La Mer the moisturizing soft cream for combination skin
Algae Extract
Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Shea Butter
Hyaluronic Acid
Glycerin
CaffeineAverage
- AverageCombination Skin Fit
- AverageEffectiveness
- HighSafety
Works for combination skin; other moisturizers fit it better.
This fit is calculated for the concerns frequently associated with combination skin: an oily T-zone, enlarged pores, and dry cheeks. For scores and recommendations based on your full skin profile, including your 12D face scan results and any goals or preferences you have, please use the Lovi app.
Page built Nov 8, 2026How the Fit score works
Lovi Assistant explains
- Offers moderate moisturizing for your combination skin due to the presence of Glycerin and Hyaluronic Acid, which hydrate and support barrier resilience, but it lacks targeted ingredients to effectively manage excess oil on your oily shine concerns.
- The formula provides general skincare benefits that are supportive for combination skin, though it does not offer sufficient ingredients for optimal oil control on your oily areas.
- The product is safe for your combination skin, with no risks of irritation due to the absence of prohibited or harsh ingredients.
How to apply
- Use this moisturizer in your AM and PM routine every day to control shine. Always pair with SPF in the morning.
- Apply this moisturizer after your cleanser and toner, right before your morning SPF.
- Gently press a small amount of the moisturizer into your skin and avoid harsh rubbing. Let it ⏳absorb for a minute.
- Apply the moisturizer on slightly damp skin to help it lock in moisture better. This keeps your combination skin balanced.
- Avoid the eye area when applying the moisturizer. Do a patch test before your first use.
People Say
★4.7Overall rating based on 1.8k+ reviewsBased on a very large amount of data, this product is frequently praised for its deep hydration, lightweight feel, and ability to impart a luminous glow, benefiting normal, combination, and sensitive skin types. Many users report improvements in skin texture and a reduction in redness. However, a moderate number of users with acne-prone or oily skin experienced breakouts, and a very high frequency of reviews mention concerns about the product's exceptionally high price point relative to its perceived benefits.
Highlights
Deeply hydrating Mostly Mentioned
- “Keep my skin soft and hydrated all day.”
- “It's deeply moisturising and my skin never looks better.”
- “Provides an excellent base for my makeup... just a hydrated and luminous glow.”
- “This has completely changed the texture and appearance of my skin.”
Extremely expensive Mostly Mentioned
- “While I did enjoy the La Mer face cream, I definitely don't think it's worth the high cost.”
- “The long-term results weren't as 'miraculous' as the price might suggest.”
- “Unfortunately high end skincare products are highly overrated and 90% of the times not worth their price tag.”
Lightweight, absorbs fast Often Mentioned
- “The texture is lighter than the original cream, absorbs quickly and doesn't feel too heavy.”
- “Absorb into my skin immediately leaving it looking fresh and healthy.”
- “It feels light weight with out any oily residue.”
- “I put it on my skin and I was surprised my skin immediately drank it up.”
Luminous glow Often Mentioned
- “I really like the luminous glow that it gives.”
- “Not glittery, not oily—just that 'my skin is healthy' look.”
- “Gives a glow effect. nourishes the skin and makes it hydrated.”
- “It gives me a healthy, hydrated glow rather than a greasy shine.”
Calms redness Sometimes Noted
- “The algae definitely helped with some of the redness I had.”
- “When my skin is stressed, this is one of the moisturizers I reach for because it feels calming.”
- “Works well to moisturise and calm skins.”
- “It's a nearly unscented gentle moisturizer that I incorporated... without any signs of irritation.”
Causes breakouts Sometimes Noted
- “It doesn't moisturize well, it leaves a weird film and it clogged my pores.”
- “Unfortunately, all it did was contribute to massive breakouts and an oily complexion.”
- “Interestingly, I can't do the soft cream and I can only do the original cream [due to breakouts].”
- “Because I have oily, acne-prone skin... I do think [other products] work better.”
Leaves residue Rarely Noted
- “It didn't absorb well and left a heavy residue.”
- “The cream failed to absorb into my skin (like at all), leaving my face feeling coated.”
- “I found it difficult to use at night because the cream would get all over my pillow, leaving behind residue.”
Sources: lovi.care, nordstrom.com, sephora.sg, influenster.com, reddit.com, lemon8-app.com, and more
Questions and answers
How well does La Mer Soft Cream work for combination skin?
La Mer Soft Cream works moderately well for combination skin because glycerin and hyaluronic acid provide reliable hydration, but it lacks the targeted ingredients needed to manage excess oil in shiny areas. To truly thrive, combination skin needs products that offer both deep hydration and effective oil control to balance dry and oily zones.
Which ingredients make this cream a good fit for combination skin?
Hyaluronic Acid and Glycerin make this cream a moderate fit for your combination skin by hydrating and supporting your skin barrier. However, because it lacks targeted ingredients for excess oil, a product for this skin needs effective brightening and moisturizing ingredients that reduce oily shine without irritation.
What does Algae Extract do for combination skin?
Algae extract helps balance combination skin by delivering lightweight moisture to dry areas while calming oily zones and protecting against daily environmental stress. It may also improve skin firmness and texture over time. To work well for combination skin, this ingredient needs to be paired with soothing hydration and gentle oil-controlling components.
Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2002Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019
What does Butyrospermum Parkii Butter do for combination skin?
Butyrospermum parkii butter helps keep combination skin soft and smooth while supporting the skin barrier. This ingredient is generally well tolerated, though a product for this skin type also needs lightweight hydration to balance oilier zones without clogging pores.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2018
Where does this cream go in a skincare routine for combination skin?
