Love: La Mer The Hydrating Revitalizing Serum
If you want to know if a piece of skincare works as it claims, don't look at the price tag or the brand name - look at the ingredients list. Think of it as a story that maps out the journey the skincare will take on your skin! The first part of the ingredients list (around 5-10 of the names in it, depending) is usually the base or the carrier of the active ingredients. For example, if the product is water-based, you'll see water, aqua, distilled water etc. as the first name in line. Then you'll be seeing alcohols, solvents, emulsifiers, and other ingredients that help to stabilize the formula and make its texture pleasant.
Then we get to the fun part - the active ingredients. Aside from the packaging, these are what you're really paying for. For example, just to give you an idea, a kilo of cosmetics grade Vitamin C in the Philippines costs roughly P28,000. A skin lightening protein could cost anywhere from P300,000 to P1,000,000! There are hundreds of oils and extracts available. Some are cheap, while some are expensive for a reason.
Of course, each bottle of skincare would only have a small percentage of active ingredients. It's because our skin can only take a limited concentration before sustaining damage, and the cost of the active/s has to be taken into consideration. The more expensive it is, the more of it there is in the formula, the more pricey the product is.
And so I present to you the new La Mer The Hydrating Revitalizing Serum. It promises to "awaken vitality" in your skin by hydrating it what they call the Deep Hydration Ferment (a blend of green, brown and red algae) and Lime Tea Concentrate, an antioxidant to protect skin. So does it do what it says? As far as I understand, yes!
It's a water-based serum chock full of plant and algae extracts, oils, and peptides. It is hydrating but it doesn't have a thick feeling at all; the serum is light and is absorbed deep into the skin. There is no filmy or sticky residue as my skin just feels soft and smooth! When I use it at night, I wake up to glowy smooth face with a crazy soft texture. It certainly does look and feel woke, i.e. revitalized.
It does have a strong alcohol (?) scent though. That's strange as I was expecting the usual powdery La Mer scent. Butylene Glycol, a safe organic alcohol, is the third ingredient in the list which may explain the scent, but I see that there's perfume added. Some of the oils should have their own scents as well. Perhaps they are not that pleasant together and are therefore simply masked?
In any case, I suggest smelling this first and checking if you're okay with it. I don't mind it personally as the smell goes away fairly quickly! I suppose this is better than the fishy or old socks smell of other similar serums.
Overall, I find the La Mer The Hydrating Revitalizing Serum responsible for vastly improving the texture and even tone of my skin after I've used it for a couple of months. It's a great pre-boost to the La Mer Moisturizer or as a primer before foundation. It's worth checking out if you're into luxury skin care!
Skincolor de la Mer is available in Rustan’s Makati, Shangri-la and Cebu
Product photography by Samantha Gonzales
Ingredients of the La Mer The Hydrating Revitalizing Serum:
Declustered Water (-)\Aqua\Eau De-Structuree (-), Declustered Water ( )\Aqua\Eau De-Structuree ( ), Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Algae (Seaweed) Extract, BIS-PEG-12 Dimethicone, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sucrose, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Oil, Medicago Sativa (Alfalfa) Seed Powder, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Seed Meal, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil, Sodium Gluconate, Copper Gluconate, Calcium Gluconate, Magnesium Gluconate, Zinc Gluconate, Tocopheryl Succinate, Niacin, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Powder, Citrus Aurantifolia (Lime) Peel Extract, Commiphora Mukul Resin Extract, Codium Tomentosum Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract, Humulus Lupulus (Hops) Extract, Citrus Reticulata (Tangerine) Peel Extract, Asparagopsis Armata Extract, Salicornia Herbacea Extract, Alcaligenes Polysaccharides, Glucose, Porphyridium Cruentum Extract, Sigesbeckia Orientalis (St. Paul's Wort) Extract, Squalane, Cholesterol, Caffeine, Undaria Pinnatifida Extract, Ascophyllum Nodosum Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Sea Salt\Maris Sal\Sel Marin, Castanea Sativa (Chestnut) Seed Extract, Plankton Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Acetyl Hexapeptide-8, Trehalose, Lactoperoxidase, Dimethicone, Lecithin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Protein, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Fruit Juice, Glucose Oxidase, Linolenic Acid, Hydrolyzed Rice Extract, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Yeast Extract\Faex\Extrait De Levure, Acetyl Glucosamine, Bisabolol, Glycosaminoglycans, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium PCA, Tourmaline, Linoleic Acid, Sorbitol, Urea, Tocopheryl Acetate, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Polyquaternium-51, Ethylbisiminomethylguaiacol Manganese Chloride, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Nordihydroguaiaretic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Alcohol Denat., Carbomer, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Fragrance (Parfum), Disodium EDTA, BHT, Phenoxyethanol, Amyl Cinnamal, Hexyl Cinnamal, Benzyl Benzoate, Citronellol, Limonene, Coumarin, Linalool, Blue 1 (CI 42090), Red 4 (CI 14700)
