La Mer has a reputation for being one of the most expensive facial cream brands, this is for good reason. With a complex and lengthy creation process and claims of it being a miracle elixir, this brand has made a name for itself.
If you’ve been in the market for a high-end anti-aging cream and other skin products, La Mer might be right up your alley. However, you may be wondering what makes this brand so expensive? Let’s go through some points I discovered in my research!
Why Is La Mer So Expensive?
1. Ingredients
Some of the ingredients in this anti-aging cream are difficult to harvest. However, it’s not even specifically expensive ingredients, but the sheer amount of items used to create it.
It is full of minerals and vitamins as well. Some ingredients, such as mineral oil help keep moisture in your skin and protect it from most irritants.
Another fantastic ingredient is a seaweed extract. This helps protect the skin from harmful sun rays and basically acts as an antioxidant.
2. Brand Recognition
Anytime a brand becomes recognized by the public and has a reputation for being a great product, it increases its value.
La Mer has a combination of reviews, from absolute raves to scathing ones. However, all that publicity has made it such a famous brand that people are willing to spend money on it.
La Mer’s parent company is Estée Lauder. Most people familiar with anything in the beauty industry will instantly recognize the company name.
3. High-End Product
Regardless of your love or hate for the product, there is no denying La Mer is an incredibly high-end luxury brand.
It’s a combination of brand and ingredients that make this such a highly desired product. Many people do not like the price of $95 for half an ounce. This is what you look at paying when it comes to time-tested anti-aging products.
4. The Creation Process
Fermentation of the cream takes roughly four months to go through the full cycle until it’s ready. As you can imagine, this lengthy process does increase the price.
La Mer takes care to craft each batch as perfectly as the last one. With such a process, this also affects the price since it can’t just be mixed and tossed into a bottle immediately.
This handcrafted process they painstakingly go through means it comes with that very large, premium price. You know each batch produced is equally as good as the last one.
You never have to worry about consistency when using their products because of this process and because of their high standard quality testing.
5. Sustainability
It’s incredible how well they’ve managed to make each batch sustainable by using some left over from the prior batch.
They may lose a bit of product, but they really are making use of what they have as much as possible. The leftover bits are also good for making sure the next batch has a good start.
La Mer is making sure none of their product is wasted, which is something more companies should strive for.
6. Shelf Life
From La Mer’s website, they state that the shelf life unopened is 30 months. Once the cream is opened, it should be used within six months.
Some beauty products go bad much quicker, so the shelf life is excellent. This is something you get only with good, quality brands and products.
These dates are for optimal use. Once it passes the shelf life, it’s possible the cream will lose its effectiveness.
7. How Long It Lasts
A one-ounce jar will last roughly 6-8 weeks if you apply it as it says to. So, at $190 per ounce jar, you will spend roughly $1650 per year on the cream.
While the price tag seems heavy, consider other moisturizers and skin products you use. Those costs really do add up. If you feel you need an anti-aging cream, it’s a fairly reasonable price.
For the reported benefits that come from it, the price is good for that. Beauty products that are known for their quality are not going to come very cheaply in this day and age.
8. Claims Of Miracle Properties
As a disclaimer, this is not health advice, simply what users of La Mer have stated. Hype can be a huge driving force when it comes to products.
They have done actual clinical testing with small groups, and the results were promising. It did help some women lift their skin and repair wrinkles on the face.
Now, some big fans of the product have claimed it has incredible restorative properties from the seaweed and sea silt that is used in the creation. While these claims are unverifiable, clinical testing does show some promise.
9. Celebrity Endorsements
La Mer has some incredibly huge A-list celebrities endorsing the product as one of their favorite brands to use on their skin.
A few of these powerhouses include Beyonce, Kim K, and Blake Lively. Advertising works but having some of the world’s top celebs endorse a product is absolutely a driving force behind price.
Having the celebs rave about the product, means more average consumers will also purchase it. Therefore it becomes a sort of commodity to those who are looking for products like this.
10. Target Audience
While yes, they do rely on everyday people to purchase their products, the target audience is definitely geared toward those who have a more disposable income.
This doesn’t mean only celebs either, but everyday people who just happen to have extra disposable income.
It’s a high-end, expensive product, so they are definitely targeting higher-income households. Keep in mind, that doesn’t mean they want exclusively wealthy people, that is just the income range of people who can purchase larger quantities.
To learn more, you can also read our posts on why BVLA is so expensive, why 111Skin is so expensive, and why Drunk Elephant is so expensive.
Conclusion
Because of everything listed above, this makes La Mer one of the most expensive companies on the market. With their unique formula, many customers rave about how incredible it has been for their skin.
If you are someone that feels they need to reduce wrinkles and lift their skin, La Mer is absolutely worth it to try.