What skincare product wasn't worth the splurge?
Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream; it’s fine but didn’t do anything above and beyond for me than a decent moisturizer does!
— Christine
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With all of its lofty claims, celeb endorsements and high price tag, La Mer is just Nivea. Such a scam lol
I agree 100%, just did not do anything for me!
I’ve never even bothered to try La Mer because of the outrageous price coupled with statements like your, Erica, about how it’s basically glorified Nivea. Here in the Great White North (and that refers to snow, lest anyone think it’s something else), I’ve been lucky that the German made version has always been available (I think that wasn’t always the case in the US and apparently – according to those who’ve tried both – there is a difference). Even my sons like it.
I haven’t tried it yet maybe if I can nab a sample off Sephora at some point, but at that price it needs to come with its own aesthetician lol
TMTL-too many to list. Off the top of my head, I do not understand LaMer pricing in terms of results. I know people who swear by it, but I am not one of them.
Also, it smells like urinal cakes.
It’s a fine moisturizer. But so are A LOT of moisturizers for a fraction of the cost. If not for how it’s marketed , would you pay those prices for a pretty average moisturizer? Doubt it lol
I’ll never argue if brands like La Mer have good products or not. They could be very good indeed. But there’s certainly a price limit for cosmetics, even considering good quality ethically sourced ingredients, fair wages and working conditions across the production chain (although most luxury brands don’t seem to be so responsible) and the cost of research (I think we as consumers often forget how much research and innovation is behind cosmetic formulas).
Brands like such just know that celebrities like JLo (I might remember incorrectly the actual celebrity) will buy tons of face moisturizers to use as body lotion because money have no value when you have too much of them.
Confessions of a skincare fiend: I’ve used facial creams, butters, serums and cleansers on my sensitive body. Most weren’t too pricey or I’ll only use them in targeted areas. I’ve always been fascinated by celebs having access to so much luxury and pricey rx products that they cost their entire bodies in them. I wish!
Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant. It’s an okay product – not as effective or “life changing” as I would have hoped, given the price – but I can get the exact same product from Indeed for a fraction of the price.
-417 cleasing gel. This brand is a luxury Israel based brand which use dead Sealt salt and other supposed miraculous ingredient that justify the high end price. I’ve bought this in a moment of desperation caused by the infamous maskne. By the way, this is a normal cleanser, no more than many drugstore ones. I’ve found more effective product that have double size and half the price. Not consider that the first weeks it caused me seborrheic dermatitis near mouth and nose (yeah that was a fantastic combo with maskne). And yes guy, good old salicylic acid is much more effective that dead sea salt for maskne and much less expensive.
DE wasn’t worth the price.
I tried a high end beauty brand after getting a sample in a beauty box and ended up with blemishes and an allergic reaction.
SkinFix did nothing good for me except strip my skin barrier.
Shiseido Ultimune Power Infusing Concentrate; Shiseido White Lucent cream
I usually don’t commit to a pricey skin care purchase until I’ve tested enough samples to know I won’t regret the purchase. I’ve got sensitive skin, so I’ve had to be really careful.
I had a good experience with The Magic Cream. I got a delux sample as my birthday gift from Sephora. I was surprised that my skin looked so refreshed the next morning after putting it on before bed. Then I saw the price tag and thought – did it really look THAT good? Probably not! I might buy a small one and see if my skin handles it well over time, but it’s really pricey compared to my usual moisturizer, Bobbi Brown Hydrating.
As for La Mer, all it did for me was cause a nasty breakout. I’ll never touch it again.
I agree with everyone about La Mer. I don’t think that Drunk Elephant’s marula oil did anything more than less expensive face oils I have used. Koh Gen Doh micellar water does nothing for me that Nyx micellar water did not also do.
Tatcha dewy cream. I mean it’s fine, but nothing to write home about. Augustinius Bader wasn’t worth the hype. I swear it’s just the new La Mer. A mysterious hyper expensive cream with ingredients that aren’t really explained (“miracle broth” vs “TFC8”). Other than moisture I honestly just didn’t notice a difference in my skin.
Everything I tried from the brand Drunk Elephant. I don’t really care what special unique process their marula oil is created with that definitely totes justifies the price…to them. It didn’t work any differently for me than the marula oil from The Ordinary and thats what actually matters.
I haven’t explored too many luxury brands, since so many have fragrances skincare items and I hate scents in my skincare (the smell, not just the impact on my skin).
I don’t have big splurge regrets, but if I was to mention something it would be Drunk Elephant. It’s not that their products are bad, it’s just the results never justified the price.
My biggest regret on splurging is definitely their cleansers. The face wash was OKish, but nothing special, even a cheap Simple face wash is better. The cleansing balm is absolutely awful; I love cleansing balms and I was excited to try it, but it doesn’t do a good job removing makeup, it leaves a greasy finish and it irritated my eyes.
The treatments and moisturizers are good, but nothing worthy to splurge on. Their exfoliants are good, but I can get the same results with other cheaper brands. A splurge I regret is the Protini; I fell in love with peptides from Paula’s Choice Peptide Booster, so I was excited to try the Drunk Elephant Protini. Which is a good moisturizer, but boring, basic and didn’t have my any results (while the peptide booster works almost overnight).
Fresh Black Tea Firming & De-puffing Eye Cream. $68 and it did absolutely NOTHING to firm or de-puff my eyelids!
Honestly, La Mer isn’t something I’d choose even if money was not an issue. There’s just lots of fragrance and botanical extracts – and that’s usually the first sign of snake oil skincare to me. It looks like it would be a lovely cream without those but even so, I’m allergic to some of the skin-benefiting ingredients included.
