Girls Who Editor: Miss MaidenLast updated September 19, 2026 at 5:17 PM ETPrices checked September 19, 2026
The formula has meaningful hydration data and a clear dry skin use case, but the price and study design deserve context.
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Augustinus Bader’s The Rich Cream is famous enough to feel like a category of its own, but the useful buying question is simpler: does the formula offer something specific enough to justify its luxury price?
The current Rich Cream formula combines the brand’s proprietary TFC8 complex with squalane, sunflower seed oil, argan oil, avocado oil, evening primrose oil, shea butter, panthenol and hyaluronic acid. It is fragrance free, noncomedogenic and formulated without silicones, parabens, sulfates or mineral oil.
The brand positions it for normal to dry skin and especially for cold or dry climates. That positioning makes sense on paper because the formula layers multiple emollient oils with humectants and barrier supporting lipids.
Augustinus Bader reports that hydration improved 2.45 times and transepidermal water loss fell 33 percent in a four week clinical trial of 30 participants. It also reports a 12 week consumer perception study with 107 participants.
Those are useful signals, but they are brand supplied studies, not independent head to head trials against a less expensive moisturizer. The results support the claim that the cream hydrates. They do not prove that it outperforms every well formulated moisturizer at a fraction of the price.
The 15 ml size is listed from $99, making it possible to try the formula without buying the largest bottle. The value is strongest for someone who wants a rich, all in one moisturizer and dislikes layering several oils and creams.
The value is weakest for someone whose main goal is basic barrier support. Many fragrance free moisturizers provide glycerin, squalane, ceramides or shea butter for far less.
Worth trying in the small size if you have normal to dry skin, live in a cold or arid climate and want a plush moisturizer with a strong luxury experience. Skip it if you are oily, highly price sensitive or already happy with a simple barrier cream.
The exact Rich Cream page and exact product image were verified live on September 19, 2026.
Source: Augustinus Bader The Rich Cream.
Reporting source: Augustinus Bader
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