Manuka Honey Skincare: My 3-Month Test of AUNU with Dermatologist Dr. Adam Geyer
A 42-year beauty industry veteran tests dermatologist-guided AUNU skincare powered by Manuka honey and barrier-repair ingredients.
For the past 90 days, I’ve been testing AUNU skincare, a Manuka honey–based line developed with dermatologist Dr. Adam Geyer.
I receive a constant stream of skincare products.
After 42 years in the beauty and fashion industry, new launches arrive at my door almost weekly—serums, creams, masks, oils, each promising to be the next miracle.
Most of them I never write about.
Not because they’re bad. Simply because they’re not memorable.
But every once in a while something arrives that makes me slow down.
The products were sent to me anonymously, and I spent nearly three months using them before I went looking for more information about the company. Only when I checked their Instagram to fact-check a few details did I realize the brand was developed with dermatologist Dr. Adam Geyer—who happened to be my own dermatologist for years when I lived in Tribeca.
During my 30s and 40s, he took care of my skin, so I’ve seen firsthand the level of clinical thinking he brings to skincare. Discovering that connection after already liking the formulas made the experience even more interesting.
The line centers around one of nature’s most remarkable ingredients: Manuka honey.
Unlike ordinary honey, Manuka honey contains methylglyoxal (MGO), a compound responsible for its antibacterial and skin-soothing properties. It has been studied for wound care and skin repair and has been used medicinally for centuries.
Humans have trusted honey for healing for thousands of years. In fact, honey discovered in ancient Egyptian tombs has been found to remain biologically intact after millennia.
In skincare, ingredients come in and out of fashion every season. But every so often an ingredient appears that has both ancient history and modern clinical relevance. Manuka honey sits squarely in that category. Long before dermatology labs existed, people used honey for wound care and skin healing. Today researchers are studying the same antimicrobial and barrier-supporting properties in clinical settings. When an ingredient bridges that kind of historical wisdom and modern science, it’s usually worth paying attention.
When an ingredient survives thousands of years of human use and still holds up under modern dermatology, that’s when I start paying attention.
AUNU builds a modern skincare routine around that ancient ingredient.
The system is refreshingly simple:
Cleanser
Toner
Moisturizer
Salve for when your skin needs extra support
The formulas are lightweight and soothing, designed to support the skin barrier with ingredients like ceramides, beetroot extract, and resveratrol alongside the Manuka honey complex.
I used the line consistently for three months, finishing it completely.
What impressed me most was how well it worked alongside my own actives—retinol and treatments for pigmentation—with no peeling, pilling, or irritation.
Another detail I appreciate: the packaging is glass, which avoids the issue of plastic chemical leaching into skincare products over time.
The experience of using the line is quietly lovely. The subtle scent of honey is calming and familiar.
The result?
Soft, comfortable skin that simply feels healthy.
This is not a paid partnership—just a product I was curious about and enjoyed using.
And because good skincare deserves real testing time, consider this the first entry in my 90-Day Beauty Test series—where I only write about products after living with them long enough to know if they actually work.
If you’re interested in thoughtful beauty discoveries, industry stories, and the occasional hard-earned lesson from more than four decades in fashion and beauty, you’re in the right place.
The 90-Day Beauty Test: I don’t recommend a product until I’ve lived with it.