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Meaningful Beauty is the skincare line developed by supermodel Cindy Crawford alongside French skin expert Dr Jean-Louis Sebagh.
Targeted towards reducing the signs of skin aging, Meaningful Beauty creates skincare systems with formulas designed to reduce the appearance of fine lines and dullness.
Brand Overview
The brand uses popular active ingredients such as retinol and hyaluronic acid, along with their own "miracle molecule" antioxidant developed from French melon extract.
Meaningful Beauty has quite a following with thousands of five star reviews, claiming the products are effective at helping skin look healthy and youthful.
Available directly from their website or from Amazon, Meaningful Beauty faced some backlash when it first launched for apparently not making its auto-renewal subscription clear to customers.
However, after a court ruling on Guthy-Renker (Meaningful Beauty's parent company), the details of recurring payments are much more clearly disclosed in 2021. They also have an impressive 60 day return policy if you are in any way not satisfied with the product line.
While the products can be purchased individually, Meaningful Beauty mainly pushes their pre-made skincare sets. The 5-Piece System and 7-Piece System (Cindy's "favorite") are complimented by more targeted options such as the 3 piece Eye Crème & Lip Duo, and the Glow and Go Trio.
With 17 products to choose from and the promise of a supermodel glow à la Cindy Crawford, keep reading to find out if Meaningful Beauty is the brand for you.
The Special Ingredient
The unique ingredient that makes Meaningful Beauty so effective is supposedly Superoxide Dismutase ("SOD"), a super antioxidant extracted from rare melons grown in the South of France.
SOD is an antioxidant enzyme, which when applied topically helps protect the skin from free radical damage and oxidative stress. It has been shown to protect the skin's cell membranes and limit oxidative damage that causes fine lines, dull skin and sagging.
Antioxidants such as SOD can help reduce inflammation in the skin, in turn promoting wound healing, scar reduction and providing protection against environmental pollutants and UV rays.
The Meaningful Beauty Sets
Formulated as an entire skincare system, Meaningful Beauty has created a number of sets that are designed to fulfill your entire skincare routine.
Starting at $49.95/month for the 5-Piece Skincare System, it is important to note that these sets don't come with full-sized products, rather smaller sizes that are auto-replenished every 3 months with a Meaningful Beauty membership.
These could be a great way to try many products from the line, though many reviews have complained that the cost is prohibitive as a recurring subscription.
It is of course possible to order your favorite individual products after sampling the product range, though they are definitely priced to be more cost-effective when purchased in a set.
1. 5-Piece Skincare System
One of Meaningful Beauty's core sets, the 5-Piece Skincare System comes with the Skin Softening Cleanser, Youth Activating Melon Serum, Anti-Aging Day Crème w/Environmental Protection SPF30, Age Recovery Night Crème w/ Melon Extract & Retinol and the Lifting Eye Crème – Advanced Formula.
Targeting fine lines & wrinkles and aiming to lift & firm, this set is a base system for aging skin. A simple day and night routine, the system combines their miracle SOD molecule with the popular anti-aging ingredient retinol to encourage an even, glowing complexion.
As retinol can make the skin more sensitive to the sun, and as UV rays are a leading cause of premature aging, it is good to see a skincare system that includes the crucial step of a high SPF sunscreen as standard.
The set costs $49.95 per month with membership.
2. 7-Piece Skincare System
Meaningful Beauty's 7-Piece Skincare System comes with the same core products as the 5-Piece version, with the addition of the Skin Renewing Peel and their Glowing Serum.
These extra products aim to target dark spots, sun damage & hyperpigmentation, on top of the fine lines and dull skin targeted by the core set.
The set costs $69.95 per month with membership.
Best Meaningful Beauty Products
1. Skin Softening Cleanser
A staple in any skincare routine, Meaningful Beauty's cleanser is a mild, soap-free option to remove pollution, impurities and SPF at the end of the day. Formulated to maintain the skin's natural pH balance, it also contains an anti-aging antioxidant extracted from apples, galactaric acid, to leave your skin glowing.
Gentle enough to use twice daily, the cleanser doubles as an effective makeup remover.
2. Youth Activating Melon Serum
A serum utilizing the hero SOD antioxidant molecule, the Youth Activating Melon Serum aims to visibly plump and firm skin. The serum has a potent dose of melon leaf stem cells suspended in the formula and a duo of plant extracts.
