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Dr Sam Bunting
Dermatologist

Dr Sam Bunting.

Her channel is built around making skincare simpler, with much of the focus on moisturizers and the daily products that keep skin comfortable. She tends to pare routines back to what actually earns a place, which helps people avoid piling on more than their skin needs.

Founder · Dr Sam'sFounder · Dr Sam's Flawless
31Products
26 yay93% approval rate
2 nayA few she would skip
2 hot takesWhere she breaks from the pack

What they review most.

Dr Sam Bunting's hot takes.

Products where their take diverges from the rest of the gurus.

Dr Sam Bunting: Nay vs gurus 77% Yay
There was benzoyl peroxide at 10 strength, good old [...] Panoxyl. [...] The formulations back then were so far removed from how benzoyl peroxide is formulated nowadays, so irritating that it caused a barrier issue, and the potholes on my skin were created by using actives that were too strong for my skin, with no retinoid in the picture at all.
Dr Sam Bunting: Nay vs gurus 64% Yay
My mom took me to the Clinique counter for the three-step: the golden yellow bar, a face stripping toner, and then covering it all up with dramatically different moisturizers.

Every review.

All 31 products Dr Sam Bunting has reviewed, grouped by product type. Click a product to see the full guru consensus.

All takes Yay takes Nay takes Against the gurus
Serums8 reviews
"Those on a budget might want to layer more affordable serums to get the combination of salicylic acid and azelaic acid. The Ordinary's 10% azelaic acid serum is a good one to try."
✓Yay
75%Guru Score
"Next you could consider Paula's Choice Azelaic Acid Booster, which contains 10% azelaic acid and 0.5% salicylic acid and also some licorice extract, which is good for pigmentation."
✓Yay
81%Guru Score
"My go to is azelaic acid, this powerful anti-inflammatory multitasking ingredient really is the mainstay of my clinical practice when it comes to treating people in the clinic with perioral dermatitis. [...] My preference is using Finacea, which is 15% azelaic acid gel, on prescription."
✓Yay
77%Guru Score
"An interesting lineup of ingredients, a nice texture if you like something to layer, but I don't think it's going to meet the needs of anybody with a skin type that isn't oily, if you're combination or dry you're probably going to want something with a little bit more. Compared to the other two, this is probably not a full service barrier treatment, you definitely need some kind of occlusive in there, but it's more suitable for daytime than the Cicaplast and the Cicalfate."
~Mixed
76%Guru Score
"Next I'm going in with Nightly Pro. I alternate between that and tretinoin. My skin is just a little dry from travel recently, so I'm just having a Nightly Pro night, but that's just my personal choice to lower the intensity, so I'm not doing tret every single night. You really don't need more than a pea sized amount, if you're using a cream with Nightly Pro that's one pump, a little goes a long way."
✓Yay
84%Guru Score
"In terms of actives, I'll always take something that's anti-blemish. Neutralizing gel is great, and it even comes in sachets now, so if you shop from Dr. Sam's regularly you can keep one on standby just in case that throbbing sensation on your chin starts up."
✓Yay
89%Guru Score
"I think we've done it with Flawless Vitamin C NAD+ Serum, a one of a kind formula."
✓Yay
83%Guru Score
"Brightly is the AM step, dosed evenly all over for brightening and radiance, but not used on the eye area since the acid doesn't belong there. It's great for redness, great for closed comedones and blemishes, great for texture, and great for almost everyone."
✓Yay
77%Guru Score
Moisturizers6 reviews
"A good one to try is La Roche-Posay Toleriane Sensitive, which also contains dimethicone and squalane."
✓Yay
83%Guru Score
"They're great to have in the bathroom cabinet for sore chapped skin, suitable for use on just about any part of the body. The drawbacks are that if you want to use this during the day to tackle an upset barrier you're going to struggle, it doesn't sit well under sunscreen and makeup, it's very much the kind of thing you'd put on to soothe the skin at nighttime, and I've definitely had a few patients who've reported acne breaking out with using Cicaplast for a prolonged period of time."
~Mixed
92%Guru Score
"This is the large size of Cicalfate, it does come in a 40 ml size just like the La Roche-Posay product, they're around the same price, [...] around the 10 pound mark. I think of them as being the kind of thing that's great to have in the bathroom cabinet for sore chapped skin, and they're suitable for use on just about any part of the body, [...] on the face, [...] in the private areas, [...] on your baby's bottom if they've got nappy rash."
~Mixed
88%Guru Score
"The final one is a little more spendy, this is Dermalogica Stabilizing Repair Cream and it comes in at £65 for 50 mls. I think this is good for those of us with dry skin, perhaps more mature skin, a formula that's really well considered for probably a postmenopausal complexion where the need for replenishing essential lipids and ceramides is high, and it has a really lovely reassuring and nourishing texture, very comforting on the skin."
