Why Augustinus Bader The Light Cream exists alongside The Cream
Augustinus Bader assigns this one to "oily or combination skin, including men's skin" and to hot, humid climates. Its support pages hand humid climates to The Cream as well, so the brand is not consistent on climate. What separates this cream on the brand's own pages is oil. It states the formula balances sebum for immediate and long-term shine control, reduces the look of pores, and holds a matte finish in congested, urban environments, and it credits lemon myrtle extract with helping control oil.
If your skin is normal to combination rather than oily, the brand points you at The Cream for normal to combination skin. If it runs dry, its support page names The Rich Cream. All three carry the complex the brand calls TFC8.
The brand's 12-week numbers, and where they stop
Augustinus Bader reports a 12-week study of 60 participants aged 18 and over with self-perceived sensitive skin: sebum down 38%, pores 54% less noticeable, hydration up 213%, transepidermal water loss down 32%, wrinkles down 45%, elasticity up 51%, firmness up 55%, hyperpigmentation down 55%. A separate 12-week study of 105 participants reports 96% agreeing on oil control and 96% on a matte finish.
Two things to weigh. The brand publishes no control group, no statistical analysis and no independent replication for any of it, and the second set is what participants agreed with rather than anything measured. Its own pages carry a 94% wrinkle-reduction callout with no study design attached, which does not reconcile with the 45% above. Where two of a brand's own numbers disagree, neither is a basis for a purchase.
Product specification
| Size |
30 ml, per Nava's own listing. The brand's page states one size without naming a volume |
| Form |
Cream, dispensed by pump in the brand's own directions |
| Named complex |
TFC8 (Trigger Factor Complex), which Augustinus Bader states is patented and does not list as a separate INCI ingredient |
| Oil-control ingredient |
Lemon myrtle, listed as Backhousia Citriodora Leaf Extract, which the brand credits with helping control oil |
| Brand's stated skin and climate |
Oily or combination skin, including men's skin, and hot, humid climates |
| Stated exclusions |
Augustinus Bader states non-comedogenic, vegan, fragrance-free and cruelty-free, and free from parabens, sulfates, mineral oil, petrolatum, paraffin, heavy metals, talc, silicones and DEA. Its published list names no retinoid and no alcohol |
| Directions |
Two pumps, morning and evening, on clean dry skin, smoothed over face, neck and décolleté in upward sweeping motions |
| Brand-reported study |
12 weeks, 60 participants aged 18 and over with self-perceived sensitive skin: sebum down 38%, pores 54% less noticeable |
Which of the three creams the brand assigns to you
The brand splits its creams by skin and climate, not by strength. Oily or combination, or a humid summer, is this one. Normal to combination is The Cream. Dry is The Rich Cream. Nothing on the brand's pages suggests one works harder than another.
This is the only one of the three Augustinus Bader calls vegan, and its published ingredient list names no retinoid and no alcohol, both of which appear in the list for The Cream. Other non-comedogenic skincare Nava carries sits in Nava's non-comedogenic shelf.
The serums, eye care, masks, lip and hair products built around any of the three sit under Augustinus Bader at Nava Beauty.
