A brown bottle of Aesop hand soap was once the ultimate bathroom brag but a flash of purple and copper is the latest symbol of skin health wealth.
Distinctive containers of skincare brand Augustinus Bader have been spotted in the TV series Succession and in GRWM (get ready with me) videos with Victoria Beckham, Hailey Bieber and supermodel Amber Valletta.
German Professor Augustinus Bader with Victoria Beckham in 2019, before the launch of their skincare collaboration.Credit: Getty
Beckham went beyond hashtag support and collaborated with the brand on a collection of make-up primers and a serum.
“A journalist in London once told me that the last thing the most beautiful women in the world think about is me because they see my products before they go to bed,” Bader says.
With a bow tie, cherubic rosy cheeks, glasses and a reserved demeanour, Bader, a professor, fits the profile of German scientist more closely than supermodel companion. “I am more of a background person,” he says.
This studied image has encouraged customers to spend $587 for a bottle of his serum (30ml) and $437 for the signature Rich Cream moisturiser (50ml). The products have been part of the “rich skin” trend in beauty, emphasising smooth and dewy faces.
“The products have to speak for themselves.”
Augustinus Bader
Bader’s reputation has propelled the growing line of products to the front of the beauty press since launching in 2018. The product is available in Australia at Mecca, prompting Bader’s recent visit to Sydney with co-founder and chief executive Charles Rosier.
“When you look at the approach of skincare before, in some ways they are relying on formulas that were created 50 years ago,” says Rosier. “What is great about this is that Augustinus is alive and working today.
“There are so many claims made by the skincare industry that it becomes background noise. When we launched, with The Cream and the Rich Cream, we made no claims. Our claim was transparent. The products carried the name of Augustinus, so people could Google the research and see that it’s real.”
When people research Bader, they discover that he is a respected biomedical scientist at Leipzig University focusing on skin cell research, with a sideline in delivering anti-ageing treatments to wealthy clients in a private Swiss clinic.
Augustinus Bader products which now include a lip balm and retinol serum, along with the original Rich Cream.
“Edison said that he didn’t want to invent things that people cannot use, so he made the electric light bulb,” Bader says. “So we have something which induces self-healing, self-repair.”
Researching how the skincare range works, with its patented ingredient Trigger Factor Complex (TFC8®) which emerged from Bader’s stem cell research and work with burns victims, is more difficult.
US biologist Professor Paul S. Knoepfler from the University of California is also a stem cell biologist and remains unclear on how the products work. The company website says the formula contains “natural amino acids, high-grade vitamins and synthesised molecules naturally found in the body”.
“I just did a clinical trial search for TFC8 and didn’t find anything relevant,” Knoepfler says. “There was just one result and it’s about something else.
“There are promising stem cell applications in this general area but they are related specifically to skin injuries and diseases, not general skincare or cosmetics.”
It’s difficult for Knoepfler’s cries of caution over the lack of data-centric reviews to be heard above the celebrity endorsements and US beauty press.
“They have had this incredible positive journey to share,” Rosier says. “The only thing we have to trust is the word of mouth. We have no choice but that. We have been through the science journey but every brand is scientifically backed.
“We don’t have the budget to cut through the noise. The products have to speak for themselves. If our community feel betrayed by a drop of quality, it’s finished.”
“I’m not a commercial person,” Bader says. “But it’s nice to see that people like it.”
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