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What Is Meaningful Beauty?
Created by model Cindy Crawford and her personal dermatologist Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh, Meaningful Beauty is a skincare system designed to give you gorgeous skin no matter your age.
This line of skincare products relies on superoxide dismutase (known as “SOD”), which is an antioxidant found in Charentais melons, an heirloom variety from the South of France.
According to the company website, this compound deserves credit for helping Crawford keep her youthful glow for the past twenty years.
The company’s self-reported clinical findings share similar results, as the Meaningful Beauty states that more than 90% of their test participants thought their skin appeared firmer and that their pores looked smaller at the end of a 12-week perception study.
There’s reason to believe there’s something to these claims, as a 2018 review of SOD’s potential showed that this enzyme offers a powerful defense against oxidative stress, which can lead to physical deterioration and age your skin’s appearance.
But will the Meaningful Beauty line actually give you the skin of a model? We’ll look closer at those claims in the rest of this article. First, let’s look at what products they sell.
Meaningful Beauty Products
At the time of writing, Meaningful Beauty offered a range of skincare products that included the following: (Because cosmetic ingredients are traditionally sorted by most prevalent to least on the label, we’ve highlighted either the top five ingredients or the listed active ingredients for each product.)
Skin Softening Cleanser
This mild cleanser is formulated to gently remove oil and impurities while keeping your skin at its natural pH level. You’re supposed to use it twice daily, cleansing your skin with gentle circular motions before rinsing it off with warm water.
Top five ingredients: Propylene glycol, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium laureth-8 sulfate.
Youth Activating Melon Serum
This serum contains melon leaf stem cells to visibly plump and firm your skin for a brighter, more even skin tone. The company states it also works to prevent the signs of sun damage by keeping your skin protected and moisturized. It’s best to apply one pump of serum to both your face and neck twice a day.
Top five ingredients: Glycerin, isononyl isononanoate, propanediol, betaine, pentylene glycol.
Anti-Aging Day Creme with Environmental Protection SPF 30
This daily moisturizer is meant to protect your skin from the sun and other environmental aggressors like blue light, infrared light, and pollution that can lead to signs of premature aging. For best results, apply a thin layer to your face and neck after using the Melon Serum, and gently massage it into your skin.
Active Ingredients: Avobenzone 3.0%, hom*osalate 10.0%, octisalate 5.0%, oxybenzone 4.5%.
Age Recovery Night Creme with Melon Extract and Retinol
Meant to restore your skin overnight, this night crème relies on melon stem cells and retinol to help you wake up with firmer, smoother skin with fewer visible fine lines and wrinkles. Apply a thin layer of the crème before bed to let its active ingredients work on your skin all night.
Top five ingredients: Isononyl isononanoate, ethylhexyl palmitate, polyglyceryl-10 distearate, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil.
Lifting Eye Creme- Advanced Formula
Designed to banish the appearance of dark circles under your eyes, this crème has a lightweight, silky formula that contains hyaluronic acid to restore moisture and elasticity to your face. The crème is meant to be applied twice a day, and you can wear it over the Eye Enhancing Serum for the best results.
Top five ingredients: Oleyl erucate, glycerin, dimethicone, hydrolyzed hazelnut protein, cetearyl alcohol.
Skin Brightening Decollete & Neck SPF15
This cream is designed to protect your neck and chest from the signs of aging by adding moisture back to dull, dry skin so that it becomes smooth and soft again. You can apply the cream in the mornings on dry skin, taking care to massage it all in.
Active Ingredients: Avobenzone 3.0%, octinoxate 7.5%, octisalate 5.0%, oxybenzone 5.0%.
Dark Spot Correcting Treatment
Designed to fight the signs of sun damage on your skin, this treatment relies on 2% hydroquinone to fade dark spots and other pigment discolorations. You can apply it to the areas you want to fade and then put sunscreen overtop for an extra level of protection.
Active Ingredient: hydroquinone 2%.
Meaningful Beauty Ingredients: Benefits and Possible Side Effects
To get a better sense of what Meaningful Beauty ingredients mean for your health, we chose to look at their purpose and possible side effects on the EWG (Environmental Working Group) cosmetic database.
From what we found, the majority of the most common ingredients in these products fall into the following categories: fragrance agents, emulsion stabilizers, surfactants, skin conditioning agents, solvents, sunscreen agents, and a skin bleaching agent (hydroquinone). This is standard for skincare products.
Are there other takeaways from these ingredients? We think a few are worthy of extra attention, including sodium laureth sulfate, the alcohols and fragrance agents, and the active ingredients in the sunscreen products.
According to the cosmeticsinfo.com, sodium laureth sulfate is a surfactant that is popular in many skincare products. There have been widespread rumors in recent years that the compound can trigger potentially worrisome health effects like cancer.
However, a re-review of the compound in 2002 by the Cosmetics Ingredient Review deemed it safe for use in cosmetics and personal care products. Saying that, some people find sodium laureth sulfate to be irritating because it can disrupt your skin’s natural sebum production and dry it out.
