As the German lab-formulated Hyaluronic Serum turns ten and releases its supersized edition, let us count the ways in which it is loved
Dr Barbara Sturm has a cult status. As an orthopaedics specialist in 2002, she asked a lab to take a sample of her blood and fuse it with a cream that she said healed the inflammation in her knee overnight. The idea for her lab-formulated product range was born, as was the Kardashian-approved “Vampire Facial” – and also: a star. When we meet to celebrate ten years of her now much-copied and beloved Hyaluronic Serum – the first on the market to hero its titular hydration-boosting ingredient – she is being fawned over by the barman at The Berkeley Hotel. He’s showing her a Google-searched image of Sharon Stone in Catwoman who, with her platinum crop, plays Laurel Hedare – the CEO of a cosmetics company known for its “miracle age-reducing product” – and also whom, he asserts, rather resembles Sturm. He’s not wrong.
The anniversary is an opportunity to launch a supersized 100ml iteration of the best-selling serum, available in a limited edition run at Harrods – but also a reminder of how times have changed. When the Hyaluronic Serum first launched, formulated with long and short chain hyaluronic molecules in order to maximise delivery of the product to multiple layers of the epidermis, it could only be purchased in a box of seven ampoules – small glass vials with generous servings of the serum. The contents could only be accessed by snapping the tapered glass end off with a little plastic handle. It was a dangerous endeavour for some (I remember trying to open one drunkenly, after a wedding and bleeding all over my Airbnb bedroom) but no less covetable. Customers – or patients, as Sturm called them then – quickly demanded a bigger glass bottle, cue the stoppered 30ml version with pipette we now know and love. Today the market is flooded with products championing hyaluronic acid of all qualities – some much more affordable but with less penetration, some sticky, some downright useless, many mixed with other actives – few pull off the elegant simplicity that Dr Barbara Sturm channels with each and every launch.
Today there are more than 72 products in her vast collection, not to mention a Mount Street spa and seven other treatment centres across the globe – but this hero item has gained an epic fanbase over the years, much of which is down to word of mouth, but of course the results: instantly dew-drenched skin, primed and ready to maximise the hydration of any moisturiser that follows it. Six years ago I saw a guest at a Venice Biennale party for Catherine Opie handing several Sturm products to a friend across a table amid plates of baccala at Harry’s Bar – she had the air of a benevolent drug dealer, emphatically gesturing about her wares.
Here, seven similarly devoted editors extol the serum’s virtues.
Susannah Frankel, Editor-in-Chief, AnOther Magazine
“I have a very minimal approach to skincare but the exception is this serum, which is the only one I ever use. I also always carry the Hyaluronic Face Mist, especially when I am travelling. I have reactive skin and this is soothing and a pleasure to use.”
Alex Peters, Beauty Features Director, Dazed
“I was introduced to the Hyaluronic Serum by Tish Weinstock when we worked together. She interviewed Dr Sturm and came back with lots of products. At the time, the brand sold the Hyaluronic Serum in little glass ampoules and while looking at them I immediately broke one onto the table, followed soon by a second. We salvaged the situation by applying it to our faces from the table anyway.
“I usually use it in the mornings – I apply to damp skin and then follow up with a moisturiser (currently my moisturiser is the Clarifying Face Cream from Dr Barbara Sturm or Dieux Instant Angel). My skin, despite being on the oilier side, can also get quite dry (especially in winter) and so it drinks up any extra hydration. The serum is gentle enough for my sensitive skin and doesn’t leave my skin sticky, resulting in smoother, plumper-looking, more hydrated skin.“
Katie Shillingford, Fashion Director, AnOther Magazine
“I am game to try a lot of products – I just went to Seoul and picked up all kinds of snail goo, sheet masks and polyneucleotides – anything the local PR team I was working with recommended to me, I bought in multiples. But the Hyaluronic Serum requires little to no bravery: being super hydrating and calming, I’m happy combining it with pretty much anything. It also works hard in a stripped-back routine. Sometimes my skin can be reactive but I find that this serum will fit in seamlessly with just about everything.“
Ted Stansfield, Editor-in-Chief, Dazed
“I was first introduced to Barbara’s products by my dear colleague and skincare oracle, Sophie Bew. Years ago, she taught me about Hyaluronic Serum (it took me three months to pronounce it properly) and explained how it hydrates not just the surface of the skin but the deeper layers too. A little while later, she gave me a small bottle of the stuff - I was instantly hooked.
“It sinks into the skin like no other hyaluronic acid serum I’ve used. The hydration is real. My skin feels plumper and moisturised all day. I usually layer it with Barbara’s Face Cream Rich and, when I’m feeling fancy, her Calming Serum. When I do, people sometimes ask if I’ve just had a facial. And honestly, it feels like I have.
“I have eczema, particularly on my hands, which I often say are as dry as autumn leaves. I always rub any leftover product into them, and it really makes a difference. I dream of one day being able to slather Barbara’s Hyaluronic Serum on my hands like regular moisturiser - but for now, I ration it like the elixir of youth.“
Rebecca Perlmutar, Fashion Editor, AnOther Magazine
“On the very last day of Paris Fashion Week a couple of seasons ago, I was gifted a big bag of Dr Barbara Sturm products, the Hyaluronic Serum being one of them. It was truly the best day ever. Now the serum is the first step in my skincare routine after cleansing, both morning and night – it’s somehow both lightweight and really drenching. And not only does it smooth and hydrate on its own but it primes my skin to better absorb my favourite moisturiser of all time: Dr Barbara Sturm’s Super Anti-Aging Face Cream.“
Helena Whelan, Photographic Director, AnOther Magazine
“I’m new to Dr Barbara Sturm but I have only ever heard amazing things about her products – I was envisaging my new era, looking like Gisele Bünchden circa 2000. I have a minimal skincare routine but I’ve been applying the serum to a clean face every morning and evening, then layering with my usual moisturiser on top. My skin looks instantly more radiant and feels plumper to touch. I’ve also been applying the serum to the back of my hands. After three days, my skin feels noticeably smoother and looks so much brighter. Though perhaps I have a little way to go before my full transformation.“
Emily Dinsdale, Art & Photography Editor, Dazed Digital
“The first time I tried Dr Barbara Sturm’s Hyaluronic Serum was when I received a sample inside the Liberty Beauty Drop. I was intrigued by the branding and look of the products – it’s a balance between something very luxurious and something straight out of a high-tech laboratory in the Alps, which really appeals to me.
“It absorbs into my skin so rapidly without leaving any residue. Many serums leave a sticky feel, but my skin just drank this up without a trace. It just really feels like it’s hydrating on a very deep level and helps my skin feel plumper.
“I apply it morning and night at home as part of my daily routine. I follow it with Dr Levi Stem Cell Booster Cream with a few drops of Barbara Stum Ceramide Drops mixed in. I also have a Hyaluronic Serum mini I carry in my handbag, and sometimes I like to do a secret third or fourth application during the day over my makeup if I need rejuvenating, or to counteract the effects of air conditioning, UV, or tiredness. I also love that it isn’t perfumed. I’ve really taken on board Barbara Sturm’s holistic philosophy of clean beauty.“
Hyaluronic Serum by Dr Barbara Sturm is available in 100ml only at Harrods.
