I love trying new beauty products and finding new favourites, but I’m also inherently lazy and fear change so I always have the classics on hand. There’s something so comforting about old faves and there’s a reason they have legend status: they work. You’ll never regret spoiling yourself with a beauty best-seller, and they make excellent gifts for all women. Some will have never treated themselves to a bottle, some will be grateful for the top up. You can’t go wrong.

Creme de la Mer is one such product. This fabled moisturising cream sits pretty on the shelves and wishlists of beauty addicts worldwide and it’s rare to find a top ten beauty classics list without it. I secretly look for it in the bathroom whenever I visit someone’s house to see if I can be friends with them or not. I find it’s a good system.

The story of Creme de la Mer has reached mythical proportions to the extent that beauty conspiracy theorists – the scariest of all conspiracy theorists – claim it’s a lie. It was (allegedly) created mid-century by scientist Dr Max Huber. Huber suffered severe burns and spent over a decade trying to formulate a cream that soothed and healed his skin. He was obsessed with the ocean and determined to use its restorative powers in a remedial and cosmetic remedy. As a keen swimmer, I understand his drive. The ocean is magic.

As the legend goes, Huber performed thousands of experiments with marine life, fermentation and pulsed light and sound over many years to perfect a cell-renewing elixir he called Miracle Broth. Miracle Broth is still the special wizardry that flows through every La Mer product, and only a few people know how to make it. It’s like KFC but good for you. Don’t eat it though.

Thanks to its Miracle Broth, Creme de la Mer significantly transformed the look of my skin, enhancing firmness and minimising lines, wrinkles and pores. It’s intensely moisturising, deeply soothing and can heal and rejuvenate even the driest of complexions. It is cold and rich to the touch and feels amazing on the face, especially if you warm it up with your hands before putting it on. In fact, you need to do this to release and emulsify this wonder ingredient.

This divine cream feels like a mermaid hugging your face and makes an ideal gift because, really, who doesn’t want a mermaid to hug their face?

Words, Nadine von Cohen. Video, Duc Thinh Dong.