✓Yay
84%Guru Score
"The reason why I like Moisturiser Intense in particular with retinoids, and I formulated it this way, is because [...] our cells need lots and lots of energy at night because of all that repair work to do, and every single action the cell takes requires energy. And to use energy correctly, you need something called NAD+, [...] so it makes sense to boost NAD+ whenever your cell is extremely active on the repair front, in terms of both the DNA and your skin barrier repairing too."
✓Yay
87%Guru Score
"Flawless Moisturizer is a little richer but also contains that crucial 5% niacinamide."
✓Yay
78%Guru Score
Cleansers4 reviews
"For those on a budget I like CeraVe's gentle hydrating cleanser."
✓Yay
85%Guru Score
"I like La Roche-Posay Toleriane Dermo cleanser, which is excellent for extremely sensitive skin that's also prone to congestion."
✓Yay
83%Guru Score
"There was benzoyl peroxide at 10 strength, good old [...] Panoxyl. [...] The formulations back then were so far removed from how benzoyl peroxide is formulated nowadays, so irritating that it caused a barrier issue, and the potholes on my skin were created by using actives that were too strong for my skin, with no retinoid in the picture at all."
✕Nay
77%Guru Score
"For everyone else I recommend Dr Sam's Flawless Cleanser."
✓Yay
87%Guru Score
Lip3 reviews
"I put a bit of Fenty gloss on, the color is called Fenty Glow. It's everyone's favorite, it suits all skin tones, because it's not too heavy, it's quite neutral, it's got a little bit of a pinky brown."
✓Yay
77%Guru Score
"This is the Lisa Eldridge one, in just 3N, it hasn't really got a name, it's just 3N, and this is their Sculpt and Shade Lip Pencil. I normally line my lips and put any sort of color on top."
✓Yay
82%Guru Score
"Not many people have done a great chocolate brown pencil. MAC have done a good one called Chestnut, which is a staple in many dark skinned black girls' makeup bags."
✓Yay
76%Guru Score
Other2 reviews
"My mom took me to the Clinique counter for the three-step: the golden yellow bar, a face stripping toner, and then covering it all up with dramatically different moisturizers."
✕Nay
64%Guru Score
"One of the best ways to reapply tinted sunscreen over makeup is to use a non-absorbent beauty blender to [...] blend at the edges so you're not just moving product around. [...] I find the Real Techniques Beauty blender is really good for this, so not using a wet blender, using a dry blender that doesn't absorb much sunscreen. Be generous, I think it's one of the easiest ways to feel secure that you've put enough SPF on for a second application."
✓Yay
83%Guru Score
Sunscreen2 reviews
"I'm fond of La Roche-Posay Anthelios Invisible Fluid, which is SPF 50 and a chemical sunscreen, which is great for oily skin."
✓Yay
78%Guru Score
"Flawless Daily Sunscreen SPF 50 is fantastic both in terms of texture but also because of that 5% niacinamide, that again helps combat the tendency for clogging. It's a great product for those who are prone to pigmentation or who want something for underneath makeup."
✓Yay
88%Guru Score
Acne1 review
"Those on a budget might want to layer more affordable serums to get the combination of salicylic acid and azelaic acid. The Ordinary's 2% salicylic acid solution is a good one to try."
✓Yay
78%Guru Score
Blush & Bronzer1 review
"This is Bare Minerals, and I think it's more about the shade that I like, this one's called You Had Me At Merlot. I love this one cuz it gives maybe that pop that I like, it's really fresh. This is my desert island favorite, I think eyebrows and blush really change how my face looks."
✓Yay
93%Guru Score
Eye Makeup1 review
"This is quite wet, it's very black, but that's perfect for me because I need something that's really dark, that's really going to show up, that separates my lashes and lengthens them and thickens them at the same time."
✓Yay
74%Guru Score
Masks & Peels1 review
"If I'm going somewhere really far and it's overnight, I might pop on a mask. [...] I don't mind a thick, juicy layer of a hydrating mask like Revival Mask, and I'll decant it into one of these cute little pots just for ease."
✓Yay
83%Guru Score
Powder & Setting1 review
"The Laura Mercier translucent powder, I haven't gone back from this because it doesn't give flashback. If you take a photo you won't see a white cast around your eyes or face, which is so upsetting when you've worked really hard on your makeup and then the camera does that and you look like a ghost. I've gone through so many of these."
✓Yay
84%Guru Score
Retinoids1 review
"If you're starting out in your retinoid journey, a good one to try, especially if you're on a budget, is The Inkey List Retinol Serum, which contains a blend of low strength retinol with low strength granactive retinoid, 0.5%. This is a great way of dipping your toe in the water."
✓Yay
71%Guru Score

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Dr Sam Bunting is not affiliated with, and does not endorse, The Guru Index. Every quote on this page comes from her public YouTube videos, linked at the timestamp. Verdicts and approval stats are our editorial read of what she said. "Guru" is a title we award, not a sign of any affiliation.