Over the years, I’ve had so many patients sit in front of me feeling completely overwhelmed by their skincare.
They often arrive with a bag full of products, using one serum for pigmentation, another for fine lines, something else for congestion and several different creams. Despite doing everything they think they should be doing, their skin is often irritated, sensitive or simply not improving.
I kept thinking: surely, this doesn’t need to be so complicated.
That thought was really the beginning of Dream Cream.
I wanted to create one treatment that I could confidently recommend to my patients—something that addressed the concerns I see every day, but was still gentle enough to use consistently.
Skin rarely has just one concern
As a dermatologist, I rarely see a patient with only one skin concern.
Someone may come in wanting to treat pigmentation, but they are also experiencing dehydration and sensitivity. Another person might be worried about fine lines while also struggling with congestion, redness or a compromised skin barrier.
This becomes particularly apparent during periods of hormonal change.
Pregnancy can bring pigmentation, breakouts and increased sensitivity, while also limiting which active ingredients can be safely used. During perimenopause and menopause, many women notice that their skin suddenly feels different. It may become drier, more reactive or less firm, even if the products they use haven’t changed.
The natural ageing process also affects more than just lines and wrinkles. We see changes in hydration, collagen, pigmentation, texture and the skin’s ability to recover from environmental stress.
I didn’t want to create a product that only focused on one of these things. I wanted Dream Cream to look at the skin as a whole.
How I approached the formula
Every ingredient in Dream Cream needed to earn its place.
I wasn’t interested in adding ingredients simply because they were popular. I wanted proven actives that could work together to address several concerns without placing unnecessary stress on the skin.
DNA repair enzymes were included to support the skin’s natural repair processes. This was especially important to me as an Australian dermatologist, because I see the visible effects of accumulated sun exposure in my patients every day.
I chose bakuchiol instead of a traditional retinoid. It helps support collagen production, refine the skin and soften the appearance of fine lines, but is gentle enough to be used during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Niacinamide was another obvious inclusion. At 5%, it helps strengthen the skin barrier, improve uneven tone, balance oil production and reduce the appearance of pores. It’s an ingredient that can benefit many different skin types, which was essential for a product designed to be widely used.
I also made the deliberate decision not to include vitamin C. Although it is a very popular skincare ingredient, I find that some patients struggle with irritation, particularly when their skin barrier is already compromised.
Instead, I used astaxanthin alongside green tea, resveratrol, lycopene and L-carnosine. Together, these antioxidants help protect the skin from environmental stress and support a brighter, more even-looking complexion.
Astaxanthin and lycopene are also responsible for Dream Cream’s natural peachy-orange colour. It hasn’t been artificially coloured—that is simply what the formula looks like.
Liquorice root extract was added to help with pigmentation and visible redness, while hyaluronic acid, aloe and squalane help support hydration and skin comfort.
The challenge wasn’t simply choosing good ingredients. It was bringing them together at levels that were effective while ensuring the finished formula remained balanced and suitable for daily use.
Why it’s a treatment cream, not a moisturiser
Dream Cream is often mistaken for a moisturiser because of its creamy texture, but it is actually an all-in-one treatment cream.
It was designed to replace multiple serums and targeted treatments by addressing fine lines, pigmentation, congestion, dehydration, uneven texture and barrier health within one formula.
For many people, Dream Cream provides enough hydration to be used on its own. Someone with very dry or particularly sensitive skin may choose to apply a simple, fragrance-free moisturiser over the top.
The goal was never to convince people they needed another product. It was to create one product that could take the place of several.
Making it suitable for real people and real skin
I wanted Dream Cream to work for people whose skin doesn’t fit neatly into one category.
It is suitable for dry, oily, combination, sensitive, acne-prone, hormonal and maturing skin. It can also be used during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which was incredibly important to me.
Women shouldn’t have to completely abandon an effective routine every time their skin or stage of life changes. I wanted Dream Cream to be something they could rely on through pregnancy, the postnatal period, perimenopause, menopause and beyond.
The formula is also cruelty-free and can be used in the morning or evening. If it is used during the day, it should always be followed with a broad-spectrum sunscreen.
The thinking didn’t stop at the formula
The packaging was considered carefully too.
It needed to protect the formula from unnecessary exposure to air and contamination, while making it easy to dispense the small amount required for each use.
I was also conscious of how much waste can come from complicated skincare routines. When people are encouraged to use a separate product for every concern, they inevitably end up buying and discarding more bottles, jars and boxes.
Creating one multifunctional treatment helps reduce the number of products needed in a routine. To me, that is part of a more considered approach to sustainability: using fewer products, choosing them carefully and finishing what we buy.
What Dream Cream means to me
Dream Cream came from listening to my patients.
I created it for the women who felt as though their skin had suddenly changed and they no longer knew what to use. For those experiencing pregnancy-related pigmentation, perimenopausal sensitivity, menopausal dryness or the gradual changes that come with ageing.
Most of all, I created it for people who wanted to take care of their skin without turning their bathroom into a skincare laboratory.
There is a great deal of science and thought inside every bottle, but the idea behind it is actually very simple: effective skincare should make your life easier, not more complicated.
That is why I created Dream Cream.
Dr Katherine Armour
Dermatologist and Founder of Bespoke Skin Technology