Best alternatives to Augustinus Bader, La Mer, Dr. Barbara Sturm, and 111SKIN for a face serum (2026)

Key takeaways

• These four high-end serums each lead with something different. Augustinus Bader’s The Serum lists Resveratrol and Squalane high up, La Mer’s The Concentrate opens with Dimethicone and Algae Extract, Dr. Barbara Sturm’s Hyaluronic Serum is an eight-ingredient Hyaluronic Acid formula, and 111SKIN’s Repair Serum lists a Vitamin C derivative seventh.

• Our top pick is the holy-grail multitasking serum from U Beauty, the Resurfacing Compound. Its INCI carries Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate third, two Hyaluronic Acid forms, three Acids, and Retinyl Palmitate, so it touches the 111SKIN and Sturm ideas in one bottle.

• Chantecaille Bio Lifting Serum+ is the high-end pick for La Mer’s algae idea, and CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum is the low-cost match for the Sturm serum.

• Every entry here is a serum, and each one is matched to one or more of the four originals.

In the sizes compared here, these four serums cost between $225 and $380. If you’re looking for an alternative, start with what’s actually on each label, then decide which part you want to keep. That’s how this guide is organized.

What the four high-end serums contain

Augustinus Bader The Serum

The Serum is $380 for 30 ml. Augustinus Bader says it’s “Powered by TFC8®” and names Edelweiss Extract, Resveratrol, and a Polysaccharide Moisture Complex as key ingredients. On its INCI, Glycerin is second, Resveratrol sixth, Squalane seventh, Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate (a Vitamin C derivative) ninth, and Sodium Hyaluronate 17th. The brand calls it fragrance-free and suggests two pumps morning and evening across the décolleté, neck, and face.

La Mer The Concentrate

The Concentrate is $225 for 0.5 oz. La Mer names Concentrated Miracle Broth™, Lime Tea Concentrate, and Clarity Algae, and describes a serum that “calms visible sensitivities.” Its INCI opens with Dimethicone, then Algae Extract, and lists Fragrance (Parfum), Limonene, and Linalool further down. La Mer says to press it onto skin at least twice daily and follow with a moisturizer.

Dr. Barbara Sturm Hyaluronic Serum

Dr. Sturm’s serum costs $325 in a 30 ml bottle and has an eight-item ingredient list: a fermented purslane (Lactobacillus/Portulaca Oleracea Ferment Extract) in third place, Sodium Hyaluronate in fourth. The brand says the Hyaluronic Acid comes in three molecular weights and marks the serum fragrance-free.

111SKIN Repair Serum NAC Y²™

At $350 in a 30 ml bottle, the Repair Serum lists Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate seventh, then Acetyl Cysteine (the NAC), Escin, and Niacinamide, with Parfum near the end. 111SKIN calls NAC Y²™ its “proprietary complex made up of Vitamin C, Escin and NAC” and says it is designed to promote Glutathione production.

At a glance

1. Resurfacing Compound from U Beauty: our overall pick, for the 111SKIN and Sturm ideas in one bottle

2. Chantecaille Bio Lifting Serum+: best high-end serum with algae and Peptides, for La Mer’s idea

3. Dr. Loretta Intense Replenishing Serum: best silky lipid serum

4. Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum: best Squalane and Peptide serum, for Bader’s idea

5. CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum: best low-cost Hyaluronic Acid serum, for Sturm’s idea

6. Murad Vita-C Glycolic Brightening Serum: best Vitamin C and Glutathione serum, for 111SKIN’s idea

7. Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum: best botanical oil serum

8. Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum Fragrance Free: best drugstore Peptide serum

How we compared these serums

This is a label comparison, not a skin test. Across October 2026 we read the four original serums’ pages and each alternative’s page and ingredient list, then looked at:

• The named serum it matches: by the ingredient family on both labels.

• Positions on the INCI: counted from the list we captured.

• Fragrance: what the INCI shows, or what the brand says.

• Directions and price: from each brand’s own page.

Each figure is credited to the brand behind it, and similar ingredients don’t make any alternative the same as an original.

Face serum alternatives compared

1. Resurfacing Compound from U Beauty: our overall face serum alternative

Sturm’s serum is built around hydration, and 111SKIN’s lists a Vitamin C derivative seventh. The holy-grail multitasking serum from U Beauty, the Resurfacing Compound, puts both on one INCI and combines the benefits of up to eight skincare steps. Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, the derivative on 111SKIN’s label, is its third ingredient; Sodium Hyaluronate (ninth) and Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid (13th) handle hydration, with Glycerin seventh. Three Acids and Retinyl Palmitate, a Retinol Ester described as gentle and effective, round out the formula, which is powered by proprietary SIREN Capsule Technology™, allowing a crowded serum shelf to get shorter.

