If you’re the type of person who's constantly trying to save a buck, the world of ‘dupes’ on TikTok is an all-consuming one.
For the uninitiated, dupes are affordable products that share a lot of similarities with much more expensive items. So it’s inevitable that a £460, 100ml moisturiser would find itself in the crosshairs of the frugal masses. The cream (crème?) of the crop in question? La Mer’s fabled original moisturiser.
This is not your average tub of lotion, but one that’s loved by the beauty community – think everyone from the beauty and grooming editors to the fresh-faced influencers clogging your socials – with a folklore as immortalised as the product’s reputation.
Legend goes that aerospace engineer Max Huber was working on a rocket stabiliser when an explosion happened in the laboratory, resulting in severe burns across his body. It led to him pivoting from exploring space to the sea, where he learned of the self-regenerative powers of living algae and started to develop a ‘miracle broth’ with it. Next came Crème De La Mer (cream of the sea, to translate) and the influx of fans followed.
Its price isn’t an extreme case of inflation – though that's surely had some influence.
As well as the aforementioned ingredients, there are the unique processes that go into making that broth work its hardest. You're paying for the ten years it took for Huber to develop the formula, as well as the medium hired to channel Huber when Estée Lauder acquired the brand, leading them to try to recreate the original secret recipe years after he passed. (It's understandable why the miracle broth mythology has become such TikTok fodder.)
But a cheap, unglamorous underdog has appeared across the FYP. Nivea Soft – yes, the German brand that’s renowned for its blue tin packaging and regularly found in the back of your nan’s bathroom cupboard – is the latest to be dubbed a dupe.
As is the way with anything on social media, how factual those statements are is questionable. And low and behold, to call the Nivea Soft a dupe by its definition would be false.
La Mer Crème de La Mer Moisturiser 100ml
NIVEA NIVEA Soft Moisturising Cream 75ml
But there are notable parallels. Compare the ingredient list of the two products and you’ll see that Nivea does incredibly well at keeping up with the La Mer concoction, featuring 14 of the same ingredients as its pricier counterpart.
Impressively, these ingredients are listed as some of the first on the back of the Nivea tube. The order of ingredients is important because it reflects their level of concentration, so you’re going to be getting a lot of the La Mer goodness in this budget-friendly formula.
What you’ll be missing is what the Crème de La Mer is known for: it’s famed fermented sea-stuff.
But as someone who isn’t on a six-figure salary (nor sadly, am I on the La Mer PR mailing list), I’ve found myself gravitating to Nivea Soft for years now, well before anyone uttered it on social media.
Despite the fact it doesn’t have a decade-long folklore nor ingredients of miraculous capabilities, it being a regular presence in my bathroom cupboard is a testament to its proficiency. It’s not the most luxurious thing, but it works. My skin is plumper, brighter and most importantly, kept moisturised and hydrated all day. In fact, it does all those things better than a lot of other moisturisers I’ve tried.
(Research for another skincare story resulted in a Zoom call with a dermatologist asking me what moisturiser I use. When I said Nivea Soft, I was pleased to see honest exclamation of how great the little white tube is for your skin, and a regular product recommendation to her clients.)
So can we call on Nivea as the new La Mer? No. Is it still worth trying anyway? Yes. Because even if you don't like it, losing out on couple of quid is an easier pill to swallow than a couple of hundred.
