The Top Products From The Deep Blue Sea
The ocean is the coolest. I grew up in Port Macquarie — a snoozy coastal town on Australia’s mid-north coast — and could cut a sick left turn on my frangipani-emblazoned surfboard pretty much before I could crawl. Over the years, I’ve developed a near-irrational fear of sharks (a sucker for media fear mongering, it seems), but I’m yet to find another activity that feels more like home to me than taking a dip in nature’s salty soup, or an animal that fascinates me more greatly. The ocean set the backdrop for my first ever kiss (^_^), and I’ve scuba-dived in various parts of it, from a night dive in Vanuatu — where I watched illuminated squids float around an abandoned ship in the still, black abyss some 24 metres under the sea level — to my first underwater panic attack off the coast of Fiji, a most unenjoyable experience spurred on by a close brush with a giant stingray (RIP, Steve Irwin).
A favourite pastime of mine is getting doona-deep in a session of The Blue Planet on a Sunday afternoon, and letting David Attenborough’s dulcet tones introduce this land creature to the mysteries of the deep seas and its litany of freaky/majestic marine life. If you haven’t already, Google what a goblin shark looks like. Shook.
Outside of my own personal obsession with it, the ocean covers two-thirds of the Earth’s surface. It generates most of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs a sizeable share of our carbon dioxide emissions, provides food and nutrients, and regulates our climate. In David’s wise words, “we live in a blue planet,” and although we sometimes don’t act like it, the ocean is our future.
Increasingly, beauty brands have also started to look to the ocean to help formulate natural products that target various skin and hair concerns. From algae and seaweed, to caviar and sea water, the industry is wising up to the benefits of the big blue when it comes to making our skin glow like a tiny ocean pearl, and our hair cascade down our shoulders like we’ve come straight off the set of The Little Mermaid. It’s long been acknowledged that splashing around in the sea has many health benefits — for our skin, for our mental wellbeing, for our soul — so it makes sense to incorporate its healing powers into our daily beauty routines. It’s World Oceans Day today, guys! To celebrate, we searched high and low (right down to the bottom of the sea) to find all the best prods that are derived from the ocean. Here goes!
Words, Madeleine Woon.
Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream
One
Mario Badescu Seaweed Night Cream is all of my Product Of The Week and Before Pay Day dreams come true. It’s cheap. It smells great. It’s green! And it gets to work on my face while I sleep, no doubt dreaming of how much better life would be if I lived under the sea. If you’re currently based here in Australia, your winter skin is almost definitely acting the way you did at age 15 — rebellious, a touch vengeful, and adverse to any discipline. Not to mention, dry as parchment. This little tub of heaven will right all those wrongs, providing a lightweight, oil-free coverage for your skin while you snooze. It mixes hyaluronic acid, elastin and collagen with bladderwhack extract — a seaweed found on the coasts of the North Sea, the Western Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Have I told you how much I love you recently, Mario?
Sachajuan Ocean Mist
Two
Like hot mugshot guy’s eyes, I could stare into the Sachajuan Ocean Mist bottle all day, every day. Each time my eyes lock with the beaut blue bottle, I momentarily forget that we’re about to march right into winter here in ‘Straya. Instead, I’m transported to long days spent at the beach, under the shade of a chic beach umbrella, sippin’ on a spritz. Outside of its propensity to make me dream of salty skin and delayed sunsets, the Ocean Mist has improved my hair game tenfold. Harnessing the volumising benefits of salt water, it helps to pump up your hair without drying it out. Yas!
Christophe Robin Cleansing Purifying Scrub With Sea Salt
Three
If you’re anything like me, your hair is in despo need of a detox right about now. Turns out Christophe (the fairy godfather of hair) heard my cries for help, and has answered them by way of introducing his Cleansing Purifying Scrub With Sea Salt into my life. The divine ocean-derived product is here to give your scalp a veritable hug — it calmed my itchiness, rebalanced my sensitive scalp, and gave my colour-damaged hair a new lease on life. Thanks, Christophe!
Ren Kelp And Magnesium Anti-Fatigue Body Cream
Four
I should really try a bit harder to squeeze the required eight hours of sleep in erry day, but given my track record, I doubt that’s going to happen anytime soon. In lieu of proper R&R, I’ve subbed in this Anti-Fatigue Body Cream to do all the work for me. So far, so good. Thanks, Ren!
Formulated with Atlantic kelp extract and magnesium PCA, and enriched with plankton extract, the beautiful lil’ body cream helps to replenish the skin with hella moisture, without leaving behind any sticky residue. After using it for a fortnight, day and night post-shower, my skin felt de-stressed, smoov, and firm. Stress less, guys.
La Mer The Concentrate
Five
La Mer has long realised the benefits of the ocean when it comes to skincare. In fact, it’s probably the most eminent beauty brand when it comes to utilising all of the beautiful, magical healing powers that the deep blue sea possesses. La Mer’s The Concentrate is legitimately a miracle product (owing almost entirely to the dose of highly concentrated Miracle Broth). My skin has transformed from being red and splotchy to above average, near perfect after using it for a month. The price point is higher than your average serum, but it’s worth every last penny. Follow it up with their limited edition World Oceans Day Crème De La Mer.
