BEAUTY: THE CULT CREAM TO KNOW

It’s a cream so effective that Leonardo diCaprio reportedly stocks multiples in his bathroom cabinet; so wondrous that Diane Kruger decided not just to invest in bottles of it, but to invest in the company itself; so magical that beauty editors across the world keep writing about it, and writing about it, and writing about it.

It’s called Augustinus Bader, the eponymous brand from a German stem cell scientist whose research has long delved into healing skin scarred by burns. “I did my work in burn care very early on, and I was exposed to people worldwide with severe burns where I learned that one of the problems is that they developed massive scar formations. The burn and skin treatments triggered all my scientific work for many years, and skincare was a relatively recent development,” Bader shares.

In fact, skincare wasn’t even on the cards, but it was difficult to secure the funding for his work. “I couldn’t convince investors for a long time. I almost gave it up. Someone said, if this works on burns, why not develop a skincare product? Then, everyone can see that this technology is different. The technology, which we call Trigger Factor Complex, helps your own cells heal.”

He ended up developing two products – The Cream and The Rich Cream, which are intended to be used alone after cleansing and heal any sort of skin damage, whether from sun, acne, scarring, inflammation or irritation. Immediately, Hollywood responded. Celebrities from Demi Moore and Kris Jenner to Dakota Johnson began singing its praises. Then came the editors, universally praising the product’s no-frills efficacy. Since its launch in 2018, it’s become a cult, top-shelf product for nearly everyone who’s tried it.

He’s not done, yet – The Body Cream hit the market recently, and will be available in Hong Kong SAR soon enough. Bader also shares a few other items in development: “We have a face oil coming, and you can mix it – for those people for whom The Rich Cream is not rich enough, you can put the oil in. Then, along with The Body Cream – which makes your skin brighter and helps with scars – we have a body oil. The Trigger Factor Complex is the same but it’s adapted to different needs – a body cream needs to spread better over a larger surface area, while a body oil needs to not make your clothes dirty. In Hong Kong SAR I would expect The Cream to sell better because the climate is warm. Then, for winter, The Rich Cream is the best.”