It’s incredibly expensive. It’s hyped as hell. It has outrageous claims. But can it keep its promises? This is one of the very few not sponsored reviews of Augustinus Bader’s The Cream, and I tested it exclusively for about four weeks on my sensitive, 40+, combination skin. Is it Augustinus Bader The Cream worth it? Here’s what happened.
Why I don’t like the premise of this moisturiser
When I started my research for this post, I found a lot of glowing reviews for The Cream. Also, A LOT of celebs seemed to endorse it: Victoria Beckham, Margot Robie, Carla Bruni, Melanie Griffith, Diane Kruger – the list goes on. My cynical self wasn’t particularly surprised to see that both Griffith and Bruni are shareholders for Bader’s company.
But do you want to pay?
I’m also not really surprised to see a lot of magazine articles beginning with a variant of ‘I got Bader’s The Cream at his XYZ event/launch/got it sent etc’.
On top of that, look at the list above: the people endorsing The Cream are generally gorgeous specimens of the human race. They look great. It’s part of their jobs. It has nothing to do with a cream, but a lot with genetics and treatments.
The skincare question: is less more?
You’re supposed to use The Cream as a one-and-done solution, without any other serums. This might actually be the reason for getting better skin, especially for people who used a lot of active ingredients before. Their skin might have been reacting to either ingredients in their regular skincare or were sensitised by the sheer amount of actives they used before (think over-exfoliation, for example). So, using only one moisturiser instead of a bevy of lotions and potions? Presto, better skin!
What happened to my skin when I used Augustinus Bader The Cream
My skin concerns
My skin is a friggin’ diva, and ready to flip at the slightest aggravation. I try to use the most gentle skin care imaginable, trying to not use anything containing alcohol and fragrance. My biggest concerns are an uneven skintone, spots that take forever in disappearing, a spot or two of hyperpigmentation and, yup, some fine lines and skin that’s starting to loose its elasticity. I also get a spot or two once a month.
My regular skincare routine relies on retinol, niacinamide, a lot of hyaluronic acid, and some azelaic acid. I’ve banished AHAs and BHAs from my routine apart from my weekly AHA/BHA peel from The Ordinary (review).
Claims and promises
It’s a lot.
Inspired by Professor Bader’s technology, the key to both creams’ transformative properties is TFC8®, our proprietary Trigger Factor Complex. TFC8® comprises natural amino acids, high-grade vitamins and synthesised molecules naturally found in skin. It guides key nutrients and powerful natural ingredients to the skin cells, creating an optimal environment for the body’s innate processes of repair and renewal. Everything your body needs, it already knows.
The body’s stem cells act as a repairing force, mobilising the body’s own biological wisdom to regenerate and heal. The stem cells found in skin lie dormant, awaiting an activation signal to repair the damage inflicted by life and environmental factors.
INSTANT RESULTS
Skin feels soothed and deeply hydrated, and is left with a youthful, healthy, radiant glow.
A ‘clinical trial’ showed:
- Fine Lines and wrinkles are reduced after just 4 weeks
- 94% of people agree that dull skin appears brighter
- 87% of people agree that their skin feels protected, stronger and more energized
- 92% of people agree that their skin appears healthier
- 70% of people agree that the appearance of scars and age spots have never been less noticeable in such a short time
- 85% of people agree that the product lessens the appearance of unwanted redness of the skin
- 79% of people agree that the product improves the appearance of skin damaged by sun exposure.
How to read that
Translation: The Cream is supposed to trigger ‘healing’ through its special peptide complex that nudges your stem cells to repair any damages to the skin.
Also, a round of applause for Bader’s marketing team! If you have a closer look at the claims, you’ll notice that in truth, they make only one: “Skin feels soothed and deeply hydrated.”
A questionnable ‘clinical study’
Everything else are indirect quotes from a trial they did with 90 people. Claims like “92% of people agree that their skin appears healthier” are utterly bogus, because what does healthier even mean? – So: proceed with caution.
And a quick look at the ‘scientific trial’: I feel that skincare studies that only use a self-assessment are negligible. There’re tools out there to actually measure the skin. So, why not do that?! Especially at a brand that relies so heavily on ‘science’ and the scientific cachet of its founder.
There’s absolutely no doubt that Bader’s medical accomplishments are impressive. He did some ground-breaking work with burn victims. What I’m missing is the scientific link that shows exactly how this work is translated into skincare. (Direct quote from the website: ‘Professor Bader has developed a groundbreaking technology that activates, harnesses and orchestrates the body’s own systems to repair and regenerate.’)
As long as there’s none, I remain extremely sceptical.
My experience during the trial
Here, again, is what the Bader website says:
A light, refreshing, yet deeply hydrating cream that stimulates skin’s natural process of rejuvenation to dramatically improve the complexion’s appearance. Suitable for combination to oily skin types. Leaves your skin feeling refreshed and soothed in humid climates.
Ideal for your day time routine.
Soothing aloe vera, rich in anti-oxidants, amino acids and vitamins A, B, C and E help to protect skin from free-radicals
Ingredients
‘Clean’ (without parabens, fragrance and mineral oil), an unspecified wonder peptide complex (TFC8) and a generally very good formula. There’s alcohol in it. SHOCK! HORROR!!! (See ingredients here.)
But, there’re also anti-oxidants, a lot of soothing, hydrating and moisturising ingredients, ceramides, peptides and also a bit of retinyl palmitate.
