the VIP face; Putting the $200-and even $500-skin creams to shame, the latest record-shattering miracle in a bottle is available strictly by invitation.(product information of La Mer)

Byline: Sarah Brown

The invitation came by messenger. Inside a shagreen-embossed box, engraved on stiff, sage-green

card stock, was an appealing proposition: It was addressed simply-mysteriously-to "The Discerning Few" and trumpeted, in capital letters, the arrival of "The First Twenty-One Day Skincare Phenomenon in the World." My skin would experience a "Transformation," promised the card. It would be "Visibly Reborn." A bottle of this elixir had already been reserved in my name. "We Will Contact You Shortly to Arrange a Private Appointment," the card announced confidently. I'd never had a date with a skin cream before.

As I soon learned, this wasn't exactly a skin cream. It was, rather, "The Essence"-the latest breakthrough from La Mer, the company that turned the anti-aging industry on its ear when it introduced the (then-shocking) $155 superhydrator in 1995. This latest effort capitalized on the most vital element of the cult cream-what's known as "the broth," harvested from sea kelp, said to soften, hydrate, and heal. The Essence was actually three separate essences, or biofermentations, designed to maximize the skin-saving potential of the original Miracle Broth-a term the company has thoughtfully trademarked. While one ferment (fortified with antioxidants from narcissus) calmed the skin, allowing cells to rest and repair themselves, a second (powered by "sea parsley") replenished and energized it. Both made skin more receptive to the pure broth, contained in the last ferment. Radiance and smoothness would be restored! After the first day, I could expect a 70 percent improvement in hydration and clarity! At the end of the cycle, my skin-rejuvenated, reborn-would reach ...