Shoppers say this $2 Nivea cream rivals the $100 La Mer celebs swear by

Big-ticket skin care products get all the attention, but there are some budget-friendly finds that deserve a bit of fanfare, too. Take La Mer's $100+ Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream, for example. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Kidman — who seem to defy the natural aging process — swear by it. Over 6,300 Nordstrom shoppers give it five out of five stars and nearly 1,000 Sephora shoppers rave about it. People love its anti-aging and hydration superpowers. But now, online shoppers are claiming that Nivea's Creme is eerily similar, and it sells for a fraction of the price.

The La Mer–Nivea comparison has been circulating for years, but it picked up steam again on TikTok last year, with some users putting both creams to the test. The skin care brand, Regimen Lab, even ran its analysis, and the findings were surprising.

First, it compared the formulas and found that both creams share the same base ingredients. La Mer does include a few extras, like its signature fermented sea kelp concentrate (dubbed Miracle Broth), plus some botanical oils and added vitamins. Nivea, on the other hand, skips those.

The lab then tested each product’s ability to hydrate and prevent water loss. The results? Nearly identical. While they didn’t measure other potential benefits, the conclusion was clear: in terms of hydration alone, the two perform the same.

If you're not familiar with La Mer, it has a pretty interesting past. According to the brand's website, German aerospace physicist Max Huber invented his original cream, Crème de la Mer, while trying to heal burns he'd sustained in the lab. After nearly 12 years and 6,000 experiments, he figured out a fermentation process that transformed sea kelp and other natural ingredients into the brand's cell-renewing Miracle Broth. The cream reportedly healed and transformed Huber's skin. Today, La Mer is owned by Estée Lauder, and there are plenty of wild stories about it, including that the brand plays music for the Miracle Broth during the creation process.

Of note, La Mer’s cream starts at over $100 for 0.5 ounces. Nivea’s version? Just $2 for three times as much product.

Nivea's cream is also more versatile. While you could use La Mer anywhere, Nivea is explicitly marketed as a hand, body, and face cream — so it’s made to work wherever your skin needs extra care. In addition to hydrating, it offers some solid anti-aging support: ingredients like citric acid provide gentle exfoliation and antioxidant benefits, while provitamin B5 helps with moisture retention and skin regeneration.

One detail to note: Nivea is a German company, but it also manufactures products in the U.S. The ingredient lists for both versions of the cream are nearly identical, but some fans say the German-made version is slightly thicker and more effective. You can often find it on Amazon.

Whichever version you try, Nivea has developed its own loyal following — both in the U.S. and abroad. Over 1,100 Target reviewers give the U.S. formula a five-star rating, calling it "very hydrating" and praising the fact that it "doesn’t clog pores."

"I have been using this on my face for 30+ years! It's very hydrating on your face!" said one shopper.

"I have very oily skin and I use this at night," explained one skeptic-turned-believer. "I never thought that my skin could take the much moisture without getting oily, but it can! This is probably my favorite skin care product I've ever used! And it's so cheap!"

One reviewer with ultra-sensitive skin shared how the cream saved their complexion: "I have the world's most sensitive skin and recently I’ve been trying different products on my face for my acne. I used a moisturizer that reacted horribly with my skin and it got extremely red and irritated. Then I used this and my redness and burning went away within seconds. It's extremely moisturizing for my dry skin, too. I love this product and wish I had tried it sooner," they said.

"This cream is thick yet it doesn’t clog my pores," wrote a retinol rookie battling dryness. "I have been increasing the potency of the retinol I use and it's been causing a ton of uncomfortable dry skin and peeling. The Nivea cream has been the only product to help!"

Nonetheless, plenty of Target reviewers confirmed they use it as a La Mer alternative as well.

"I've been using La Mer for years and can’t believe that the texture and smell is so similar," noted one skin care veteran.

"Wow. I cannot believe the cost and quality of this cream. It smells 99% like Crème de La Mer. Same texture as well," said one thrifty glow-getter. "I used it on my hands, and it made them soft and glow. Very impressed. Great purchase!"

"Love it for dry skin! I've tried La Mer and it feels just like Nivea to me. I'll keep using," quipped a well-moisturized loyalist.

One downside is that this moisturizer is thick, so you may only want to wear it at night. It can take some time to be fully absorbed by the skin.

"This is a no-brainer — this is the original hydrating lotion and fixes any dry skin that you have," shared one skin care sage. "The only thing is that if you use too much it takes forever to dry, but totally worth it."

"If you don't like thick creams, this is not for you," said another long-time fan.

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.