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 additives? 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 two of Truly Beauty's best sellers (Glazed Donut After-Shave and Unicorn Fruit Body Butter) to give our take on whether or not they're likely to improve skin, and whether or not they're unhealthy.
We'll also feature real customer reviews, and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells Truly Beauty for the best price.
Key takeaways:
- Truly Beauty products contain many active ingredients for improving skin
- The two products we reviewed contained some ingredients we consider unhealthy
- We do not currently recommend Truly Beauty
Glazed Donut After-Shave Review
The ingredients in Truly Beauty Glazed Donut After-Shave Oil are shown below:
There are a number of active ingredients in this formulation that have research backing for improving skin quality.
Sodium hyaluronate is the sodium salt of a compound called hyaluronic acid, which was described as possessing “remarkable anti-wrinkle...anti-aging, space-filling, and face rejuvenating properties” in a 2018 medical review.
Niacinamide was shown in a 2002 clinical trial to be an effective skin lightening compound. In the study, niacinamide increased measures of skin lightness in trial participants.
There are also multiple ingredients in this formulation we consider to be unhealthy.
Fragrance was analyzed in a 2021 medical review, and the researchers concluded that “[the] risks clearly outweigh [the] benefits.”
Red 17 and Violet 2 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.
Coumarin is clinically shown to be a toxin in humans, and is listed twice for some reason.
Overall, we consider Glazed Donut After-Shave Oil likely to have anti-aging effects.
We do not currently recommend this product due to the ingredients discussed above. We consider this to be one of the least healthy cosmetic formulations we've reviewed to date on Illuminate Health.
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:
Unicorn Fruit Body Butter Review
The ingredients in Truly Beauty Unicorn Fruit Body Butter are shown below:
Like the after-shave oil, 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.
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 unhealthy.
Phenoxyethanol is a synthetic preservative shown to be toxic to human cells in a clinical trial published in the Experimental Eye Research journal.
Fragrance is also included, and we explained in the previous Ingredient Analysis section why we recommend avoiding this ingredient.
Overall, we consider Truly Beauty Unicorn Fruit Body Butter likely to improve skin quality and aesthetic appearance of skin.
We do not currently recommend this product for health reasons, due to the inclusion of phenoxyethanol and fragrance.
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 Pick
Ritual HyaCera is our top anti-aging skin supplement.
It contains wheat oil extract which is clinically shown to "improve skin damages induced by aging."
This product is free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy.
Customers Rate 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.
Truly Beauty Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Truly Beauty in our opinion:
Pros:
- Highly effective formulations
- After-shave oil should improve skin appearance
- After-shave oil may have anti-aging effect
- Body butter should improve skin moisture
- Body butter should improve skin appearance
- Relatively affordable
Cons:
- Some products contain phenoxyethanol
- Some products contain fragrance
- Some products contain synthetic dyes
- Products don't appear to be clinically tested
- Brand isn't responding to all customer complaints on BBB site