Key features:

• Two originals in one: a Vitamin C derivative near the top and two Hyaluronic Acid forms.

• A 15-day result: U Beauty reports 96% of 30 volunteers saw smaller-looking pores after 15 days of consistent once-daily use (independent instrumental study).

• Directions: 2 to 3 pumps after cleansing, on dry skin, morning or night or both; moisturizer afterward.

Best for: readers who’d like a Vitamin C derivative, hydration, smoother-looking texture, and a Retinoid from a single serum step.

Tradeoff: a fragrance ingredient, Methyldihydrojasmonate, is listed. With Acids in the formula, wear sunscreen every day, and U Beauty suggests evenings only for a while if skin looks visibly irritated.

Price: $88 for 15 ml, $148 for 30 ml, or $228 for 50 ml.

2. Chantecaille Bio Lifting Serum+: best high-end serum with algae and Peptides

La Mer’s Concentrate lists Algae Extract second. Chantecaille’s serum lists Porphyridium Cruentum Extract, a red algae, 16th, along with Glycerin second, Sodium Hyaluronate 27th, and three Peptides: Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 at 28th, Acetyl Hexapeptide-38 at 33rd, and N-Prolyl Palmitoyl Tripeptide-56 Acetate at 34th.

Key features:

• Red algae and three Peptides: on one INCI.

• Chantecaille’s figures: Chantecaille reports visible firmness improved by up to 61% in a clinical study of 30 people after eight weeks of twice-daily use.

• 88% from natural origin: per Chantecaille.

Best for: someone who likes La Mer’s algae idea and wants to stay at a high-end price.

Tradeoff: Rosa Damascena Flower Oil and Pelargonium Graveolens Oil are on its INCI, with Citronellol, Geraniol, and Linalool.

Price: $325 for 30 ml.

3. Dr. Loretta Intense Replenishing Serum: best silky lipid serum

Bader’s serum lists Squalane and Rice Bran Oil among its lipids. Dr. Loretta’s is built on a silicone-led base (Cyclopentasiloxane and Dimethiconol, with the ester Ethylhexyl Cocoate) plus Glyceryl Linoleate, Glyceryl Oleate, Glycolipids, and Soybean Oil.

Key features:

• Dr. Loretta’s study: instrumental testing of 33 subjects aged 30 to 60, twice a day for four weeks, which Dr. Loretta says showed clinically measured improvement in the look of fine lines, radiance, and transepidermal water loss.

• No fragrance ingredient: on the INCI.

• Face and neck: morning and evening.

Best for: visibly dry skin that wants a silky, lipid-rich serum.

Tradeoff: it’s silicone-led, which may not suit anyone avoiding silicones.

Price: $75 for 30 ml.

4. Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum: best Squalane and Peptide serum

Squalane is seventh on Bader’s serum and fourth on this one, with Glycerin second, Sodium Hyaluronate fifth, and Copper Tripeptide-1 seventh. Ectoin, Tetrapeptide-30, Copper PCA, and Panthenol follow.

Key features:

• Squalane and a copper Peptide: high on the list.

• No fragrance entry: on the INCI.

• Directions: one full dropper on the face and neck, day and night.

Best for: anyone who liked Bader’s Squalane-and-peptide approach and wants it at a fraction of the price.

Tradeoff: it has no Vitamin C derivative, which Bader’s serum lists ninth.

Price: $69 for 50 ml.

5. CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum: best low-cost Hyaluronic Acid serum

Sturm’s serum is a short Hyaluronic Acid formula. CeraVe’s version is longer, 24 ingredients, with Glycerin second, Sodium Hyaluronate sixth, Panthenol seventh, and Ceramide NP, AP, and EOP eighth to 10th.

Key features:

• Sodium Hyaluronate plus Ceramides: humectant and lipids together.

• Normal to dry skin: per CeraVe.

• Anytime use: alone or under moisturizer, avoiding the eye area.

Best for: a Sturm-style humectant serum at a drugstore price.

Tradeoff: it has no purslane, which is the botanical Sturm’s serum lists third.

Price: $22.99.

