Home » City Beauty Review: Aesthetic Appeal Over Proven Results?

City Beauty Review: Aesthetic Appeal Over Proven Results?

City Beauty Review

City Beauty offers you targeted, science-backed skincare that may help address visible signs of aging by working with your skin's natural biology. Its offerings may help in managing fine lines, sagging skin, thinning lips, or crepey texture.

City Beauty products include formulas that may support collagen production, improve skin elasticity, and strengthen your skin's barrier using ingredients like peptides, hyaluronic acid, and botanical extracts.

In this comprehensive review, we will explore more than just what City Beauty offers. You'll get an honest look at the brand's strengths and limitations, including advantages and potential drawbacks.

We'll also compare City Beauty to a few alternatives, outline key pros and cons, and answer frequently asked questions that may help you make an informed choice.

About Citybeauty

City Beauty is a Southern California-based skincare brand founded in 2002. The brand initially became famous for its products, such as City Lips Plumping Lip Gloss, which became famous for its smoothing, hydrating, and volumizing effects.

City Beauty has expanded its range to address various skincare concerns, including wrinkles and fine lines, to skin firmness and hydration.

The brand offers a comprehensive lineup of products across categories such as Face, Eyes, Lips, and Body, ensuring you can find products suited to your specific skincare needs.

City Beauty organizes its products by type, including Serums, Lip Care, Moisturizers, Masks, Makeup, Targeted Treatments, Supplements, and Bundles, making it easier for you to explore and select the right products.

As per the official website, City Beauty's offerings can help tackle a wide range of skincare concerns, including hydration, firmness, and reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

With a focus on clean ingredients and evidence-based formulations, City Beauty strives to improve both the health and appearance of the skin.

The brand claims to have cruelty-free certification from both Leaping Bunny and PETA while avoiding harsh fillers and additives, such as parabens, sulfates, phthalates, formaldehyde, and mineral oil.

According to the official website, City Beauty also features the City Beauty Insiders program, where you can connect with others, share tips, and gain early access to their new products and exclusive product deals.

City Beauty Review

Citybeauty Bestsellers

  1. Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler

    City Beauty claims that its Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler addresses the appearance of excessive fine lines and wrinkles by focusing on smoothing and plumping your skin. This filler may help target your skin's structural components, specifically focusing on the outermost layer, the epidermis, which is responsible for the visible appearance of wrinkles.

    The skin naturally loses elasticity and moisture with age due to the reduction in the production of collagen and elastin fibers that are present in the dermis layer of the skin. This contributes to sagging, thinning, and the formation of wrinkles. The Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler works by temporarily improving the appearance of these changes in skin texture, providing both a visual and physiological effect.

    As per the official website, City Beauty includes a Peptide & Ceramide Blend, which may support your skin structure. Peptides are called short chain amino acids that are known as protein building blocks, including collagen and elastin, which may help in maintaining the skin's firmness and elasticity.

    City Beauty's Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler might help stimulate your skin's natural collagen and production of elastin, which helps to repair and maintain the skin's resilience. It could help improve your skin's density by promoting this process, making it appear smoother and more youthful.

    Ceramides in Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler may help maintain your skin's moisture barrier, preventing water loss and protecting the skin from environmental damage.

    The makers claim to use the Skin-Lifting Bio-Blend in Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler, which can interact with your skin's extracellular matrix (ECM), a network of proteins like collagen and elastin that provide structural support to the skin.

  2. City Lips Plumping Lip Gloss

    City Lips Plumping Lip Gloss by City Beauty is a plumping lip gloss formulated to address the common concerns of thin, dry, and wrinkled lips. This gloss contains hyaluronic acid spheres, which may act as a potent hydrator by attracting moisture to the lips, providing deep hydration, and delivering a visible plumping effect. The spherical form of hyaluronic acid in City Lips Plumping Lip Gloss ensures targeted hydration, filling in fine lines and giving the lips a fuller, smoother appearance.

    The makers also added oligopeptides in City Lips Plumping Lip Gloss, which are chains of amino acids that might help enhance lip volume and may smooth the appearance of lip lines and wrinkles, contributing to a healthier, more youthful lip look.

    The formula is further enriched with Soothing Moisturizers such like Jojoba Oil and Ylang Ylang Flower Oil. Jojoba oil is a natural emollient that could mimic the skin's natural oils, providing deep nourishment and preventing moisture loss. Ylang Ylang Flower Oil in this gloss has restorative properties that could help soothe and calm your lips, ensuring long-lasting comfort.

