I recently received the Iconic Edition of the Sephora Play Box (read my review here) and one of the products I was most excited to try out was Crème de La Mer The Moisturizing Soft Cream because well it’s super famous and also hella expensive so of course I wanted to know what’s the big deal.
The .24 oz sample included was enough for about two week’s use – so a one ounce jar would last about 2 months. About a week in as I was getting ready in the morning I starting noticing that my skin did indeed look different – I looked clearer and under my eyes my lines looked a little softer and my circles less dark. I took this selfie to document my skins look – because #vain – plus I knew I would need it for this longer review. I think there’s still room for improve with my skin’s texture but it had only been a week.
My problem was that a month’s supply – the .5 oz jar – is $85 and while that might not seem bad to some it is in major conflict with my goal of being financially responsible and keep my spending in control while also focusing on fine tuning my wardrobe this year. I really, really like the way my skin looks but I also really, REALLY didn’t want to sacrifice my spending money when I’m already having a hard time controlling myself each month. For example – there was a navy dress I had my eye on for $120 so it would have been this or the dress this month. So like any normal person these days I took to social media to complain – but luckily I did because that’s where the story gets interesting.
One of childhood friends comments that although she had not tried it she had heard that Pond’s Rejuveness Anti-Wrinkle Cream is considered a pretty good dupe. So of course I had to see how it measures up.
I would have loved to have a picture where you have two jars that cost the same to show the size difference but I had no interest in storing that much face cream in my bathroom. This 7 oz jar cost me $8.12 off Amazon (it’s an add on item so wait until you are buying something else) and you can buy this .24oz travel size for $29.99 – so it’s almost four big ponds jars to one tiny La Mer jar.
From a formula standpoint they have a very similar look, texture, feel on the skin and scent. I’d say La Mer is a little thinner.
Ponds (left) and Le Mer (right)
From a content standpoint La Mer means of the sea so it’s no surprise that algae and seas kelp are some of the main ingredients and it’s advertised as containing lots of minerals; Pond’s on the other hand promotes AHA and Collagen as it’s primary ingredients. Basically La Mer contains more natural anti – aging ingredients while Pond’s contains more chemical ones. I know to some people this would be a very important difference; while I prefer natural products I’m certainly not opposed to chemical products in my skincare -I’m actually quite the fan of chemical peels.
It’s been cloudy all week so I can’t replicate the exact lighting in my first picture to give you the best comparison but both of my selfies are in my office facing the window and I’m wearing the same makeup.
To me I think the ponds isn’t as great with helping the dark circles but I think overall face and most importantly to me the under eye lines the results are very similar. I didn’t get a ton of feedback so you can judge for yourself but I personally think I’m looking a little younger and got some feedback that I look to be around 30 – I turned 33 last month.
From a sheer performance standpoint I do think La Mer is the superior product but for the price I personally don’t think the difference warrants the additional spend so I recommend the Pond’s. Maybe my priorities will change as I get older but for now I’m still going to focus my spending away from super fancy skin creams.
**This post features products I purchased with my own money and all opinions are my own, this is not a sponsored post**
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