- Dua Lipa launched a skincare line in partnership with Augustinus Bader—and we're pretty impressed with the formulas.
- All three products are lightweight, hydrating, and acne-friendly—even in harsh, drying weather.
- The Routine is streamlined but effective, offering high-quality formulas without needing a ton of extra products and costs a fraction of the price of the standard Augustinus Bader range.
Of every celebrity I've seen in real life, Dua Lipa takes the cake for most beautiful. I ran into the singer at the gym not once, but twice at Casa Cipriani in NYC, and I was entirely taken aback. She's stunning. Like, a level of stunning that I admittedly thought before I saw her IRL was a mix of lighting and angles and overall popstar magic. But she's so freakin' radiant and has the most beautiful aura about her. I could gush forever. So when I found out she was launching her own skincare brand, for once, I actually got excited.
See, it's my job to test celebrity beauty brands, and I've become somewhat of a skeptic recently. New launches come so often, it's hard to imagine anything can really break through all the noise. But Dua didn't do it the same as other brands. She collaborated with one of the biggest names in skincare, Augustinus Bader, to make her own collection: DUA by AB. It consists of the Balancing Cream Cleanser, the Supercharged Glow Complex (a brightening and firming serum), and the Renewal Cream. I tested it for a week on my skin and can confirm the duo (hehe) is a match made in heaven.
DUA Balancing Cream Cleanser
DUA Supercharged Glow Complex
DUA The Renewal Cream
About DUA by AB
The Routine is powered by "Augustinus Bader science." But what exactly does that mean? Well, the entire line is filled with TFC5, and if that sounds familiar, then you're prob a skincare lover. Augustinus Bader's brand is powered by TFC8, a proprietary blend of peptides, amino acids, and vitamins that encourages cell renewal and collagen production to smooth and firm the skin. The O.G. Augustinus Bader (yup, he's a real guy) is a German physician with years under his belt studying stem cell biology, and TFC8 is essentially his baby. You'll find those blue bottles littered all over your favorite celebrities' vanities. So it's no surprise that it comes at a price; Bader's The Rich Cream, the most popular in the line for hydrating and fighting aging, retails at $190 for a 1-oz bottle. That's where DUA comes in.
DUA is essentially Bader's answer to a more affordable yet still luxurious line of products. The Routine clocks in at $195, which is nearly what you'd pay for one full-size bottle of regular Bader cream to begin with. The science is still there, albeit not as robust. But it doesn't have to be. Dua herself is only 30 years old—she doesn't need such an anti-aging powerhouse every single day. Rather, DUA sets out to help smooth and plump skin, all the while being gentle and less heavy than AB's typical lineup. It sounds like a dream for anyone looking for more moisture who wants all these skin-loving ingredients but can't handle the richness of many anti-aging creams. Let's see...
My reviews
About my skin
First of all, lemme explain what we're workin' with. I have oily, acne-prone skin that's gotten a little bit dry now that the weather is changing. I actually put these products to the test the week I was home for Thanksgiving in Ohio, where it was snowing, raining, and cold as hell, meaning the heater was on full blast in my home. Read: My skin was effectively stripped of all its moisture. But even in its sporadic stages of dryness, my skin manages to break out over anything that's too heavy or filled with pore-clogging ingredients. I scan every ingredient list before I put anything on my face these days for that reason. I'm also newly 29 and starting to really focus on skin longevity—I don't have wrinkles yet, but I wanna preserve what I have as long as I possibly can.
Balancing Cream Cleanser
This feels like such a luxurious cleanser. You know when you're in a facial and the aesthetician lathers up the formula in their palms before spreading it evenly across your skin? This feels just like that, all at home. I'm kind of obsessed with it, to be honest. Cleanser is not a category I'd normally splurge on, especially one that isn't acne-fighting. But I am loving this in the mornings and a few nights a week when I add in retinol. It's a fantastic dry-skin cleanser that makes my skin feel clean without stripping it of its moisture. In fact, my face really does feel hydrated after I use this.
Supercharged Glow Complex
I tried to give my face a massage with this, but it absorbs way too fast for that, lol. Not a complaint, though! I love something lightweight, especially in the morning. Makeup artist Katie Jane Hughes did Dua's makeup for the campaign (and went along with her on tour, so she's pretty familiar with the products) actually said she loves this and the cream (more on that below) before makeup application, and I see why. It's lightweight but makes my skin look so fresh, hydrated, and plump. TBH, the formula's actually jam-packed with ingredients my skin loves: Niacinamide to calm and balance oil production, lactic acid to gently exfoliate, ectoin to soothe, amino acids to hydrate, and a slew of lightweight oils to give skin that dewy glow.
The Renewal Cream
This one's rich. But not too rich either. At night, the Renewal Cream locks in hydration and feels like the perfect final step. In the morning, though, it still isn't so heavy that my skin looks or feels oily. It's got a slightly whipped texture that adds dewiness to your skin in a soft way. Amidst the TFC5, there are lightweight oils to nourish and soothing green tea extract to help calm irritation. Between this cream and the serum, I love that they both absorb so well. My skin has a pretty sheen, but there's no greasy residue left behind that makes me feel like I'm about to break out any second.
Final thoughts:
DUA is basically the perfect way to buy into Bader science at a much lower price. They're also pretty great for acne-prone skin—a surprising win, considering I don't usually think of Augustinus Bader as "acne-friendly" per se. DUA isn't completely free of pore-clogging ingredients, but everything in the line was just lightweight enough that I haven't experienced any breakouts so far. It's pretty suitable for sensitive skin too; most of the formulas are filled with soothers, like ectoin and green tea, and are without irritants like strong chemical exfoliants.
Will I continue to exclusively use these? No, I do have acne-prone skin, after all. But I really do love these in the morning and can see myself implementing these products into my usual regimen (that's another thing I love: they're so gentle that they can easily work with whatever else you're using, like retinoids, acids, benzoyl peroxide—you name it).
Most of all, I love that The Routine is so pared back. No one needs a gazillion products—not even me, a beauty editor. When the formulas are high-quality and loaded with good ingredients, you don't need a bunch of serums and creams and cleansers. These have everything I need to make my skin healthier all-around, just with three products.
Beth Gillette is the beauty editor at Cosmopolitan, where she covers skincare, makeup, hair, nails, and more across digital and print. She can generally be found in bright eyeshadow furiously typing her latest feature or hemming and hawing about a new product you "have to try." Prior to Cosmopolitan, she wrote and edited beauty content as an Editor at The Everygirl for four years. Follow her on Instagram for makeup selfies and a new hair 'do every few months.