Orchid extract improves skin moisturization, while Sea Daffodil extract targets sun-related hyperpigmentation to help even skin tone.
The serum can be used day or night, after cleansing and before your chosen moisturizer.
3. Anti Aging Day Crème with Environmental Protection SPF30
A moisturizer for daytime use, this multi-tasking cream acts to protect skin from damaging UV rays - a major cause of premature ageing. Using chemical filters avobenzone, hom*osalate, octisalate and oxybenzone, damage from environmental stressors such as sunlight, blue light and pollution can be mitigated.
Use daily after cleansing and applying serum in the morning, and take care to apply enough - SPF is only effective when enough of the product is applied to the face, neck and ears.
4. Age Recovery Night Crème with Melon Extract & Retinol
A heavy-hitting product in the Meaningful Beauty line up, this PM cream combines well-known anti-aging active retinol with their hero melon extract.
Formulated to reduce the appearance of fine lines around the eyes, mouth and forehead, the intensely hydrating product relies on the combination of antioxidants to improve overall skin texture, and retinol (a vitamin A derivative) to speed up cell turnover over time.
As retinol can both increase skin sensitivity and be less effective when exposed to sunlight, it is best applied in a night cream such as this. There may be a slight transition period as your skin gets used to the active ingredients, but any dryness or peeling should calm down after a few weeks.
5. Lifting Eye Crème - Advanced Formula
As the eyes are often where the first signs of aging appear, it is no wonder that an eye cream is included in the Meaningful Beauty base kit. While the formula may not be heavy on active ingredients, it is lightweight and deigned to target dullness, puffiness and fine lines around the delicate eye area.
Light enough to use under makeup, this cream can be applied twice daily. Keeping the under eyes moisturized and protected against environmental stressors is a crucial step in minimizing the appearance of ageing.
Does Meaningful Beauty Work?
While the reviews are varied, the concensus is that women are generally very happy with the results of Meaningful Beauty. As a brand that covers a complete skincare routine, if you are not expecting miracles you will likely be impressed with the efficacy of this line.
There is criticism that the brand is perhaps overpriced for what are generally simple products, and there have been a few complaints of allergic reactions.
And while the transparency about subscription billing has been improved, there may be trepidation to commit to monthly payments to one single skincare brand.
FAQs
Is Meaningful Beauty cruelty free?
There is surprisingly little information provided by the brand, so while it is not definitely cruelty free, it is definitely a grey area. While the brand is not tested on animals, it is perhaps a risk to purchase Meaningful Beauty if this is a deal breaker to you.
Is Meaningful Beauty vegan?
Again, the lack of transparency means that the brand can't be confirmed vegan. While they don't use any obvious animal products, they are also not blatantly a vegan brand.
How much does Meaningful Beauty cost?
The pricing of the brand can be confusing as it is generally pushed as a monthly subscription brand, with a base program costing around $49.95 a month.
The individual products vary from $24 - $98, and again are slightly cheaper if subscribed to on a monthly plan.
It is notably not super affordable for a non-premium brand, and the price is in fact one of the biggest points of critique by customers.
Where is Meaningful Beauty sold?
Meaningful Beauty is mainly sold through their website, though many customers prefer purchasing from Amazon to circumvent the subscription option.
However, the product range on Amazon seems to slightly vary from the brand website. Perhaps they are the same products that have been renamed with tweaked packaging for the Amazon market.
The Bottom Line
Meaningful Beauty is a brand that does the routine creation for you, with products taking you from cleansing, to day, to night. As a subscription service that is bought from their own website, it may be a different way of purchasing skincare than you're used to.
Their innovative melon leaf stem-cell technology is the supposed hero for anti-ageing, and the brand is targetted at women looking to improve the appearance of fine lines, dull skin and uneven skin tone. With a full range of products to both protect and treat, your skin will hopefully be glowing in no time.
There are thousands of Meaningful Beauty devotees with matching five star reviews, and if there is even a chance of ageing as well as Cindy Crawford it could be worth a try!
About the author
Katie is an Australian-born, Brooklyn-based writer with a love for all things beauty. After 10 years working as a model (aka a decade's worth of wearing makeup), she believes that a holistic approach to health and skincare is the best concealer there is. She preaches that less is more when it comes to skincare, and that it's crucial to understand the science behind a product.
