JLo Beauty Review: Can The Brand Keep You Young?

JLo Beauty Review: Can The Brand Keep You Young?


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JLo Beauty is the cosmetics brand founded by celebrity and actress Jennifer Lopez. The brand sells products for the face and body in beautiful gold packaging.

But do JLo Beauty products contain ingredients proven to enhance skin quality and reduce signs of aging? Do they contain any unhealthy additives? Which retailer sells JLo Beauty for the best price? And how do real users rate and describe the effects of JLo Beauty?

In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in two of the most popular JLo Beauty products to give our take on whether or not they’re likely to be effective: That JLo Glow (a hydrating and tightening facial serum), and Smooth + Seduce (a body cream).

We’ll also provide a cost breakdown showing which retailer sells JLo Beauty for the best prices, and feature real JLo Beauty customer reviews.

That Jlo Glow Review

That JLo Glow ingredients

The ingredients in That JLo Glow are shown above.

Cannabis sativa seed oil was shown in a medical review published in the Pharmaceuticals journal to be “a great skin protector, reducing dryness and slowing skin’s natural aging process.”

Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3 which was shown in a 2004 medical review to help protect the skin from damaging UV rays, and to restore the skin barrier if damage is present.

Galactomyces ferment filtrate was described as a “functional ingredient” in a clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine because of its anti-inflammatory effect on skin cells.

Camellia sinensis leaf extract is an effective skin moisturizer, as we documented in our review of the anti-aging Disco Stick.

Honey was described as a “therapeutic agent for disorders of the skin” in a 2016 medical review because of its favorable effects on tissue repair and bacterial balance.

Tetrapeptide-14 is a peptide, and this class of compounds (which are the building blocks of protein) has been clinically shown to reduce wrinkles when applied topically.

There are two inactive ingredients in this formulation that we consider to be unhealthy when used in combination.

Phenoxyethanol is a common synthetic preservative that was shown in a clinical trial to be toxic to human cells.

Ethylhexylglycerin is a synthetic preservative shown to potentiate the toxic effects of phenoxyethanol in a 2016 medical review.

Overall, we consider That Jlo Glow likely to reduce wrinkles, improve skin moisture and protect skin from UV rays.

We don’t currently recommend this product due to the inclusion of the inactive ingredients discussed above.

Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum is our top anti-aging serum pick.

It contains hyaluronic acid which was described as a "skin-rejuvenating biomedicine" in a medical review due to its ability to reduce wrinkles and signs of facial aging.

Topical vitamin C is also clinically shown to improve skin hydration and reduce wrinkles, and this serum is free of questionable additives.

JLo Beauty Controversy

A popular beauty influencer named Cassandra Bankson who’s a medical esthetician has a video suggesting JLo Beauty is marketed in a deceptive way:

Smooth + Seduce Review

Smooth + Seduce ingredients

The ingredients in JLo Beauty Smooth + Seduce are shown above.

This body cream is described by the brand as “delivering all-day hydration with an instant glow.”

Shea butter is clinically shown to have an anti-inflammatory and skin-barrier-repairing effect.

Caffeine is an effective and natural anti-cellulite ingredient.

As we documented in our review of Maelys B Tight cellulite cream, caffeine is clinically shown to prevent excessive accumulation of fat in skin cells.

Ceramide NP can help support a healthy and functional skin barrier according to a 2022 clinical trial.

Turmeric root extract is shown in a medical review published in the Phytotherapy Research journal to have “antiinflammatory, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-neoplastic properties” when applied to skin.

This cream also contains ingredients like sodium hyaluronate, niacinamide and peptides, which we’ve already determined to be effective in the previous ingredient analysis section.

Unfortunately, this product also has some questionable additive ingredients, and has more than the facial serum in our opinion.

Fragrance may “impose serious risks to human health” according to the study authors of a 2016 medical review.

Citronellol, geraniol, hexyl cinnamal, hydroxycitronellal and linalool are also fragrance ingredients, and it seems like overkill to us to have all of these ingredients in addition to fragrance in one product.

