Something you probably already know: Crème de la Mer ain’t cheap—but you may recall that we’ve openly praised the lip balm as a bang worth your buck. (One thing you might not know! ITG's Editorial Director, Nick, can’t think of Crème de la Mer without flashing back to VH1‘s terrific Fabulous Life Of...Jennifer Lopez episode, wherein the host posited that the singer could fill some large number of swimming pools with the amount of La Mer she slathered on in a year—she purportedly used it as a body lotion.)
But anyway, if you are a person who is curious about skin products and willing to splurge in the name of luxury, you'll be jazzed to know that there's a new La Mer on the scene: the Moisturizing Soft Cream (yours for $150-$275). What is a 'soft cream,' besides something that sounds like an ice-cream ingredient? Good question. Here's what I figured out:
La Mer’s most commonly heard complaint is the weight and thickness of its signature Moisturizing Cream (which, the directions advise, is to be administered with the supplied mini plastic shovel and warmed up between the fingertips before it goes on your face). It's a little intense, in other words. The Soft Cream aims to solve the issue with a thinner, fluffier texture, while keeping you as safe, sound, moisturized, and lovely smelling as the original.
I have rather sensitive skin that veers dry, and still, I've always felt a bit too greased-up and weighed-down the times I've snagged a bit of my mother's La Mer during a trip home for the holidays. Not so with the Soft Cream! When I told my mother about the new formula, which I'd been trying out for the last week, she asked me if they “just whipped some air' into the older version (truthfully, she phrased it less like a question and more as a statement, but she comes by her WASPy skepticism honestly). And while I can't answer that for you, I can tell you it absorbed swiftly into my skin, making it feel soft and appear matte yet moist—a horrible word, but, in this instance, a very good look.
—Alessandra Codinha