This moisturizing treatment goes near the end of your routine, right before sunscreen in the morning and as the final step in the evening. Combination skin needs a product that provides hydration while also including ingredients that manage excess oil on shiny areas.
Can I use this cream with retinol, and in what order?
You can use this cream with retinol, applying the retinol first and following with the cream to keep your skin soft and comfortable. Using a hydrating moisturizer like this helps support your skin barrier and may reduce the dryness often caused by retinol.
How often should I use this cream?
You can use this moisturizing treatment twice a day to keep your combination skin hydrated. Daily application helps maintain moisture and supports barrier resilience safely without irritation, though this skin type also needs ingredients for oil control.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Health Science Reports, 2021
Can this cream clog pores, cause breakouts or purging for combination skin?
This cream may cause breakouts for some people with combination skin, as reviewers moderately complain about this issue. A product of this type needs lightweight hydrators and oil-controlling ingredients like niacinamide or salicylic acid to properly balance oily shine without clogging pores.
Can I use this cream around the eyes or on my body?
You can safely use this moisturizing treatment on the body and around the eyes because it has a gentle formula with no harsh ingredients. However, to properly care for combination skin, a product of this type needs lightweight hydrators paired with targeted ingredients that balance oily shine.
Is this cream fragrance-free and alcohol-free?
It contains fragrance (parfum, limonene, linalool, citronellol, and geraniol) and drying alcohol (alcohol denat).
What the research says
A single application of a moisturizing fluid containing hyaluronic acid 1%, glycerin 5%, and Centella asiatica stem cells extract significantly increased skin hydration by 29% and reduced transepidermal water loss at 24 hours compared to baseline and an untreated control site in twenty healthy women.
Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, 2017Topical application of 1% Fucus vesiculosus extract gel twice daily for five weeks significantly decreased skin thickness and improved elasticity in human cheek skin compared with controls.
Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2002Treatment with lipid algae extract reduced the level of oxidized proteins in human keratinocytes and stratum corneum skin cells.
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2004Topical astaxanthin-loaded algae extract hydrogel and lipogel formulations exhibited the highest antioxidant activity and successful in vitro release, suggesting their potential as anti-aging formulations.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2019Antarctic marine algae extracts increased cell viability, protected against inflammation, and enhanced the barrier integrity of human intestinal and keratinocyte cell lines damaged by lipopolysaccharide or ultraviolet radiation.
Marine Drugs, 2022A combination cream of stimu-tex AS and saccharide isomerate reduced erythema, increased skin capacitance, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to placebo in 20 subjects after fractional CO2 laser procedure without causing serious adverse events.
Lasers in Medical Science, 2025A skin barrier restoring cream with shea butter, silkflo, and vitamin E increased type I procollagen synthesis, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, decreased reactive oxygen species generation, and promoted hyaluronic acid production in H2O2-stimulated human keratinocyte cells compared to untreated cells.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2025Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.
Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.
BMC Oral Health, 2019The emollient V0034CR significantly reduced TEWL compared to vehicle and vehicle plus glycerol, and significantly increased corneometry scores compared to vehicle and vehicle plus petrolatum in healthy volunteers with dry skin, demonstrating combined barrier function improvement from petrolatum and hydration improvement from glycerol.
Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2020Ten days of treatment with a cream containing 20% glycerin significantly increased skin hydration measured by corneometer values in 17 healthy volunteers compared to a placebo cream, but showed no influence on transepidermal water loss or skin sensitivity to an irritating surfactant.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2001Niacinamide/glycerin body moisturizers provided better rapid and prolonged improvement of cosmetic xerosis through functional improvement of stratum corneum barrier function compared to no treatment and conventional moisturizers in female subjects.
Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2012A topical cosmetic slimming product containing tetrahydroxypropyl ethylenediamine, caffeine, carnitine, forskolin and retinol significantly reduced body circumferences and improved skin aspect compared with placebo in 78 women over 12 weeks.
International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2011Topical sunscreen formulations containing caffeine combined with UV filters increased in vivo anti-UVB protection by approximately 25% and showed higher SPF values compared to caffeine-free sunscreen, while being well tolerated by the skin of healthy subjects.
Frontiers in Physiology, 2019Caffeine gel combined with choline geranate showed high skin permeation capacity and superior clinical results in cellulite treatment compared to caffeine gel without ionic liquid.
AAPS PharmSciTech, 2021
Ingredients
Algae Extract, Cyclopentasiloxane, Petrolatum, Glyceryl Distearate, Phenyl Trimethicone, Cyclohexasiloxane, Butylene Glycol, Cholesterol, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter Shea Butter, Steareth-10, Urea, Glucose, Polyacrylamide, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Peg-8, Laureth-7, Lecithin, Triacetin, Sodium Chloride, Polyquaternium-51, Potassium Phosphate, Alcohol Denat, Parfum, Limonene, Linalool, Hydroxycitronellal, Citronellol, Geraniol, Bht, Disodium Edta, Sorbic Acid, Chlorphenesin, Potassium Sorbate, Phenoxyethanol, Caffeine, Caprylic Capric Triglyceride, Calcium Gluconate, Sodium Pca, Hyaluronic Acid, Glycerin, Distearyldimonium Chloride, Citrus Aurantifolia Peel Extract, Zinc Gluconate, Tocopheryl Succinate, Rosmarinus Officinalis Leaf Extract, Hydrogenated Oil, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Sesamum Indicum Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus Seedcake, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Dipalmitoyl Hydroxyproline
Behind this fit score
Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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