“Snake oil skincare” – that’s the perfect description (not just of La Mer; I see Drunk Elephant mentioned a great deal here too and I have to agree, especially about their marula oil which is no different – in spite of their claims – to the bottle I can get for $15 at the health food store!).
I haven’t found any of them to do any of the claims they tout. I don’t waste my money on them, natural oils work good for me. I was told they put the smallest amount of anything good in them so you keep buying them. Plus all those chemicals are horrible for you, big hype!
La Met was thick and too cloying. Mediocre at best
For me it would be Drunk Elephant products. I’ve tried Protini and Lala creams, and a couple serums. I just thought they were nice. I saw no real change in my skin. I do like their retinol cream.
Erasa XEP30 — I don’t know why I fell for it. What a waste! Supposed to be non-injectable wrinkle remover, endorsed or owned and “cherished” by Linda Evangelista. I already get Botox – – having made that expenditure, I should just use Olay or Ponds or Cerave on top of it!
Tatcha Violet C serum, I saw no difference between it and Mario Badescu Vitamin C Serum.
I don’t spend a lot of money on skincare products because I think the more expensive the product is, the more the brand is really only adding miniscule amounts of active ingredients that are said to do the trick. So I don’t have any products that were not worth the splurge.
Anything Chanel skincare. Heavily perfumed, made my eyes water and was nothing special.
Lamer, Charlotte tilbury magic cream, Sk11 skincare products and some from shiseido. Sometimes they cost so much and really don’t do anything special that a regular cream can’t do.
Anything expensive! My dermatologist recommends Cerave.
For me CT’s Magic Cream is everything. It’s the best moisturizer I’ve ever used!
Chanel. Skincare in a jar yucks me out and I feel like exposure to air is ruining potency of ingredients. I don’t really splurge on stuff that isn’t worth it but have had plenty of sample. Fragrance in skincare makes my eyes sting and water as well.
I love la mer treatment lotion but not the moisturizer. I saw a definite difference in my skin and more than other essences I’ve tried. But not worth it? Definitely Sunday Riley’s moisturizer and Drunk Elephant vitamin C for eyes and face. Ooo and Olehenricksen vitamin C. I used all for a long period and nothing. And my eyes looked worse with the DE C eye serum. But DE Shaba serum does well for me with a thicker cream over top at night. Skincare is so personal!
Since brands like The Ordinary exist and Korean skincare is available at great price points, it’s been a while since I actually splurged on something (recently I bought Shani Darden retinol but haven’t had a chance to try it yet so I really hope it’s worth it lol). I want to say Erno Laszlo is definitely not worth the money anymore, if it has ever been. Talking Korean skincare, Sulwahsoo never really convinced me but I haven’t tried anything for long enough to form a solid opinion.
I love the slip and delicate scent of CT’s Magic Cream but I agree, for the price (I’ve only used it from 3 sample jars, which in all lasted me 6 weeks) I won’t buy.
The jury is still out on Tatcha, I bought the very well-priced LE wooden crate last fall (during Sephora’s sale too!) and I’ve been using the Essence since, and been using the Dewy Cream for the last two weeks.
I have no idea if the essence is doing anything for me ($124 bottle CND) but I still have about six months left in the bottle and the Dewy Skin Cream feels nice and slippery but also watery. My skin hasn’t felt dry all winter (for the most part) so maybe the essence does work? Saying that, I also use The Ordinary a lot, which is on the opposite end of the price spectrum.
I’d be easier to ask if any had actually felt worth it. I’ve tried lines of product from the following brands, all were ok, but not good enough to justify their price, or pretentious spellings: Dior Capture Totale, Clinique Laser whatever, Shisedo, Kiehls, Aveda, Dr. Brandt, Drunk Elephant, L’Occitane, Clarins.
Things that were good until something changed: Philosophy in the 90s
Things that were good, except the packaging was jarred: Caudalie
Currently using: Lancome—too early to judge, but seems good
Not tried: Tacha, La Mer, SKII, Chanel, anything else super new or super expensive.
Next to try: The Ordinary
Wednesday,
I’m late on my reply to you… Thank you so much for your Inkey product recommendation and foundation info. You’re so helpful that I wish I could send you a gift card! Inkey is in my cart. After reading these comments I’m removing Drunken Elephant products from my cart. I’ll probably stick with BelaDoce Botanicals cleansers (for now). Her gentle facial soaps changed so I’m hunting new ones. I apologize for temping you with my initial love for Tatcha’s gold lip balm. It’s nice but hardly a miracle. Oh and the newest formulation of Bye Bye Foundation isn’t bad but their shades are weird. It used to be more flexible as well.
Perricone Cold Plasma+ Fragile Skin Therapy Body which replaced Cold Plasma Body. This product wasn’t very pricey when I impulse bought 2 on sale but it’s NOT what it used to be. Their original formula was soothing, healing and immediately made dry, irritated skin feel better while leaving it moisturized and more plump. It tightened slightly sagging crepey skin noticeably. It even made thighs look way better. Nice silkier yet creamy consistency. Fragile Skin Therapy Body absorbs so quickly and feels like a lightweight lotion that leaves a finish and feel I do not love. Not all bad but as always, I miss the discontinued products that worked so well for me.
I mentioned this before… I’d love to be able to afford to use pricey treatment products all over my body like I’ve heard Barbra Streisand and Cher do (with eye creams and treatment products for targeted areas). Then I’d get the results I want!