Creme de la Mer Creme de la Mer Face Cream

I am a self-confessed product junkie... and this is what self-confessed product junkies do - we go and spend £135 on a 60ml jar of facial moisturising crème. But as I am qualified as a beauty therapist you could say I'm doing this for the good of the people, they need an opinion from someone they can trust. And now I'm writing reviews on Ciao, well, that just means I'm helping even more people…

That's my excuse anyway.

...
...little gem of a product for at least a year before I actually bought it. So nobody can accuse me of impulse-buying this time. I kept reading about this miracle cream that all the celebrities use, and let's face it, famous people do tend to have fabulous skin. The more I read the more intrigued I became. Grazia magazine even named it as product that paved the way for a storm of miracle crèmes that were better than plastic surgery!

The ... more

I am a self-confessed product junkie... and this is what self-confessed product junkies do - we go and spend £135 on a 60ml jar of facial moisturising crème. But as I am qualified as a beauty therapist you could say I'm doing this for the good of the people, they need an opinion from someone they can trust. And now I'm writing reviews on Ciao, well, that just means I'm helping even more people…

That's my excuse anyway.

I had read magazine article after magazine article about this little gem of a product for at least a year before I actually bought it. So nobody can accuse me of impulse-buying this time. I kept reading about this miracle cream that all the celebrities use, and let's face it, famous people do tend to have fabulous skin. The more I read the more intrigued I became. Grazia magazine even named it as product that paved the way for a storm of miracle crèmes that were better than plastic surgery!

The more intrigued I was the more research I did and I discovered that a scientist called Dr Max Huber had developed this cream for healing his chemical burn scars (really, it's true). It's got sea kelp and uses a special process involving sunlight to develop it... Whatever it was, it sounded great and I was desperate to get my hands on this cream... sorry, crème!

It took Dr Huber a total 12 years conducting 6,000 experiments in order to create this crème that would help his burns in a way in which neither science nor medicine was able to. To think that this crème was originally for a scientist to heal his burns but is now world renowned for its miraculous effects on the skin. Skin should become softer and firmer, pores and lines will be reduced, dry complexions and sensitive skins will be soothed.

Crème De La Mer's key ingredients are combined in what is called a Miracle Broth. This Miracle Broth is made up of sea kelp, magnesium, calcium, iron, potassium, lethecin, vitamins C, E and B12, and a combination of citrus, wheat germ, alfalfa and sunflower oils. These ingredients are great ingredients and are seen in many other skincare products. So what's so special about Crème De La Mer then, you ask? Well, to become Miracle Broth these ingredients are not merely mixed together and slung in a pot. No, no, no. Dr Huber used fermentation process that takes between three and four months to complete, during which the energies of the ingredients are released and come together to great the rich nutrient filled Miracle Broth and only then is it good enough for Crème De La Mer. Sea Kelp also has natural anti-microbial properties meaning that there merest amount of preservatives are required in this product. This makes it even kinder to your skin. I like it when a product has minimal amounts of preservatives. The final product is so delicate that each jar of Crème De La Mer is filled by hand.

Now that's what I call special.

So, a year and a half ago, I met my current boyfriend, a Frenchman living in London. Ooh la la. It's really sad to say this, but in all my life I had never been on a proper shopping trip around London, so Frenchie offered to show me about. We travelled about on the Tube. I found it so cool being on the Tube - now I detest travelling on the London Underground. We ended up in Knightsbridge, and I found myself standing open-mouthed in front of Harrods.

"I know I can't afford anything, but please can we go in?" I begged. So in we went. What a novelty it was seeing all these posh people in their fancy clothes. As soon as you go in there, you are on the floor with all the cosmetics and perfumes; I was in heaven (product junkie - remember?) I wandered about sniffing this and testing that, turning down offers of buying some new product from very expensive perfume houses. I was on my best behaviour; look, but don't buy.

Then I saw it.

