed powder that is infused with their famous Miracle Broth and is designed to give you that sun-kissed glow. According to my first impression, this bronzer gave me some mixed feelings. When I tried it at my local La Mer counter, I noticed that it had a very pleasant scent that’s typical of most La Mer skincare products, but this bronzer has some strong powdery notes to it, which I actually love and I could have just purchased it just for the scent alone, but I wanted to check if the product applies as beautifully as it looks on the compact. The La Mer S.A. gave me two brushes, one was a powder brush and one was a brush with more dense bristles. I first used the powder brush and swirled it around this bronzer which contains three shades; a slightly shimmery light baby pink (looks more like a blush), a shimmery champagne shade (a highlighter), and a matte tan or light brown shade (bronzer). After swirling all three shades, I then applied it underneath my cheeks. Much to my surprise, the product didn’t really show much on my face. It’s too close to my skin tone and by using the brush powder, there wasn’t much to see. I was a bit disappointed, but then I tried the dense powder and I finally I did see a light peachy sun-kissed glow on my face. I admit I still didn’t like this bronzer much even after trying it, it took me a couple of swatches and several glances at the mirror to realize that this bronzing powder really does show up my face. Also, the store that I was in had some really bad lighting, so that’s something to consider.

Fast forward, a few weeks later, I found myself really loving this La Mer The Bronzing Powder. For the record, I wasn’t really a bronzer fan, to begin with, and what little collection of bronzers I have, they’re mostly quite more pigmented than this La Mer. But, I’ve been really loving the sun-kissed beachy-look vibe lately, which calls for a slight application of bronzers, peachy blushes, and golden highlighters, so this La Mer Bronzer fits the bill. It really does give a sun-kissed glow without looking too contoured or overdone. Once all three colors are swirled, the effect looks quite peachy but still very light. You can build the shade but it still won’t be too pigmented especially if your skin tone is light-medium to golden-warm. If you’re fair or light in complexion, then you’re mostly going to love this, but with my NC25-NC30 skin, this looks very subtle.

I also tested the Lip & Cheek Glows from La Mer, but I skipped on those, I thought they looked so ordinary and they don’t warrant the price. Also, they could probably be easily dupable. What I did get as a sample from purchasing this La Mer Bronzer is a mini La Mer The Moisturizing Cool Gel Cream. Just to give you an overview of this gel cream, well, this doesn’t feel cooling at all, but it’s indeed lightweight and great for sensitive or oily-prone skin types. However, this isn’t so different from the La Mer Soft Cream in term of its lightweightness and texture, and you may have to use a lot of it to get enough coverage on the face. I still suggest using the original Creme de la Mer as it will give you the best bang for your buck.

Overall, if you like sheer bronzers and you have a fair to light-medium skin tone, then you’re gonna love this La Mer The Bronzing Powder. It will give you that subtle sun-lit glow while it defines and contours your face. With that being said, the sheerness of its pigments is not for everyone.

The La Mer Bronzing Powder is currently available at Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Harrods, Bloomingdale’s, and Selfridges.

Oh hey everybody! The brand that we’re gonna talk about needs no further introduction, except only that you could say the brand makes the cream of all creams, perhaps? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m implying and asking that because who doesn’t know La Mer and its miracle broth ingredient? It’s like a magic potion for the skin that everyone raves and swears by through time.

The original La Mer Cream or Crème de la Mer has come a long way than when it was first unveiled, especially in terms of texture. In fact, the entire La Mer brand has branched out into making products that are not just creams. But for this review, let’s start with the “almost equally” popular La Mer Soft Cream, plus a bit of comparison with the original cult-classic Crème de la Mer.

When I first decided to finally pull the trigger and try my hands into La Mer, I went into my local Nordstrom that has a La Mer counter. The lady at the counter had me try the Crème de la Mer first and told me to rub the cream between my palms or hands to warm it up because the cream is really really thick. Soo thick that you’re really gonna need the provided spatula in order to scoop it out. It was funny because I asked the La Mer lady if their creams have Spf (yeah, ignorant me) and she’s like “nope, just a classic cream” and then she proceeded to instruct me to rub the products more between my palms, and I was like “but I rubbed it already? And she be like “you gotta rub and rub and rub a dub dub” and I thought “how long do I have to do this? Is it supposed to be like this? I don’t have all day.” So, long story short, I was finally recommended something that can be easily spread on the face. The lady made me try the La Mer Soft Cream and I love it at first application. Sans rubbing.

Unlike the Crème de la Mer which is thick and time-consuming to apply, the La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream has a more luxurious soft creamy feel. Of course it still has the same scent and hydrating property as the Crème de la Mer but way easier to use. As someone with an oily-prone skin, this is my preferred La Mer cream as it doesn’t feel too heavy. Although I haven’t really tried the Gel Cream, but I would eventually. Who knows? My opinion might change later on and I’ll update you ASAP.

Both the Crème de la Mer and the Moisturizing soft cream requires you to only apply a little bit due to their creamy consistency. However, you may still need to apply more of the Soft Cream.

For the price and packaging, I don’t know why but I was really kind of disappointed when I had my first ever La Mer Soft Cream, which I bought in small size at 0.5 oz for $85. I remember that I first thought there must be a mistake and I was probably given a sample. For that amount of money, the packaging is way too small. Much like a travel size that felt tiny with respect to the palm of my hands. For someone who likes to douse her face with moisturizers, I felt like I couldn’t really do this with La Mer’s, at least not for some time. I mean don’t get me wrong, but I’ve had creams this worth before yet they weren’t really that small, you know. It’s just disappointing. Oh well, I guess, La Mer is La Mer, they must have a desired or specific clientele that can truly afford this stuff. Buy why so small? It’s almost insulting. Yet still, La Mer remains popular and a cult-favorite. Simply because they always say that this cream works. PersonalIy, I really love the scent of this cream. It smells like a freshly-milled, unscented and unbleached soap. Something refreshing and pure. But why do I feel like I know this smell before? It smells like Nivea Creme.

Speaking of the cream’s effect and its miracle secret ingredient. I do notice that my face looks radiant, no dry patches, and just glowy. It also provides intense hydration on the skin and it seems to repair and sooth my skin problems fast, like swollen acnes and dark spots. I usually use the Soft Cream at night and it keeps my skin moist, though I find it to be too thick for the summer. I love the texture of this cream a lot and it feels luxurious on the face. As with its miracle broth and the whole sea kelp thing, it sounds a bit too magical for me. Overhyped? Perhaps. The La Mer Cream was created years ago, it’s classic and has a lot of following, so it probably works for a lot of people, especially to those who swear by it, but I also think that there’s a lot more creams out there that are newer and have revolutionary ingredients that are priced and sized reasonably.

The La Mer Moisturizing Soft Cream is available here: Sephora, Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, Net-A-Porter and Selfridges.

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Reviews and Other Stuff

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La Mer The Bronzing Powder Review + Swatches

La Mer The Moisturizing Soft Cream Review

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