La Mer Makes A Legendary $325 Face Cream. It’s Now Being Sued For Alleged False Advertising.

Two weeks ago, a Chinese beauty blogger named Hao Yu announced on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, that he was suing beauty giant Estée Lauder. The beauty blogger is accusing the company of false advertising, and his lawsuit pertains to La Mer, the luxury skin care line owned by Estée Lauder that makes one of the most coveted and expensive moisturizers in the beauty industry: Crème de la Mer. To the faithful, this product is basically the Holy Grail of creams. It sells at $325 for 2 ounces at high-end department stores, including Barneys and Saks Fifth Avenue, and is touted as a skin care essential by a huge range of celebrities, including Kim Kardashian, Martha Stewart, and Kevin Hart. But Yu argues, according to the South China Morning Post, that language on La Mer’s Chinese website is misleading customers into believing Crème de la Mer can heal scars from burns. The lawsuit is just one more chapter in the much-hyped story of La Mer. The brand has a mysterious, nearly mythical presence in the beauty world, and it is not without controversy. For decades, customers have lamented the line’s inaccessible price tag and questioned whether the ingredients in its products are really as lavish as it claims. Read more at Vox.