I always approach luxury beauty with a healthy dose of skepticism. As a beauty editor with years of experience, I can still only count on one hand the number of high-end brands I use and love. While many provide some benefits, I don't always think it's enough to justify an insanely high price tag. In this case, however, I can say that aesthetician-loved brand Auteur is well worth the money.
I was intrigued by this brand after hearing a few of my favorite celebrity aestheticians talk about how much they love it. Believe me, when someone like Melanie Grant (aesthetician to Victoria Beckham!) tells me she loves something, I sit up and listen. "As an aesthetician, I appreciate Auteur for its thoughtful approach to skin health," she tells me. "I find that their formulations offer effective solutions for a range of skin concerns, allowing me to tailor treatments that yield true results for my clients, whilst at the same time remaining streamlined in their product offering. There's no overlap or unnecessary SKUs. The products embody a balance between science and luxury, offering formulations rich in high-performance ingredients that deliver visible improvements whilst also providing an elevated, sensorial experience upon application."
While I know that luxury skincare might not be realistic for everyone's budget, I will say that if you do have the funds and want to get serious about taking care of your skin, then these products are ones you'll want to get your hands on. Needless to say, I knew I had to give this brand a try for myself to see if it lives up to the hype. For all my thoughts, keep reading!
Before using Auteur.
The above photo is a baseline of what my skin looked like last month before I started using these products. While I did have one other product to test around the same time as this review, I used mostly the Auteur line for about three weeks.
My skin three weeks after using Auteur.
You can tell my acne scars have improved thanks to hero ingredients like niacinamide in these formulas, but I'll note that I can't credit the line for that alone. I also use Medik8's Crystal Retinal and that really did the trick for my dark spots. This line does, however, give your skin an overall brighter appearance, helps it appear healthier, and keeps it hydrated for long periods of time.
Read my full review of the products below.
First, we need to talk about the packaging. It's so chic and luxurious that I was drawn to the brand based on that alone (top-tier marketing if you ask me). This highly active offering from the brand called the Definitive Renewal Serum is new and rich in peptides that enhance cellular functions. It targets collagen production and helps skin stay hydrated throughout the day via a host of ingredients like a growth factor complex, antioxidants, glycerin, oxygen, hyaluronic acid, and colloidal gold. Yes—you read that right—real liquid gold, folks! This formula is designed to address fine lines, dehydration, and loss of elasticity.
Initially, I was a little skeptical and worried these formulas might be a bit too rich for my skin (I've dealt with breakouts in the past), but this one provided the perfect amount of hydration without making me feel greasy or oily. I noticed that after applying it for just a few days, my skin felt noticeably tighter and more hydrated. The fine lines I'm most concerned about are my laugh lines since my skin can get pretty dehydrated, but I've already noticed an improvement in those after just a few weeks of use. The other brightening and hydrating ingredients also give you a serious glow.
I used the Definitive Hyaluron Activator Serum as my morning serum and the Definitive Renewal Serum as my evening option. This serum is so lightweight and absorbs into the skin so easily. Its sophisticated makeup boosts your skin's ability to produce more hyaluronic acid, a necessary component to keeping skin plump, hydrated, and line-free. My skin gets pretty dehydrated so this serum was an absolute gift from the skincare Gods. My skin just drinks it up every morning and, once again, it's so lightweight you barely even feel like you've put any product on at all. It also speeds up the regenerative process and contains peptides and growth factors that support new collagen production. If you're like me and also tend to deal with redness and inflammation, this formula also contains super soother allantoin (one of my favorite skincare ingredients) to calm the skin.
Grant recommends this serum for anyone like me who has dealt with breakouts. "This serum is packed with hyaluronic acid, peptides, and botanicals that work to intensely hydrate the skin without clogging pores," she says. "Hydration is crucial even for blemish-prone skin, as dehydrated skin can sometimes overproduce oil, leading to further congestion. This product also calms and soothes, boosts collagen, and promotes a healthy barrier function."
I used to use cleansers that contained a lot of active exfoliants like BHAs and AHAs, but then I realized my skin is much too sensitive for that. This gentle gel cleanser from the brand is perfect. It contains gentle surfactants along with a powerful botanical complex and stem cells that leave your skin feeling clean without stripping it. I paired this with the Definitive Enzyme Cleanser in the evening sometimes as a double cleanse and my skin felt so soft afterwards.
This was one of my favorite products of the bunch. It's so gentle but exfoliates so beautifully. I'm normally a big fan of mandelic acid since it's a great AHA for sensitive skin, but Auteur's exfoliant contains active enzymes along with AHAs for a bit of an extra punch. It also helps lighten hyperpigmentation and age spots if those are things you struggle with.
Grant is also a big fan of this cleanser. "This cleanser is great for deep cleansing without stripping the skin," she explains. "It contains enzymes that gently exfoliate and remove surface dead cells and debris, helping to free the pores of impurities and prevent breakouts. I love this cleanser in particular for reducing congestion."
Because I've dealt with breakouts in the past and am still healing my skin, I was a little worried this cream might be too rich for me, but it actually ended up being one of my favorite products from the brand. While it does contain a few oils and shea butter, the texture of the cream is still so lightweight and never makes your skin feel greasy or heavy. I was pleasantly surprised and felt good about using it, especially since it contains so many high-active, good-for-your-skin ingredients. Amino acids, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid hydrate, nourish, and help strengthen a compromised barrier.
This ended up being the perfect cream for me since my skin barrier is damaged and could use some extra support. Antioxidants also help lift pigment and protect against environmental stress. The only downside to this cream is that it has fragrance. I know some people like a little fragrance for a sensory experience, but I am not a fan at all of synthetic fragrance in my skincare, and it's something to be aware of if you have a fragrance allergy. That was a bummer considering that the brand has so many other products that are fragrance-free. I hope the brand will consider making a fragrance-free version because the scent is a bit overpowering and it does linger, IMO. Without the fragrance, it would be the perfect cream for me!
I love using this mask as a weekly treatment. I use it on Wednesdays and Sundays for a boost of hydration. It does contain exfoliants like glycolic acid, lactic acid, phytic acid, and willow bark extract, but it didn't tingle or burn at all for me—it mostly just deeply hydrated my skin. It's designed to help regulate oil production and strengthen the skin's barrier by helping it retain more moisture.
After using it at night, I always wake up with a calmer, more radiant complexion that not only looks healthier but feels healthier.
I've never really understood why eye cream ends up being the most expensive offering from a brand, but here we are. This one has micro-encapsulated peptide technology that promotes healthy collagen production and rejuvenates fibroblast activity in the skin, breathing new life into the eye area.
My under-eye bags can get pretty aggressive (especially if I haven't gotten a full eight hours of sleep), and I will say that this cream definitely helped perk the area up. This is especially great for anyone who'd like to smooth out any crow's feet or fine lines around the area as it's incredibly rich and majorly improves hydration and elasticity in the skin around that area. It is one of the most expensive products from the brand, but like all of its other products, it is well worth it for all the fast-acting actives in each of the formulas.
"I love the Definitive Eye Cream to plump, hydrate, and brighten whilst padding out fine lines and decongesting my under-eye area. This formula is concentrated in peptides, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid which work to yield both instant and long-term results. An all-time favorite of mine that I use on my own skin whilst also recommending to many of my clients." — Grant
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