What came directly to my mind: the formula (if you disregard TFC8) reminds me awfully of other great moisturisers, namely Beyer & Söhne’s Hautcreme+ (review) and Paula’s Choice Ceramide-Enriched Firming Moisturiser.
Texture
The texture is incredibly nice. Soft, creamy (feeling more like a lotion, truly) and quickly sinking into my skin. When I used it during the last hot days I found it too rich and I became oily quite quickly, but on colder days? Heaven. In order not to screw up my trial, I used a pared-back routine and only cleansed my skin with a cleansing oil, used a toner (either cosrx’s or Hada Labo– reviews), then applied The Cream and sunscreen (Isdin – review).
The packaging, though, is annoying: you won’t get any lingering bits out of the bottle, and I’d generally prefer an airless pump system.
Application
You’re supposed to use a specific application technique to ‘activate’ the peptides. On Bader’s site, the technique shown reminds me of face massage routines promoted to – surprise! – rejuvenate the skin’s plumpness and elasticity. Eh. So maybe it’s the technique and not the cream?! I tried to do it at first and fell off track later on. It seemed time-consuming and I didn’t enjoy it. Instead, I just smeared it all over my face (including the skin around my eyes).
Results
What I wanted
I was desperately hoping that a moisturiser that in a way promotes wound-healing through association with scientifically methods to treat burns would actually help my skin to fade spot marks and hyperpigmentation. I was also hoping for a more even skintone.
None of this happened.
A spot on my chin came up during my trial. I couldn’t see any quicker healing than usual.
What I got
What I did see, though, was rather unusual for my skin, and it happened rapidly: after the first use, I could see a – for my eyes – plumping and soothing of fine lines that I’ve ever seen with very, very pricey hyaluronic acid serums (Muti). In my pictures, you can maybe see that the fine lines around my eyes seemed less and diminished in the second pic. I found it makes a great eye cream, with concealer going over it wonderfully well. The effect didn’t last, though – when I stopped using The Cream, all fine lines appeared again.
Hydration and more?
When I used my trusty skin analyser, although the results were good, they weren’t anything I’ve not seen before. Yes, hydrating, but not so hydrating to justify the price. On top of that, it from time to time seemed nearly too rich for my skin which reacted with the occasional whitehead (as it’s wont to do in such cases).
What I loved, though, was my very streamlined skincare routine – and my skin didn’t show (yet) that it was missing anything.
Coming back to Bader’s claim (above): My skin felt indeed ‘soothed and deeply hydrated’. But that’s a bit – I don’t know – unsatisfying for a 225€ moisturiser?!
Augustinus Bader The Cream – worth it?
Incredibly hard to judge.
So, moneywise, here’s my judgement: my usual routine I replaced with The Cream consists usually of Paula’s Choice’s Niacinamide Booster, Azelaic Booster and Retinol Booster every other day and my HG moisturiser (Beyer & Söhne). That is about 160€. Would I replace this routine with a 50ml bottle of The Cream for 225€? I would not. I, though, would very likely spring for a 15ml bottle for 70€, hope for a 20% discount and use it as an eye cream. (The 15ml roughly lasted 4 weeks of twice daily use of one pump on my whole face.)
Not for every skin concern
Otherwise, the effect on my skin isn’t big enough for me. I also don’t want to skimp on retinol – it’s a great, scientifically proven anti-aging ingredient, and I wouldn’t want to replace it with its derivative in an unknown quantity.
The only people actually benefitting from The Cream are people who want to combat signs of aging AND have dehydrated skin. If you’ve got other issues (acne, hyperpigmentation, scarring, redness etc.) – I’m not convinced.
Please note that this review is not sponsored in any way. We buy products ourselves, with our own money, and don’t accept exchanging goods or money for reviews. We are completely independent, and our reviews reflect that.
Great review Dorit! I have been on the fence with making this purchase for awhile now & your review was everything I have been looking for & you answered just about every question I had, thank you. I am wondering however do you think it matters if I choose the cream or the rich cream? I used to have semi oily skin but now I’d say it’s more combination than anything. I’m thinking I’ll likely use it mostly just at night as the end before bed and only do daytime on special occasions. I can budget the 4 week size which hopefully doing only at night will get me almost 8 weeks and I’m thinking since like you my main interest is anti-aging around the eyes mostly. Luckily I don’t actually have any wrinkles yet but I get some fine lines under my eyes when smiling that I believe just night use with this could do the trick as long as I don’t load anything on them during daytime, (sound about right in your opinion? I trust you😉). I do also have ptosis of one eye on the upper skin above one of my lids that’s a family trait unfortunately. Most have a surgery to fix but I have recently learned from my highschool friend now an eye doctor that there’s a prescription eye drop called Upbeeq that can actually help the muscle in the eye lift that lowering lid so I’m hoping this might help once I can get in after covid restrictions relax. Ok thanks again! Please whenever you get the chance if you could just lmk about my question it will be greatly appreciated! My email if it’s easier to send direct is [retracted] Have a great day
Hi Gregory, when it comes to deciding between the Rich Cream or The Cream, I (also with combination skin) chose The Cream, because honestly the ingredients seemed better to me: it has added Ceramides and Aloe Juice that I liked. I found the formula lightweight, but moisturising enough for me.
Also: remember, using a sunscreen (even around your eyes) is about 90% of anti-aging done. HTH!