Like something out of a movie, the crowd parted and 20 metres away from me stood the Crème De La Mer counter. I was mesmerised. "Go and have a look then", said Frenchie. Silly boy. He now knows to drag me in the opposite direction when I have that glazed look about me. I cautiously approached the counter, looking in awe at the salesman with his glowing smooth perfect complexion.

"Hello, madam, would you like to test some Crème De La Mer on the back of your hand?" he asked. I nodded and on went the crème. He rubbed it in whilst telling me all the stuff I had already found out. Out came my credit card, I was signing the receipt, then the next thing I knew I was the proud owner of my very own jar of Crème De La Mer.

And I owed another £135 to Barclaycard. Sigh.

It comes in a groovy sage green cardboard box; when you remove the lid of the box, the jar is on a stand. It's like it has its very own display. The crème is in a heavy white jar with an equally heavy white lid. You get a little white spatula to dig out some of the thick white crème and there's even a little leaflet to tell you all about your little prize. No, the spatula isn't just a ridiculous excuse to charge you extra. It's actually far more hygienic to use a spatula with your products as you never know what germs and bacteria might be lurking on your fingers when you dunk them in to your pot. That moist jar would be a perfect breeding ground - eeuuww.

The crème itself is very thick and very heavy. It has a delicate scent to it like a subtle perfume. It DOESN'T smell like Nivea, which some ebay bought jars apparently smell of. (They probably ARE Nivea...) I have to say I was a bit naive when I first tried the cream that night. I stood in front of the mirror after carefully warming up the cream to release those ever so important key ingredients and patting it on my face, just like the instructions told me. You only need a pea-sized amount and you can even use this cream on the eye area. I expected to see miracles before my eyes. I blinked a few times. Nothing happened. Hmm. Talk about not living up to the hype!

But the next morning, oh how I had to eat my words! What a glorious feeling! My skin was so soft and smooth and silky! It really does work, I thought. And I was hooked and carried on using this product every night.

I've been using this stuff for about a year now and I'm about half of the way into the jar. I only use it at night as I find it too heavy for daytime but as we all know skin repairs itself at night so it really is the best time to use it. Given that, a 60ml jar should last me about two years as you only need a tiny bit, so actually, it works out quite good value for money, don't you think?

You're probably now thinking, well, come on, what effect has it had on my skin after continuous use? Before I used this stuff, I would say I had combination skin, prone to some oiliness and I did suffer from breakouts. Now I have normal skin (miracle!), I can use normal skin moisturisers for the day instead of combination to oily skin ones, make-up is used to emphasise rather than hide and I certainly don't remember what a spot looks like! I used to have scars from previous spots but they have all gone.

My friends thought I was crazy when I first told them how much I paid for this; they laughed at me, called me stupid and reeled off a list of all the things I could have bought instead. Now, after seeing the effect this crème has on my skin one of them has actually trekked down to London to buy it for herself, the others wish they could afford it and I am forever getting compliments on what nice skin I've got.

For your information I am 24. Before you start calling me crazy, think about this: the aging process begins at 25. Anti-aging creams are exactly that - anti - meaning they are to be used as a beforehand so let me tell you girls and guys, prevention is better than cure, there's not a lot you can do once deep wrinkles set in, but I hope with this cream I'll be fighting them off for a long time to come. It is worth every single penny!

As I said before, I bought my jar from Harrods in London. You can buy Crème De La Mer products from various selected reputable departments stores across the UK, for example, Harvey Nichols, Browns, John Lewis, Frasers, Fenwicks.

Just a little warning about buying this product on ebay. I have seen it being sold on ebay, but have heard so many people say they bought Crème De La Mer from a seller on ebay and thought the crème was useless. I really have to say that I question the authenticity of the products that those sellers had rather than the effectiveness of the crème. Some people have even paid ebay sellers double what Crème De La Mer normally retails for!

If you are going to spend so much money on a product, buy it from one of the proper counters in one of the good stores like Harrods. That way you will be guaranteed to have the real thing and won't be disappointed!

Thanks for reading! :) 

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