So what's so special about this seaweed? According to Bevacqua, you need to think of your skin like a battery: It has positively- and negatively-charged ions, which get depleted over time. The negative ions gravitate toward the surface, while the positive ones remain deeper in the skin. The movement of these ions creates a type of electrical energy, which the skin needs to perform its daily reparative and protective functions.

As we age, get stressed out, or damage our skin, the ions lose their charge and the energy becomes stagnant, meaning our skin can't optimally function. The kelp-based Miracle Broth acts as a charging station, re-establishing the correct circuits so that these positive and negative ions continue to flow where they are meant to, helping the skin to better perform its duties of hydrating and healing.

The kelp we got the chance to handle had been harvested a few days earlier and as such, the nutrients had started to leach out, creating a slimy residue that Bevacqua lovingly referred to as kelp snot. Our senior beauty editor daringly rubbed a bit of this slick stuff on the back of her hands and immediately noticed a difference in her skin. The residue sunk into the skin on the back of her hand instantly and made it look brighter and feel baby-soft to the touch. She tried to convince Bevacqua to let her have a few stalks to wrap herself up in, mummy-style, but he sadly quashed her DIY spa dreams, on the spot.

Photographed by Jer Crowle/Courtesy of La Mer