Just when you think you’ve got a handle on the top tier of beauty, the most luxe of face creams, a new name starts circling the online world of tutorials, beauty mags and Instagram, and suddenly you’re already behind the eight ball, at the end of a very long waiting list.
Think of cult creams and various names come to mind; La Mer Crème de La Mer, La Prairie Caviar, Weleda Skin Food, Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre, and this is not a new trend. In fact, Helena Rubinstein was onto something as early as 1903 with her hero product, Crème Valaze, which was accompanied by all the hype and claims of eradicating practically every complexion concern from wrinkles, to freckles, blackheads and sunburn.
We’ve since become more skeptical of outlandish claims, more aware of ingredients lists and marketing hype, but are somehow still seduced by the inexplicable allure of a cult cream. Welcome to the party, Augustinus Bader.
According to the brand’s own bio, “Dr. Augustinus Bader is one of the world’s leading stem cell and biomedical scientists, and the originator of a breakthrough medical treatment that activates and orchestrates the body’s innate regenerative processes.” The Augustinus Bader line is small – two face creams, one rich, one light, but both with equally high price tags. And I mean high. I tried out the smallest 15ml size, which I would recommend everyone do when spending this much on a face cream. I say this, as I do have regrets about my purchase, in that I chose incorrectly.
The rich cream is stated as suiting normal to dry skin types, ideal for evening use, and being an ultimate protective shield in dry climates – think rich, thick, barrier cream. The cream (i.e light), contrastingly, is for combo-oily skin types, and suitable for daytime use. Why then, did I purchase the rich cream in the hopes of using it as a daytime, beneath-makeup moisturiser? I’m asking myself the same thing. I was sure I had read somewhere, heard something, in the way you do with cult creams, that the rich cream wasn’t actually too rich, that it was perfectly suitable for a day cream. When I dispensed the first pump from the bottle I had thought maybe I had been correct in my purchase, it didn’t look too rich – not in the way that a pot of La Mer does. Little did I know. Lesson learnt. So learn from my expensive misfortune: if you’re after a day cream, don’t buy the rich cream.
The rich cream is definitely what I would choose for an evening skincare routine, it’s full of argan, avocado and evening primrose oil, and while it’s not thick in the way that a La Mer cream is, it isn’t as ‘spreadable’ as I like a daytime moisturiser to be. You want to warm this up, and melt it into the skin – not slap it on under makeup. It goes without saying that if you have oily or acne prone skin I would steer clear of the rich cream, but mature, or dry skins might enjoy this. It does soak in nicely, and by the time my face reaches the pillowslip at night, it’s not too tacky or goopy. My skin definitely feels hydrated, plump and comforted. I am curious to try out the lighter cream, but at these prices, I’ll be waiting to see results first.
The glass packaging and gold lid is, as you expect from cult products of this price range, weighty and luxe, and it’s nice to have a pump bottle for your luxe cream rather than a glass tub which dirty hands can contaminate. I do however find that two to three pumps of this cream is just enough to cover my face, but more is required for neck and décolleté meaning this bottle isn’t going to last me long. The scent is unremarkable and while it does give me faint paint vibes, after application there seems to be no fragrance at all. Those who love their unmistakable scent of say, La Mer, won’t get that buzz here.
Having, through no ones fault but my own, chosen the incorrect formula for my intended use, I have switched this into my evening routine and am patiently waiting the 27 days for every single skin cell in the human body to be naturally regenerated, as per Bader’s website, to see whether there is indeed a remarkable improvement in my complexion’s appearance. I like this cream, but I don’t love it – despite hearing an unsolicited recommendation from makeup maven and beauty business superhero Bobbi Brown. On first impression, it’s hard to know whether this is all cult, or actually a cream that is going to come good on it’s promises. Online articles all sound vaguely similar as though they’ve been passed around the same press release, and while a celebrity endorsement goes a long way in selling product, the proof will be, as they say, in the pudding. And what a pricey pudding this one is.
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Find Augustinus Bader at Cult Beauty