Index / La Mer / Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream
La Mer

La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream.

La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream
Save to Pinterest
Moisturizers
About this product

A luxury face moisturizing cream sold in a small jar, designed to hydrate and nourish the skin.

Full ingredients

Algae (Seaweed) Extract, Mineral Oil\Paraffinum Liquidum\Huile Minerale, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Isohexadecane, Microcrystalline Wax\Cera Microcristallina\Cire Microcristalline, Lanolin Alcohol, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Extract, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Powder, Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Seed Powder, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Meal, Sodium Gluconate, Copper Gluconate, Calcium Gluconate, Magnesium Gluconate, Zinc Gluconate, Magnesium Sulfate, Paraffin, Tocopheryl Succinate, Niacin, Water\Aqua\Eau, Beta-Carotene, Decyl Oleate, Aluminum Distearate, Octyldodecanol, Citric Acid, Cyanocobalamin, Magnesium Stearate, Panthenol, Limonene, Geraniol, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Benzyl Salicylate, Citral, Sodium Benzoate, Alcohol Denat

More from La Mer 5 products · Guru Score 26% →

Guru Score

47%

Nay

11 experts · Strong agreement

What the gurus are saying

Its rich, thick texture comes up again and again, and several gurus say it nourishes very dry skin well. The price is where opinions split. Many reviewers call it far too expensive, and some point out that its ingredients, including petrolatum and mineral oil, look much like a drugstore cream. However, the jar is said to last about two years after opening, which can make the cost easier to justify for anyone who can afford it.
Synthesized from 11 expert reviews · most recent take October 2026

What they liked

  • Rich, enveloping texture
  • Natural, near-matte finish
  • Softens skin and boosts hydration

What they flagged

  • Very expensive for the formula
  • Contains fragrance and denatured alcohol
  • Too thick for oily skin

Type

MoisturizersCream

Key actives

Vitamin E

Formula notes

Contains drying alcohol

Where to buy

Opens a store search. We may earn from these links.

Scan it in the shopFree iPhone app. Scores in the aisle.

