Truly Beauty is a cosmetic brand that sells everything from skincare to perfume. The brand describes its product line as "Vegan" and "High Performance."
But does Truly Beauty contain research-backed ingredients for enhancing skin quality, or are these just marketing claims? Does the brand use any questionable additive ingredients? How do real users rate and describe the effects of Truly Beauty? And which retailer sells Truly Beauty for the best price?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Truly Beauty based on research studies to give our take on whether or not the brand is likely to improve skin quality, or if it's a waste of money.
We'll feature unsponsored user reviews, and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells Truly Beauty for the best price.
Ingredient Analysis — Facial Serum
The ingredients in Truly Beauty Vegan Collagen Booster Facial Serum are shown above.
There are a number of active ingredients in this formulation that have research backing for improving skin quality.
Aloe is a natural skin moisturizer.
Jojoba oil is clinically shown to increase the moisture in skin.
Chenopodium quinoa seed extract may have a skin-rejuvenating effect, because a clinical trial published in the Scientific Reports journal found that bioesters in quinoa can promote "replenishing effects in [skin] tissue."
Panax ginseng extract is clinically shown to have an anti-aging effect, as we documented in our Proven Skincare reviews article:
The appearance of wrinkles: “...remarkably improved with [Panax ginseng] administration. Ginsenoside Rb1 reduced the increase in skin wrinkling.”
There are other effective ingredients in Truly Beauty's serum, but for the sake of being concise, we'll move to the inactive ingredients, some of which we consider to be questionable from a health perspective.
Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative shown in a 2020 clinical trial to be toxic to human cells.
The above-linked trial is a test tube study, which is a weaker standard of evidence than a human trial, but we still recommend that consumers exercise caution with this compound.
Yellow 5 and Red 30 are synthetic dyes, and some such dyes are clinically shown to absorb through the skin, and may have toxic effects in the body, as we documented in our Fiera Cosmetics reviews article on another cosmetic brand that uses dye.
Overall, we consider Truly Beauty likely to reduce wrinkles, improve skin moisture content and enhance the appearance of skin generally. However, we don't currently recommend this brand due to the inclusion of a synthetic preservative and two synthetic dyes.
Real People Try Truly Beauty
A YouTube creator named Emily Wallace has an unsponsored review of Truly Beauty:
A YouTube creator named Sherri Healy reviewed Truly Beauty products and provided before and after images:
Ingredient Analysis — Barbie Butter
The ingredients in Truly Beauty Barbie Butter, which is a body butter, are shown above.
Like the facial serum, there are a number of research-backed ingredients in this formulation that should improve skin moisture content and support optimal skin health.
Coconut oil is one of the plant oils with the most research backing, and has both anti-inflammatory and skin-protective properties according to a 2019 medical review.
Eggplant fruit extract can protect skin from the damaging effects of blue light according to a clinical trial published in the Nutrients journal.
Spirulina can enhance collagen production when applied topically, according to a medical review published in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
Soybean oil can both increase collagen production and protect the skin from UV rays, as we documented in our LifeCell reviews article.
From an effectiveness standpoint, this is one of the most impressive body butter products we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health, however, like the previous product, there are some inactive ingredients we consider to be questionable.
Phenoxyethanol is included in this formulation, and we shared our concerns about this preservative in the previous ingredient analysis section.
Fragrance is also included, and a 2016 medical review concluded the following about fragranced consumer products:
"Results from this study provide strong evidence that fragranced products can trigger adverse health effects in the general population."
We consider Truly Beauty Barbie Butter likely to stimulate collagen production, protect the skin from UV rays and improve skin health. However, we don't currently recommend it due to the inclusion of fragrance and phenoxyethanol.
Where to Get the Best Price
Truly Beauty is sold at a variety of online retailers. Here's a price breakdown for a one-time purchase of the two products reviewed in this article, at the time of publishing:
Vegan Collagen Booster Facial Serum
Brand website: $36.90 (plus shipping, link)
Target: $36.90 (free shipping, link)
Ulta: $36.90 (free shipping, link)
Barbie Butter
Brand website: $39.90 (plus shipping, link)
Truly Beauty products are around 10-15% cheaper on third-party retailers where available, when factoring in shipping fees.
Is Truly Beauty Overhyped?
A YouTube creator named Chelsea Swaby has a video titled "EXPOSING TRULY BEAUTY" that has over 50,000 views:
Our Clean Skincare Picks
There are skincare products containing ingredients shown in clinical trials to be effective for reducing wrinkles and improving skin quality.
Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum is our top anti-aging serum.
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.
Ritual HyaCera is our top skin supplement.
It contains wheat oil extract which is clinically shown to "improve skin damages induced by aging."
HYDRAGLOW by CLEARSTEM is our top moisturizer pick.
It features bakuchiol as an active ingredient which was described in a 2014 clinical trial as "clinically proven to have anti-aging effects."
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Real Customers Review Truly Beauty
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.
Truly Beauty's most-reviewed product on Amazon is currently their Jelly Booster Scar Treatment, which has over 380 total reviews and an average review rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "Lisa S" who gives the product a 5/5 star rating and liked the product's scent:
"I opened the bottle and immediately smelled the yummy watermelon scent!! Love, love, love the fragrance."
The top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "Shawn" who suggests the product is ineffective:
"I shouldn’t have fell for it but I was insecure. It’s just an expensive dye. Your boobs aren’t going to change- it’s a good idea to moisturize the skin, but it’s not going to help with anything else. Save your money, save your time."
Truly Beauty currently has an average review rating of 1.25 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, and the brand fails to respond to the majority of customer complaints at the time of publishing this article.
Pros and Cons of Truly Beauty
Here are the pros and cons of Truly Beauty in our opinion:
Pros:
- Highly effective formulations
- Facial serum should improve skin apperance
- Facial serum may have anti-aging effect
- Body butter should improve skin moisture
- Body butter should improve skin appearance
- Relatively affordable
Cons:
- Some products contain phenoxyethanol
- Body butter contains fragrance
- Brand isn't responding to all customer complaints on BBB site