The EWG database calls attention to potentially troubling ingredients in sunscreen products. Because sunscreens are meant to be spread thickly over large parts of your body, even trace amounts can lead to problems.
According to the database, active ingredients like oxybenzone and avobenzone—both found in Meaningful Beauty products—can mimic hormones and lead to unintended health effects that aren’t well understood. Oxybenzone is considered the most troubling, as it can trigger allergic skin reactions.
Likewise, the labeling of many Meaningful Beauty ingredients as “fragrances” doesn’t tell us much about them. That’s because the EWG database states the term is often used to represent an undisclosed mixture of different scent compounds. This may be cause for concern, as some companies use it as a legal loophole to find the names of “extra” ingredients, and some fragrance agents can trigger allergies or lead to respiratory distress.
Meaningful Beauty Cost
At the time of writing, Meaningful Beauty products are sold on the company website in bundles.
The company offered both a five-piece ($49.95) and seven-piece ($69.95) system, with shipping included in the price.
Each system provides you with a thirty-day supply of the product, and the primary difference between the two is that only the seven-piece system includes the Skin Brightening Neck & Decollete and Dark Spot Correcting Treatment.
Regardless of which option you choose, you can also select a collection of free add-ons with your first order. This is either a Skin Rejuvenating Trio (valued at $90) or an Eye Crème & Lip Duo (valued at $80).
Both of these purchases automatically enroll you in Meaningful Beauty’s auto-delivery program, which means that you will be shipped new products every twelve weeks. It’s possible to adjust this frequency from four to 20 weeks if you need a different timeframe.
The add-ons aren’t included in future orders and that the size of the order triples so you will need to pay three times your initial order cost plus $14.99 for shipping.
It’s possible to customize the amount and type of products you receive each order by logging into your online account, and the Meaningful Beauty’s terms and conditions state that you can reschedule or cancel future orders at any time by contacting customer service online or at (800)927-0047.
All Meaningful Beauty purchases come with a 60-day money back guarantee. If you aren’t happy with your purchase, you can return the containers—even if they are empty—and they will refund your full purchase price, minus shipping and handling.
A Look at Customer Reviews of Meaningful Beauty
To be frank, customer feedback of Meaningful Beauty on our website wasn’t optimal. The company averaged under two stars after 35 reviews, and the majority of negative complaints came from people who struggled with their return policy.
Specifically, they reported that they couldn’t get the company to refund their purchase price and that customer service was difficult to work with.
Many people also wrote that the results they noticed weren’t worth the monthly cost for the products, though others mentioned that their friends and family were commenting on how well rested and younger they looked.
Wellness advocate Mary Beckett from Blue Ice Essentials told us that she is a big fan of Cindy’s product line.
“I have used it for nine years. My skin looks better now than when I started and when I started, everyone I knew noticed the difference,” she said.
Amazon reviews also offer insight into Meaningful Beauty’s reputation. Both collections and individual products average between 3.5 and 4 stars, and many people reported that using the products led to subtle improvements in their skin.
Others stated that the results weren’t impressive and that they didn’t approve of the ingredients within the products so they weren’t planning on repurchasing them.
Our Test of Meaningful Beauty
Below, is our video review of this product line with an in-depth analysis of the effectiveness of these products and our tips for navigating the company’s automatic subscription policy.
“Overall, these products are formulated with ingredients that are really good for your skin, with the exception of the occasional alcohol and fragrance…[saying that], for those with acne-prone skin these products might be too heavy,” HighYa reviewer Olga Belous concluded. “Because these products tend to feel heavier on the skin, I would be careful if you are someone who is prone to breaking out.”
The Bottom Line
Saying all this, do we think that Meaningful Beauty is worth a purchase? We are hesitant to give it a glowing recommendation, as our video review and previous customer feedback highlight some concerns about the value of these products compared to the competition and the potential difficulty of dealing with customer service to cancel your membership.
Overall, we think that reviews show that using Meaningful Beauty can lead to subtle improvements in your skin.
Those who want more dramatic results or who are prone to breaking out might want to look elsewhere, as we learned that these products have the potential to clog your pores and potentially exacerbate acne.
If you don’t want to get tied into an auto-subscription service, we recommend looking into buying Meaningful Beauty products from other retailers like Amazon or Ulta Beauty. This lets you purchase just the products you want without getting tied into a reoccurring order.
And, if you’re curious about the oxidative stress-fighting effects of superoxide dismutase, it might be worth tracking down some Charentais melons for the dinner table.
Though this French heirloom might be hard to find in American grocery stores, I’ve personally had success ordering the seeds online and growing them in my home garden.
Clinical evidence supporting the fact that consuming SOD gives you similar skincare benefits is lacking.
Following a healthy diet filled with fruits and vegetables can do wonders for your skin. Either way, it’s never a bad idea to add more fresh produce to your diet.
