Love it: La Mer’s new Replenishing Oil Exfoliator

Crème de la Mer is one of the most well-regarded - and luxurious - skin creams in the world, thanks to its unique use of sea kelp, eco-friendly processing and above all, the astonishing results the cream yields. It’s also one of the world’s most luxe beauty brands, with an avid following of women who collect its iconic creations by the boxful.

Celebrity lovers of the brand include ‘it’ girl Cara Delevingne and her model sister Poppy, famous faces Blake Lively and Jessica Alba and the multitalented powerhouse Jennifer Lopez, who seems to look younger by the year and confesses to covering her body in Crème de la Mer on a nightly basis. But beyond celebrity endorsement, La Mer also has a remarkable back story, which blends ingenuity and perseverance into a miraculous tale about the creation of a brand that thrives today by helping women look younger.

The story began 40 years ago with a NASA scientist named Dr. Max Huber who was badly burned in an explosion at his laboratory. An aerospace physicist, Huber was injured when a routine experiment to develop rocket fuel went wrong, leaving him with severe burns on his hands and face. Dr. Huber went on to survive the accident and set out over the course of the next 12 years to create a product that would help smooth his badly disfigured skin. What began as one man’s journey to repair his own physical imperfections resulted in the creation of a product that would become a modern beauty icon and loved by women all over the world for its ability to halt the ageing process at every turn.

Dr. Huber experimented with an amazing 6,000 combinations before he hit on a concoction that would help to smooth his damaged skin and become the cornerstone in the La Mer line. The beauty of his formula was that the ingredients were quite basic; the success depended on the quantities of sea kelp, lecithin and vitamins he used, and the months that it took to complete the bio-fermentation of the product. The outcome to these trials was a product he named Miracle Broth. From there he went on to create Crème de la Mer, the flagship product in what is now a much expanded – and beautiful - line.

Which brings me to their newest release, the revolutionary new drop known as The Replenishing Oil Exfoliator. I love a truly luxe beauty item – it stirs the senses and the emotions like you wouldn’t believe, and at every turn you feel like you are allowing yourself that little bit of time for extra pampering i.e. true ‘me’ time in every sense of the word. I also love the feel of using oils on my skin – face and body – and am already a hige fan of their beautiful The Renewal Oil, so I just knew this would be a winner.

A multi-dimensional facial exfoliator that goes easy on the skin but delivers results, the new oil gently removes impurities and replenishes the skin while going through quite the transformation (beauty geeks, rejoice!).  What starts off as a gel-like, semi solid oil in a very La Mer golden hue melts into a silky liquid oil when it makes contact with the skin. Once splashed with water, the formula transforms once again into luxurious, creamy oil. When even more water is added to the mix, it transforms yet again into a replenishing, creamy texture that you rinse off. Gentle enough to use up to four times a week, it can also be given a little extra grunt by being applied to dry skin with dry hands - clever!

At the heart of the Exfoliator is the brand’s legendary Miracle Broth, plus a medley of natural exfoliants like sugar crystals and sea salt that gently buff to reveal a soft and refined complexion. Natural sea kelp fibres help to detoxify by drawing impurities from the skin’s surface, whilst a “Brightening Blend” of molasses and vitamin C help bring back that all-elusive glow.

With an RRP of $165 for 100ml, the new Replenishing Oil Exfoliator is available right now from La Mer counters nationwide and online at smithandcaugheys.co.nz.