Verdict on deer milk skincare

VELVETY: Queenstown-based Kotia has launched a skincare range that uses New Zealand deer milk. Could it be 2019’s answer to skin that rivals Cleopatra’s? NZME file picture

Deer milk is no longer just for your porridge, with the launch of a world-first skincare range which claims to harness the protein-rich milk’s beautifying properties. The New Zealand Herald’s lifestyle team tries it out . . .

Cow, goat, sheep or buffalo milk. You’ve likely consumed at least one of these in milk or cheese form. But what about deer milk? Before you picture pouring it over your porridge, we’re not talking about drinking it. We’re about to lather our faces with the stuff.

Kotia, a Kiwi brand based in Queenstown, has launched a world-first skincare range using 100 percent pure New Zealand deer milk.

The brand claims the protein-rich milk possesses an incomparable level of skin-enhancing nutrients — more than any other kind of animal milk.

According to Kotia’s website: “Scientists also discovered that deer milk — already proven to have the highest fat, protein and amino acid content of any milk available for human nutrition — is a rich source of calcium, phosphorus and zinc.”

As unusual as the concept may sound, this is far from the first time milk has been turned to for its purported beautifying properties.

Famed for her beauty, Cleopatra is said to have bathed in donkey milk. So could deer milk be 2019’s answer to skin that rivals the ancient Egyptian queen’s?

Claiming to be the newest beauty miracle, our Trial & Error volunteers, Sinead and Silke, put Kotia to the test to see if deer milk really could shake up the world of skincare.

Rejuvenating serum, 50ml, $86

To be applied before you start your day or used as a night cream, it was natural to try this first.

The serum was cold and the texture was watery, a surprise to Sinead who thought it would be thicker.

“It’s not like a milk,” she says. “More like a spit.”

The day cream was more “gloopy” than the serum so a bit closer to milk.

Scent-wise, Sinead didn’t find it particularly delicious and compared it to men’s shaving cream.

Sinead and Silke agreed the product had a good moisturising effect, but left their faces looking a bit greasy.

Revitalising Hand & Nail Cream, 50ml, $35

“It doesn’t smell good,” was one of the first things Sinead said.

Then the more she thought about the fact it was made from deer milk, the worse it began to smell.

The hand cream was sticky, to the extent Sinead said she’d be scared to shake someone’s hand for fear of getting stuck.

Brightening Eye Cream, 20ml, $63

If you’re looking for a really thick eye cream to be absorbed deep into your under-eye bags, Sinead warns this one may be a little underwhelming.

The verdict

Silke felt pretty indifferent about the range: “If it was sitting on my desk as one of my hand creams, I’d definitely use it. There was nothing wrong with it, but I’m not going to run out of here and tell all my friends to go buy it.

Sinead’s reaction was equally nonchalant: “I’d use it if all my other stuff had run out, but, no, I would not rush out to the shops and buy this above another brand.”

For those looking to buy a slice of Kiwiana, this could be for you, but we’re not sure deer milk is better than anything else.

As Sinead concluded, “I’m not appalled or outraged, I just wouldn’t buy it.”