Since its launch in 2018, skincare brand Augustinus Bader has been the It girl of the luxury beauty sphere, with a star-studded fan base thats impossible to ignore.

Founded by a world-renowned stem cell specialist and backed by decades of research, its admirers include the likes of Gigi Hadid, Kim Kardashian, Alexa Chung, Meghan Markle and Jennifer Aniston. Victoria Beckham was such a fan that she decided to collaborate with the brand to create skincare for her own line, VB Beauty.

If you dont trust the opinions of A-listers alone, you may also be interested to know that Augustinus Baders range was recently voted the greatest skincare of all time by a panel of 300 industry experts, beating the likes of La Mer and Estee Lauder to the title. The brand has also just launched an initiative that allows customers to choose a five per cent donation to a charity that matters to them, on every order, which only adds to its impressive credentials.

Ready to shop now? Browse the full Augustinus Bader range at Augustinusbader.com

So what is all the fuss about, we hear you ask? Well, it all boils down to some pretty impressive science. Professor Augustinus Bader, a German-born doctor, scientist and co-founder of the eponymous brand, has dedicated 30 years of his career to researching skin healing and tissue repair. This led to him creating a medical-grade hydrogel that treats the skin of burns victims. After envisioning how the success of this treatment could be applied to commercial skincare, Bader then incorporated the same technology into all of his products, in the form of his patented Trigger Factor Complex, known as TFC8. Still with us?

TFC8 is a cocktail of 40 different ingredients, including vitamins, amino acids and synthesised molecules found naturally in the body. Based on the idea that your body has an innate code for tissue repair, the complex essentially unlocks this code, forcing your skin into healing mode and tackling ageing, damage, scarring and dullness in the process. The brand claims that this technology visibly transforms the skin, and many consumers seem to agree.

But all of this technology comes at a rather eye-watering price, with the brands cult moisturiser costing 205. With this in mind, we spent a month exclusively testing Augustinus Baders products to see if they deliver on these transformative claims.

Were kicking off with the product that secured Augustinus Baders pivot to cult status. Youve almost certainly seen this moisturiser on many a bathroom shelfie its an instantly recognisable bottle that screams luxury straight off the bat. Like everything in the brands skincare line, the cream features the coveted TFC8 complex, and we were keen to see if it lives up to the hype. Regretfully for our bank accounts, we saw near-immediate results after using this cream. Its important to note that we paired the moisturiser with both the brands cleanser and the essence, which also feature TFC8, so our results may have been accelerated, but the cream was our favourite product.

The formula glides onto the skin with ease and absorbs quickly, but theres no luxury scent here (like us, you may prefer this, whether youre sensitive-skinned or more interested in the science). The added radiance is subtle, but the main thing we noticed was how plump our skin looks straight away. The brand describes this as a cushion-y bounce and we couldnt agree more its something weve yet to replicate in the same way from any other skincare product. Longer-term results after a month of use include reduced acne scarring and texture, a more even skin tone and generally healthier-looking skin. It really does feel as though our skin has been regenerated our make-up applied far better on a smoother base and we felt confident with clearer, happier skin.

Despite such technical ingredients, unlike other potent formulas, this is extremely gentle on the skin with no tingling or irritation. On the face of it, it feels like any other moisturiser, but its the results that speak for themselves. You can tell the brand is solely focused on science-backed results as opposed to all the bells and whistles, and were happy with that. The brand also offers a richer version of this moisturiser (205, Augustinusbader.com), and while we found it slightly too heavy for our oily skin, dry skin types will love it.

Housed in a weighty glass jar, the brands cleansing balm is a treat to use. Again, theres practically no scent here, but the buttery balm removes the day with ease. After applying the nourishing formula to dry skin, simply add water to emulsify and watch the balm turn into a milky consistency.

We love how much of a multi-tasker this cleanser is, removing even the heaviest of make-up effortlessly while leaving our skin feeling hydrated and plump. At 55, theres no doubt its an expensive cleanser, but youre paying for the long-term results from the brands regenerative TFC8 technology. Weve tried plenty of cheaper cleansing balms that do the job just as well, but you wont reap the skincare benefits that this one offers.

When paired with the brands other products, our skin was much brighter and clearer. Thankfully, its non-comedogenic too, meaning this is safe to use on acne-prone skin. Despite being great at removing make-up, we did find that we needed to apply quite a lot of the balm to remove it, so given the price, wed suggest using this as a second cleanse to make the most of it.

This toner-chemical-exfoliant-essence hybrid is really putting Augustinus Baders TFC8 complex to work, as the complex formula aims to resurface the skin while balancing it. Unlike other chemical exfoliants, it feels incredibly gentle on the skin with no irritation in sight.

The signature formula triggers the skins renewal processes, essentially forcing it to repair itself. Thanks to this, we noticed reduced acne scarring and redness, and far less texture after just a couple of weeks use. The essence also features gluconolacctone, a poly-hydroxy acid (PHA) that sloughs away dead skin cells, as well as the powerhouse ingredient salicylic acid to tackle congestion and blemishes.

Although using the essence with the brands moisturiser will give you optimum results, if youre stuck between the two, wed plump for this as a starting point for treating skincare concerns such as acne scarring and signs of ageing, as it showcases Baders TFC8 complex in the most potent way.

We cant give our final thoughts without addressing the elephant in the room here: the price. Its without a doubt on the luxury end of the spectrum, but the difficulty is that these products genuinely do work for us, delivering near instant results. There are definitely more affordable products out there that will help you to target acne scarring or dullness with similar success, but the real selling point here is how plump, smooth and seriously revitalised our skin looks after use.

Few skincare products deliver on every marketing promise, but Augustinus Baders do, and if you cant trust a world-leading stem cell scientist then who can you trust. Out of the whole range, wed recommend investing in the essence as a starting point, but if your budget stretches to both, the cream and the essence together make a powerful duo that wed definitely vouch for.

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Originally posted here:
We tried 500 worth of Augustinus Bader skincare to see if it really lives up to the hype - The Independent