A LUXE LOTION CRÈMED

$7 Nivea tops $2G La Mer

In the age of anti-aging, mostly everyone wants moist, supple skin — but at what cost?

A skin-care savant put designer moisturizer Crème de la Mer, which can cost as much as $2,675 for a 16-ounce jar, up against a $7 tub of Nivea Soft.

And the results sent jaws dropping.

“To the lab!” exclaimed cosmetic chemist Carley Musleh, from London, in her explosively viral experiment.

The sassy scientist, who cooked up over 4 million TikTok views on her crème comparison clip, stitched her footage alongside a video shared by Irish podcaster Annie Mac, 45. In the on-air personality’s post, she claimed that Nivea’s cost-effective, super-hydrating offering was nothing more than Crème de La Mer’s lotion in different packaging.

“It is gorgeous,” raved Mac of Nivea Soft’s qualities. “It‘s funny how [packaging] and marketing can kind of change your mind about something.”

Musleh’s head-to-head evaluation basically agreed, showing after 45 minutes which balm was actually the bomb.

“In the hydration test, Crème de La Mer had an increase of 23%,” said Musleh, “whereas Nivea Soft had a 95% increase.”

She noted, however, that Nivea’s high moisture reading could be due to its high water content — “Aqua” is listed as the cosmetic’s top ingredient.

And while the less expensive item was the moisturizing champion, the researcher found each salve boasted a nearly identical percentage of transepidermal water loss, or TEWL — the amount of water that escapes from the outermost layer of the skin.

Musleh said a higher amount of TEWL means a higher risk for dry and damaged derma.

Viral lab test results

Before concluding her investigation, Musleh placed both brands under the microscope to find that Crème de la Mer is comprised of a “tight matrix” and “closely pack globules,” she said can be an “indication of good stability.” Nivea Soft was quite the opposite.

The two applications do, however, consist of extremely similar ingredients.

But Crème de la Mer’s use of algae extract — said to be anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative and brightening — sets it apart.

“I’m buying Nivea Soft,” vowed a budget-conscious beauty buff.

“Nivea is outstanding!! That’s all I have ever used and I’m 50. Forget the serums and fancy stuff,” cheered a separate fan of the drugstore goody.

“La Mer is not [worth] the hype!” another said.

“I am 63 and all I ever used is Nivea,” bragged a boomer. “My skin is excellent.”