Everyone’s saying a £9 cream is the same as £305 Creme de la Mer – my scientific test shows a win for the cheap buy

IT'S the viral £9 face cream that some people have claimed is the same as the £305 Creme de la Mer.

So, in a bid to settle the debate once and for all, cosmetic chemist Carly took both to her lab to test them out.

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First she had to buy the Nivea Soft cream as she didn't already have it, and admitted the £9 price tag wasn't something she was "expecting".

Then, she weighed out both creams and added the same-sized swatches to testing squares.

She then waited 45 minutes before testing the creams.

First up, the hydration test.

And while Creme de la Mer had an increase of 23%, Nivea Soft increased skin's hydration by an incredible 95%.

However, Carly did note: "This high moisture reading could have been a result on the high water content in Nivea".

Next up, she conducted the 'tewl' test.

Tewl stands for "transepidermal water loss", so a higher tewl means you're more likely to have dry or damaged skin.

In this test, Creme de la Mer reduced tewl by 8%, while Nivea wasn't far behind with 15%.

"So these were quite close," she said.

"These were only a couple of parameters though."

She then moved on to comparing the creams under the microscope - with Creme de la Mer showing a "tight matrix and closely-packed globules" which "can be an indication of good stability".

Nivea had a similar matrix, but larger globules, which were most noticeable if she zoomed in.

Carly went on to check the INCI (International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient) list, to see which cream contained what.

And while both creams had similar ingredients, Creme de la Mer does use "encapsulation technology for their algae extract".

Carly concluded by stating: " I do wonder if they're playing a bit of a game with us, because when I typed in Nivea Soft, guess what popped up with its £305 self?"

She also clarified the results in response to someone's comment, writing: "They don’t have the same INCI, similar but they aren’t the same.

"Nivea has lots of water, is more hydrating and reduced water loss more."

People were quick to comment on the video, with Nivea themselves writing: "There’s no competition in moisture!"

While other Nivea users insisted they would never use anything else.

"Nivea is outstanding!! That’s all I have ever used and I’m 50," one wrote.

"Forget the serums and fancy stuff!"

"I am 63, all I ever used is Nivea, my skin is excellent," another added.

"I always had/have Nivea, ever since I was a child, I'm 56 now..." a third commented.

"Nivea Soft is amazing. I have been using it for more than 10 years," someone else wrote.

"I always use nivea soft before I do my make-up, no primer and it looks sooo good," another said.

To which Carly replied: "Actually I could see this as it dries down quick.

"Might try it!"

"Nivea has been around since 1911. I think it's fair to say it works," someone else insisted.

"La mer is not worth the hype!" another raged.

As someone else wrote: "I love Nivea products.. they do the job and are easy on the pocket."

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