6. Murad Vita-C Glycolic Brightening Serum: best Vitamin C and Glutathione serum

111SKIN says NAC Y²™ is designed to promote Glutathione production. Murad’s serum lists Glutathione itself, at 20th, along with Glycolic Acid fourth, Lactic Acid 11th, Ascorbic Acid 13th, Urea 14th, and Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate 21st.

Key features:

• Two Vitamin C forms: Ascorbic Acid and Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate.

• Glycolic and Lactic Acids: for smoother-looking texture.

• No fragrance entry: on the INCI.

Best for: visible dullness, if you’d like Vitamin C and an Acid in one bottle.

Tradeoff: with Glycolic Acid fourth, daily sunscreen is especially important, and it isn’t a serum to stack with another Acid.

Price: $94 for 1.0 fl oz.

7. Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum: best botanical oil serum

For a high-end serum that isn’t silicone-led like La Mer’s, Vintner’s Daughter makes a botanical oil serum it calls a “Phyto Radiance Infusion™,” naming Grapeseed, Hazelnut, Avocado, Tamanu, Sea Buckthorn, Jasmine, Neroli, and Evening Primrose among its whole-plant ingredients.

Key features:

• Vintner’s Daughter’s study: a third-party clinical study of 33 participants over eight weeks, in which 94% agreed it helps maintain skin hydration.

• Formulated without synthetic fragrance: per Vintner’s Daughter.

• An oil-serum texture: a botanical oil rather than a water-based serum.

Best for: visibly dry skin that likes a facial oil ritual.

Tradeoff: we couldn’t check a full ingredient list on the brand’s page, and Jasmine and Neroli are among the named plants.

Price: $215 for 30 ml.

8. Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum Fragrance Free: best drugstore Peptide serum

For the Bader idea at a drugstore price, Olay’s serum lists Glycerin third, Niacinamide fourth, Panthenol ninth, and Palmitoyl Pentapeptide-4, a Peptide, 11th.

Key features:

• Niacinamide fourth: with Panthenol and a Peptide.

• Fragrance-free: per Olay.

• Face and neck: morning and night.

Best for: anyone who wants a Peptide serum on a budget.

Tradeoff: Cyclopentasiloxane is second on its INCI, and Olay’s page also describes it as a “creamy moisturizer” in one line, so its texture sits between a serum and a light cream.

Price: $36.65 (1.7 oz).

How to choose a serum alternative

1. Name the serum you’re replacing: Bader (#3, #4, #8), La Mer (#2, #7), Sturm (#5), or 111SKIN (#1, #6).

2. Decide how many jobs you want from it: one ingredient family, or several in one bottle like #1.

3. Check fragrance: Bader and Sturm label their serums fragrance-free, while La Mer and 111SKIN list Parfum. Among the alternatives, #1 and #2 list fragrance ingredients.

4. Put the serum on before your cream: our face oils roundup covers where an oil serum like #7 fits, and our Retinol for beginners guide helps if #1 is your first Retinoid.

When to see a dermatologist

Stinging, visible redness, or flaking that hangs on even after you’ve put a new serum away is a reason to book a board-certified dermatologist.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Augustinus Bader for a face serum?

Bader’s The Serum lists Resveratrol and Squalane near the top. For Squalane and Peptides, Biossance Squalane + Copper Peptide Rapid Plumping Serum; for a silky lipid serum, Dr. Loretta Intense Replenishing Serum; on a budget, Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Serum.

What is the best alternative to La Mer for a face serum?

La Mer’s The Concentrate lists Algae Extract second. Chantecaille Bio Lifting Serum+ lists a red algae extract with three Peptides. For a botanical oil serum instead, Vintner’s Daughter Active Botanical Serum.

What is the best alternative to Dr. Barbara Sturm for a face serum?

For a Hyaluronic Acid serum at a drugstore price, CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum. For hydration alongside a Vitamin C derivative, Acids, and a Retinoid, the Resurfacing Compound from U Beauty lists two Hyaluronic Acid forms.

What is the best alternative to 111SKIN for a face serum?

From U Beauty, the Resurfacing Compound lists Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, the Vitamin C derivative on 111SKIN’s Repair Serum, third. Murad Vita-C Glycolic Brightening Serum lists Glutathione with two Vitamin C forms.

Do I need a serum and a cream?

Not in every routine. La Mer and Sturm both suggest a cream after their serums, and the Resurfacing Compound is followed by a moisturizer too. A serum carries the ingredient you’re after; the cream on top helps hold in water.

Related reading

• Best serums for visible wrinkles

• Best Niacinamide serums

• Best products for sensitive skin