Get lit from within

MANILA, Philippines - Whenever the La Mer brand introduces a new product to the skin care market, one can’t help but notice. The latest result from the Max Huber Research Labs is no exception, as it addresses a skin care concern that takes up much of the average Filipina’s time and money.

With its new Whitening Essence Intense, La Mer once again harnessed the healing and transformative powers of the deep sea to create a lightweight and easy-to-apply formula that does more than the generic skin whitening promised by other products. “Our scientists have discovered that we cannot achieve the spotless luminosity of youthful-looking skin by targeting pigmentation alone,” explains Loretta Miraglia, La Mer’s senior vice president of product development and innovation. “We must [also] address multiple veils of discoloration, dryness, and skin sagging as well.”

This three-pronged approach to skin whitening led to the combination of La Mer’s legendary Miracle Broth with the exclusive Smoothing Ferment, the ultra-potent Whitening Trio, and the innovative Youth Ferment into a product that has both strong whitening and anti-aging actions. The Whitening Essence Intense works on brightening skin by first clearing it of discoloration.

Traditionally, discoloration is thought of as the visible dark spots attributed to sun exposure. However, skin discoloration actually has three components: there are the gray spots due to rough and dull skin as well as enlarged pores. Inflammation and skin sensitivity to environmental irritants bring about redness, and then there are the brown spots caused by aging and melasma or the dark pigmentation of the skin. Each of these discolorations is targeted by powerful healing components of The Whitening Essence Intense.

The Smoothing Ferment, charged in part by an active brown algae called Laminaria Saccharina, speeds up the skin’s natural exfoliation process to help lift off that gray dullness that lends a tired and rough look to the face; skin is left looking clearer and finer, with less visible pores. To combat redness, the healing properties of the seaborne elixir Miracle Broth is further enhanced by the anti-oxidant properties of lime tea extract, which soothes the skin from irritants and protects it from future signs of irritation.

Spot lit: La Mer The Whitening Essence Intense brings the same results as the original Whitening Essence formula but at half the time.

For those stubborn brown spots, the products Whitening Trio formula helps dissolve dense melanin clusters so they appear virtually invisible. This trio formula, a combination of the White Nutrient Ferment, Concentrated Vibra White Ferment, and Concentrated White Algae Ferment, works in synergy with the Miracle Broth to inhibit the excess production of melanin and to intercept the skin’s multiple melanin pathways, preventing future discoloration. Once discoloration has been lifted to reveal the pure, white skin underneath, The Whitening Essence Intense then works to hydrate the skin, once again with La Mer’s signature Miracle Broth. Miraglia says, “It enhances the effects of all the ingredients in the product and provides whitening benefits with actual hydration [to give] the skin a glow, an inner light.”

Dryness in the skin is alleviated through the broth’s hyaluronic acid, touted in the skin care industry as nature’s miracle moisturizing agent. Once infused with sufficient moisture, skin takes on a more vibrant and translucent appearance. After clearing and hydrating the skin, The Whitening Essence Intense then firms it up with the potent powers of the Youth Ferment and the Miracle Broth. These ferments boost collagen production of the skin, and facial contours appear firmer and more defined. Light-catching optics in the product’s formula then create an illuminating white halo effect on the skin, the inner light that Miraglia speaks about.

According to La Mer, women who have tested The Whitening Essence Intense have seen a marked difference on their skin’s appearance as early as a week of product use; four weeks of continuous application of The Whitening Essence Intense showed no less than 80 percent improvement in overall skin condition, from hydration to skin brightening and definition.

La Mer describes the potency of the product as the “white diamond effect,” where a woman need not rely on jewelry anymore to shine among a crowd but only on her own radiant skin. At P14,500 a bottle, The Whitening Essence Intense is as worthwhile an investment as any sparkly bauble.

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La Mer The Whitening Essence Intense is exclusively available at Rustan’s Makati.