Some of these ingredients are clinically shown to be allergenic.

Benzyl salicylate is another fragrance ingredient that’s classified as a hazard by a Japanese regulatory agency due to its potentially endocrine-disrupting effects, as we referenced in our review of Touchland hand sanitizer.

Phenoxyethanol and ethylhexylglycerin are included in this formulation, and we explained in the previous ingredient analysis section why we recommend avoiding this combination for health reasons.

Overall, we believe JLo Beauty Smooth + Seduce is likely to improve skin quality and skin hydration due to its numerous effective active ingredients.

However, we don’t currently recommend this product due to its fragrance ingredients and preservatives.

MBG Postbiotic Body Lotion is our top body lotion pick.

Squalene is an active ingredient in this lotion, and is clinically shown to hydrate the skin.

Shea butter was described as having moisturizing effects in a medical review published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Real People Try JLo Beauty

A YouTube creator named “The Freckled One” has a review of JLo Beauty that includes live product demos:

A YouTube creator named Jenn Rodriguez shares her thoughts on whether or not the brand is a good choice for skin with higher melanin content:

Where to Get the Best Price

JLo Beauty products are sold at a variety of online retailers.

Here’s a price breakdown for a one-time purchase of the two products reviewed, at the time of updating this article:

That Jlo Glow

Brand website: $109 (free shipping, link)

Sephora: $79 (free shipping, link)

Smooth + Seduce

Brand website: $45 (plus shipping, link)

Revolve: $45 (free shipping, link)

Sephora: $45 (free shipping, link)

Sephora currently has a better price on both products than the brand's website, when factoring in shipping fees.

Customers Rate JLo Beauty

Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.

That JLo Glow has been reviewed over 900 times on Amazon at the time of updating this article, with an average review rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars.

A top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "Placeholder" who gave the product a 5/5 rating:

"Not greasy. Perfect for normal to dry skin. Keeps your face moisturized without over doing it. Great under foundation"

A top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "JkT" who gave the product a 1/5 rating:

"I have used it religiously both AM & PM for the past 35 days and it has not improved the firmness or fine lines on my facial skin nor has it brightened or tightened my complexion. I would love to see a full refund with my return of this scam product but I also highly doubt I’ll see that or even a response from this company."

There are a number of complaints about billing practices on the Jlo Beauty Better Business Bureau (BBB) page, and there’s actually a warning on the page about the company’s billing practices.

The notice alleges that JLo Beauty auto-enrolls customers who sign up for a free trial, and some BBB user complaints, like the one below, detail the same practice:

“we requested to return the product. Been dealing with for the past year...now they say the return is past there return policy. Would not recommend buying or using products. Still waiting to resolve. All we want is to return the products and return our money.”

JLo Beauty Pros and Cons

Here are the pros and cons of JLo Beauty in our opinion:

Pros:

  • Research-backed active ingredients
  • Formulations are impressive from efficacy perspective
  • Positive Amazon reviews
  • Great packaging & branding

Cons:

  • Some products contain fragrance
  • Products contain synthetic preservatives
  • Doesn’t appear to be clinically proven to work
  • Some customers complain of unfair billing practices
Stay up-to-date on our research reviews

Conclusion

JLo Beauty products contain an impressive number of research-backed ingredients.

Both of the products we reviewed (That JLo Glow and Smooth + Seduce) contained five or more research-backed active ingredients, which is uncommon compared to most cosmetic brands we review on Illuminate Health.

We don’t currently recommend either product due to the inclusion of fragrance and preservatives, but we do believe that both products are likely to be effective at improving skin quality and having an anti-aging effect.

At least one beauty influencer accuses JLo of marketing her brand in a deceptive way, claiming that she gets plastic surgery treatments while suggesting her skincare brand alone is what helps keep her looking young.

For consumers intent on purchasing JLo Beauty products, they’re currently cheaper at Sephora than the brand's website when factoring in shipping fees.