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Mixed takes Hide sponsored
✕Nay
"My bestie swears by La Mer and has for years, [...] so I tried it, and I just didn't dig it. [...] To be honest, I didn't feel it was rich enough. It didn't feel luxurious enough for what it costs. I know La Mer works for a lot of people, and if you love it, yay. But skin care is very personal, [...] and for me, at that price point, it was just a hard no."
Top Pick: nighttime moisturizer
All 2 takes from Skin Obsessed Mary
⭐️ Skincare Must-Haves | Can't Live Without | with Aging Naturally with Jodylynn
"This is my nighttime moisturizer and as long as I'm not traveling I use this every single day. It took me years to just accept it because it's so freaking expensive, but on a refill program I got it down to 200 euros and I only use it at night so it lasts three or four months. I love it so much. This is the one luxury product that I buy over and over just because I notice a difference when I stop using it. It's got stem cell technology and my skin suffers if I don't use it."
5 Expensive Products Not Worth the Money (and What I'd Buy Instead)
"My bestie swears by La Mer and has for years, [...] so I tried it, and I just didn't dig it. [...] To be honest, I didn't feel it was rich enough. It didn't feel luxurious enough for what it costs. I know La Mer works for a lot of people, and if you love it, yay. But skin care is very personal, [...] and for me, at that price point, it was just a hard no."
✕Nay
"In 2025, they want you to pay $390 for 2 oz. Like, even if we were not pinching pennies, are people really just throwing that kind of cash around on a cream?"
✕Nay
"While it is a great moisturizer, especially if you like the feel of a richer, more enveloping cream, when I look at the ingredient list, aside from having this miracle broth, it's pretty similar to what you would see in a drugstore moisturizer. There's a lot of oils, including mineral oil. There's a lot of waxes, which are not bad ingredients by any means."
All 2 takes from Dr. Sam Ellis
Skincare Trends That Need to STOP | Dr. Sam Ellis
"Things like La Mer augustinus bot Dr Sturm and it's not to say that they aren't wonderful moisturizers that feel good on your skin but you could achieve similar results with something that is so much more affordable"
Why Are These the Most Popular Anti-Aging Creams? | Dr. Sam Ellis
"While it is a great moisturizer, especially if you like the feel of a richer, more enveloping cream, when I look at the ingredient list, aside from having this miracle broth, it's pretty similar to what you would see in a drugstore moisturizer. There's a lot of oils, including mineral oil. There's a lot of waxes, which are not bad ingredients by any means."
✕Yay
"It is a really rich formula, it nourishes like nothing else. It is perfect for that really dry, fragile skin that loses moisture retention as we age. It will strengthen the skin barrier, helping prevent fine lines from deepening. It leaves skin visibly plumper, smoother, firmer after continued use. The cream lasts 24 months past the opening date, so it's going to last you a very long time. You need so little of it when you purchase this, it will last you a full 2 years when you open it."
✕Nay
"I personally don't like it as a moisturizer. I think it's overpriced and there's better options out there. [...] If you're looking for an affordable moisturizer and you're currently using La Mer, I'd say switch to any other product out there because the La Mer one, it's not that great to begin with in my humble opinion. There are actually two different versions of this product."
✕Mixed
"I recently tried La Mer again, and that darn moisturizer, it's nice, but the price tag just makes me mad, it's too expensive. [...] I truly don't feel that it really takes my routine to the next level."
✕Nay
"The ingredients, the irritants they put into here is your eucalyptus, your lemon, your janol linol hydroxy citronellol and citrol, those are all different types of fragrance. The problem is with these sort of long words that you might not be familiar with, you might not know it's fragrance that you're putting on your skin. You might just think these are good ingredients but actually if you ever see these words in any of your ingredients list, [...] avoid using that product."
✕Nay
"They're extremely overpriced with some of the worst ingredient lists I have ever seen in skincare formulas ever, and they price themselves based off of this secret ingredient that they use when the majority of their formula you can find in a $3 moisturizer at the drugstore. [...] I will not deny that La Mer feels nice on the skin, but [...] the proof is in the ingredient list and the ingredient list does not measure up."
✕Nay
"It's fucking expensive. It's so expensive. Do I think it's worth the money? Not in my personal opinion. I believe there is a place for luxury skincare, and if you can afford it, use it. Enjoy yourself, pamper yourself. Do I think you can get amazing skincare for £3 or under five quid? 100%. Absolutely. People love La Mer. It's fine. I personally don't."
All 3 takes from James Welsh
Reacting to Ariana Grande's...Interesting Vogue Skincare Routine 💜 James Welsh
"It's fucking expensive. It's so expensive. Do I think it's worth the money? Not in my personal opinion. I believe there is a place for luxury skincare, and if you can afford it, use it. Enjoy yourself, pamper yourself. Do I think you can get amazing skincare for £3 or under five quid? 100%. Absolutely. People love La Mer. It's fine. I personally don't."
The Beauty Brand Built On Conspiracy Theories - The Mystery Of La Mer - Behind The Beauty
"La Mer for me has just never piqued an interest for me. I hear that they're average. Whilst there's only one person who could actually make me convince me to even try La Mer, even my business budget doesn't quite meet the price tags yet. I don't think I'll be investing that much into it yet."
Viral Skincare Products & Their BETTER Alternatives - Tiktok Skincare Compilation
"La Mer, plain and simple, doesn't interest me at all, [...] I understand the want and need for luxury skincare, I personally don't use a lot of it, I'm not going to badmouth those who do. [...] What I will say is everybody I meet who uses it quite religiously always looks pretty flawless, but it's still not for me."
✕Nay
"La Mer is literally made with the same ingredients that you find in something like Nivea cream, yet costs significantly more, so it's not worth the premium price."
All 6 takes from Cassandra Bankson
The Messy Truth About PetrOLEum Jelly VS PetroLATum: The History Of This Skincare Ingredient
"La Mer literally has petrolatum as one of their ingredients in their amazing moisturizer. $400 for this little tiny tube of seaweed and it has petrolatum in it."
When To SAVE VS SPLURGE In A Skincare Routine - Your Guide From A Medical Esthetician
"La Mer is literally made with the same ingredients that you find in something like Nivea cream, yet costs significantly more, so it's not worth the premium price."
10 Luxury Skincare SWAPS - Buy This Not That!
"The main ingredients in La Mer are petrolatum jelly, which is exactly what you find in Vaseline, a great product and good for skin but not worth five hundred dollars in my opinion. They gave it a light show and added some eucalyptus scent, and we're gonna pay big bucks for it."
3 Best La Mer Dupes (that are Cruelty Free & Worth The Money)
"When I tell you they are making a killing on this and they are marking it up, they are making a killing on [...] it. The problem that I have is when celebrities shove this down our throats telling us that we need it in our routines and make us feel horrible for not having it, and when we buy it it doesn't work with the expectations that we place upon it. [...] La Mer is also not cruelty free, and that is something that I am extremely passionate about."
Reacting To INSANE Tik Toker Noah Beck’s Skincare Routine
"Petrolatum, your Vaseline, your Salimo Jelly, your CVS petroleum jelly. That is literally what this is. Yes, it also has some seaweed in it, but literally it's Nivea plus seaweed. And the full size is three hundred sixty dollars for sixty milliliters. [...] It is a nice thick cream that costs way too much money. Get yourself a seaweed cream and put some cruelty-free Vaseline from Salimo on your face and you will have saved yourself three hundred dollars."
Guessing What Skincare Celebrities Got Me For Christmas…
"The La Mer is going to be a regift that I silently but very kindly will pass down to someone else."
✕Nay
"Remember it was like Embryolisse and like La Mer used to be like the go-to moisturizers you would use under makeup back in the day. I have a theory about that."
Sponsored
All 3 takes from Mixed Makeup
Skin Tints, Skincare Prep, & the 5-Minute Face with Nikki La Rose
"Remember it was like Embryolisse and like La Mer used to be like the go-to moisturizers you would use under makeup back in the day. I have a theory about that."
Reacting to Ariana Grande's Skincare & Makeup Routine with a Pro Makeup Artist! | Susan Yara
"La Mer, overpriced moisturizer but still nice and bougie. Rich, thick texture. It's like a natural skin finish, borders on being matte."
Reacting to Bridgerton Actress Simone Ashley's Skincare Routine! | Susan Yara
"With this product you only need a little bit, like a tiny tiny bit, so a little bit goes a long way. You can put so much more of your moisturizer on, I promise you do not have to use that tiny tiny little bit of moisturizer. If that's working for her there is nothing wrong with that, but I don't want anyone to watch this video and think that you have to be this precious with your moisturizer, especially if it's La Mer."

