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“If a product is hard to wear, difficult to incorporate into my lifestyle, or unattractive, I just won’t use it,” admits Cleo Davis-Urman. Sitting in the Condé Nast café in a tea-length layered tulle skirt that dusts a tiny bit of glitter onto her seat, this ethos makes sense. Today, we’re talking about her company Barrière’s futuristic line of vitamin patches destined to become a street-style wellness story. (Let’s not forget Meghan Markle’s anti-stress sticker.) When we met more than a decade ago, though, before her role as contemporary fashion director at Saks but after her internships at Vogue and DVF, it was fashion that brought us into the start-up Moda Operandi’s early Madison Avenue office.
“I always saw fashion as the art of self-expression—if I looked good, I felt good,” she says, admitting that the pandemic changed her focus when, “like most people, I became obsessed with self-protection.” Soon she and friend Alexa Adams, who had a background in technical design and the health care supply chain, decided to launch medical-grade masks that offered more than the familiar blue aesthetic. “We created Barrière to provide products that are protective and pretty,” says Davis-Urman. What started with masks evolved into “a broader self-care and wellness mission when we realized that our customers wanted protection against everyday threats,” she says. Their popular sun hat that shields from harmful rays and DEET-free bug spray that hydrates skin are solutions meant to be “safe, easy to use, and yes, stylish.” It all led to their newest creation, designed to deliver the vitamins you may be missing in a format you’ve likely never tried.
Each of the sticky patches “goes on as easily as a Band-Aid and looks like a fashion accessory,” she explains of the clear material printed with colorful florals, gilded astrological symbols, or cute little cherries. “Our designs look beautiful on the skin while they transdermally deliver a powerful blend of vitamins, nutrients, and adaptogens.” Right now they have a couple of prints for each of the four different formulas (Brains & Beauty, Skin Support, Travel Well, and Daily Defense), and the handful they seeded to VIPs are already a hit. “Jill Newman, a leading authority on jewelry and gemstones and my favorite source for new artisans, wore a Barrière patch on her wrist as if it were a precious bracelet,” says Davis-Urman. “It doesn’t get any better than that!”
Here are highlights of our conversation with Davis-Urman, from the vitamin B12 deficiency that inspired it all to The Beauty Sandwich\–approved skin transformation.
You said the patches came from a problem-solving space. What brought you here?
A standard blood panel revealed that I had dangerously low levels of iron and B12 even though I had been taking oral supplements with those very ingredients from a trusted vitamin brand. To raise my levels, I was treated with an iron transfusion and went to a hospital for weekly B12 injections, a process that was painful, time-consuming, and cost prohibitive, so I was eager to find a different solution.
My doctor explained that capsulized vitamins can lose as much as 90% or more efficacy in the digestive process and suggested a transdermal vitamin patch, which bypasses the digestive tract and can be more effective for absorption. But these medical vitamin patches were uncomfortable, inconvenient (because they couldn’t get wet), and irritated my skin. I searched for a patch that was safe, effective, lightweight, nonirritating, and better looking than the bulky medical ones I had to hide under my clothes, but it didn’t exist. If I wanted my dream patch, Barrière would have to create it, so that’s exactly what we did.
Can you tell us about what each of the patches is designed to do?
We developed effective, multipurpose formulas by blending plant-powered ingredients that work for everyone, not just people with specific vitamin deficiencies. Our patches fortify the body for travel, protect against medical threats, nourish the mind and body, and improve skin, hair, and nails. Whatever the wellness goal, we have a patch for that!
Brains & Beauty is our favorite multitasker. A powerful combo of iron and B12 increases energy levels, balances mood, and improves concentration, while biotin helps achieve healthier skin and nails. Skin Support is designed to help you glow when you’re on the go. It’s the equivalent of a multistep routine that hydrates and repairs skin and protects it from future damage. Travel Well is for anyone who wants to feel better while traveling and delivers a soothing blend of ashwagandha and horse-chestnut-seed extract that has the swell-reducing power of compression socks (except it’s prettier and easier to wear) and turns nervous flyers into road warriors. And Daily Defense is formulated with immune-boosting ingredients—including echinacea, elderberry, and vitamin D3—that offer easy-to-wear protection when you need it most. Having a strong immune system helps your body fight off invading germs and infections and is key to staying healthy, especially during cold and flu season.
How do you describe your own experience before and after using the patches?
I have been able to maintain healthy levels of iron and B12 ever since I started using our Brains & Beauty patch daily. I feel stronger, more energized, and focused. My hair is healthier and shinier, and my nails are less brittle.
Each of the patch formulas has made a difference in my life. When I first started testing our Skin Support formula, I noticed my sensitive skin was less reactive and I was wearing less makeup. But I really knew we were onto something when, after a month, my facialist Iván Pol, The Beauty Sandwich, complimented me on how much more youthful and firm my skin looked. I have been so happy with the results that Skin Support has actually replaced a majority of the topical products in my skin care routine. I will never get on another airplane without wearing the Travel Well patch, which keeps me calm and prevents my feet and ankles from swelling. And thanks to the Daily Defense patch, I have managed to avoid my annual fall cold this year.
What clinical studies did you go through to test the products?
Our patches reference the German monograph, which is a government-sponsored compendium used to evaluate the safety and efficacy of over 300 herbs and herb combinations. All our ingredients are researched for effectiveness, and we link to clinical studies on our website to keep our community educated on why we choose particular ingredients.
We also use third-party testing partners to ensure what is in every patch matches our dosage. Because of this, our patches can be sold both domestically and in international markets including the European Union, Australia, and Canada, as they meet their standards and regulatory requirements.
Are there any how-tos we should know about the best practices to use them?
The exciting thing about these patches is that they really empower people to get the support they need whenever, wherever. One patch a day is all you need. However you can safely combine one patch from each of our different formulas at a time. Patches can be applied at any time of day, and the ingredients are delivered over an 8-to-12-hour period, so you don’t experience negative side effects, like nausea, that may come with oral supplements. They are water-resistant and extremely comfortable, lightweight, and travel-friendly, so you can really go about your routine without compromise. Life is complicated enough—taking care of yourself shouldn’t be.
Where do you see wellness and lifestyle going as you look forward?
Self-expression is an unexplored frontier in the wellness space. We curate every aspect of our appearance, so why not apply that same standard to products that enhance our health and well-being? Like a patch by your favorite artist—I would wear anything Basquiat!—or a partnership with a luxury brand. I see unlimited opportunity because there is great synergy between feeling good and looking good.