What the evidence says.

Independent of what the gurus think, this is what the published research supports about the main active ingredients here.

Humectants and emollients

Ingredients like these draw water into the surface layers and slow how fast it leaves. The evidence is for comfort, softness and hydration rather than for changing the structure of the skin.

Source: DermNet

Frequently asked.

What is La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream?

A luxury face moisturizing cream sold in a small jar, designed to hydrate and nourish the skin.

Is La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream worth it?

Mostly no. Only 1 of the 11 gurus who reviewed it approve, which leaves it a Guru Score of 47%.

What is La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream's Guru Score?

La Mer Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream holds a Guru Score of 47%. That is our read on how warmly the experts talk about it, based on the verdicts of 11 expert reviewers we have collected. At least one expert has named it a Top Pick in its category.

Cheaper alternatives the gurus rate.

Lower-priced moisturizers the gurus still rate highly, versus this luxury pick.

See how they stack up →

Similar products worth a look.

Other products the same gurus have weighed in on, plus more from this brand and category.

Compare side by side →

Spotted something on this page that doesn't look right? Let us know.

Share this score

Add this badge to your blog or website. It links back to this page and updates itself when the experts change their minds. Free, no sign-up.

Then paste it into your site's HTML or embed block.

This week's top beauty news, in your inbox.

A weekly read of the takes worth catching up on: the raves, the splits, the ones the gurus won't shut up about. Free, no spam, unsubscribe whenever.

Subscribe to the digest