  3. UpLift Firming Serum

    City Beauty features the UpLift Firming Serum, which could help reduce sagging skin, fine lines, and wrinkles. This serum contains Bacillus Ferment and Laminaria Saccharina, which work synergistically to firm and tighten your skin. Bacillus Ferment, sourced from deep-sea plants, is known for its ability to rejuvenate aging skin, enhancing elasticity and reducing sagging. Laminaria saccharina, a type of algae found in the cold North Atlantic, is packed with minerals and polysaccharides that may improve skin hydration and also help diminish the appearance of wrinkles by enhancing skin resilience and moisture retention.

    The makers also added goji fruit extract to UpLift Firming Serum, which is a peptide-rich extract that might help smooth out wrinkles and support sagging skin by helping stimulate collagen production and improving your skin's structure.

    As per the official website, UpLift Firming Serum by City Beauty also combines sodium hyaluronate (a form of hyaluronic acid), which might help hydrate and plump your skin by attracting moisture and locking it in, creating a fuller, more youthful look.

  4. Lid Lifting Treatment

    The Lid Lifting Treatment from City Beauty could help address sagging eyelids, fine lines, wrinkles, and excess creases around the eyes. The formula combines a blend of botanical extracts, peptides, and light-diffusing microspheres.

    Hawthorn and Arabian Jasmine Extracts in Lid Lifting Treatment might help firm and lift the skin on your eyelids by supporting elasticity. Hawthorn extract is rich in antioxidants, such as flavonoids, which could help protect against oxidative stress and promote skin firmness, while jasmine extract has soothing anti-inflammatory properties.

    The makers also added quinoa seed extract in Lid Lifting Treatment, which might help nourish your skin with peptides that improve elasticity and texture by supporting collagen production, essential for maintaining skin structure and firmness.

    City Beauty's Lid Lifting Treatment also has blurring microspheres, a silicone-based powder that immediately smooths the appearance of fine lines by diffusing light, providing a visibly lifted look.

  5. InvisiCrepe Body Balm

    City Beauty's InvisiCrepe Body Balm is a targeted skin-smoothing formula that may help diminish the appearance of crepey, thin, and wrinkled skin. The balm's formulation works by deeply moisturizing your skin and enhancing its natural barrier, which helps restore a youthful, firmer, and smoother appearance.

    InvisiCrepe Body Balm combines niacinamide (vitamin B3), which can help improve your skin's elasticity and firmness. Niacinamide plays a vital role in boosting the production of ceramides, which are lipids that form the skin's protective barrier. This might help prevent moisture loss, reduce the impact of environmental stressors, and stimulate collagen production to diminish the appearance of excessive fine lines and wrinkles.

    The makers also added ribose in InvisiCrepe Body Balm by City Beauty, which is a naturally derived sugar that helps energize skin cells by boosting ATP production. ATP is essential for cellular functions, and by increasing its production, ribose in this formula might promote better cell regeneration and turnover, which results in smoother, tighter, and more even skin. The balm also features a lipid compound, which may help strengthen your skin's moisture barrier and prevent trans-epidermal water loss (TEWL).

  6. Advanced Action Sculpting Cream

    The Advanced Action Sculpting Cream by City Beauty is a scientifically formulated face and neck formula to visibly firm, lift, and contour sagging or thinning skin, particularly along the jawline and neck. The brand claims that this rich cream targets several common age-related concerns, including loss of elasticity, fine lines, wrinkles, and dehydration.

    Advanced Action Sculpting Cream is said to work by providing nourishment deep into your skin to promote a more youthful, taut appearance, helping you achieve firmer skin without the use of harsh or irritating chemicals.

    As per the official website, Advanced Action Sculpting Cream also has a Red Algae Complex derived from marine botanicals, which is included for its intense moisturizing properties and its ability to tighten the skin visibly. It may help boost hydration while contributing to a firmer and more lifted appearance.

    The makers added arctic kelp in Advanced Action Sculpting Cream, which might help shield your skin from environmental stressors, like UV damage and pollution, while also helping decrease the appearance of wrinkles.

  7. Let It Grow Bundle

    City Beauty features the Let It Grow Bundle, which provides a targeted approach for people looking to improve the volume, length, and overall health of their eyelashes and eyebrows. The bundle includes three key products designed to address thinning, sparse, or short lashes and brows, providing a fuller, thicker, and more defined look. Each product in the bundle may work synergistically to improve the appearance of your brows and lashes over time. This bundle is currently priced at $109, down from its original price of $156, offering a value of $223 when purchased separately.

    City Lash in the Let It Grow Bundle is a nourishing eyelash serum that uses a blend of natural peptides and botanical extracts to revitalize the lashes from the root, promoting stronger, thicker, and longer lashes. This bundle by City Beauty also includes Redensifying Brow Serum, which is formulated to help fill in sparse eyebrows, giving them a fuller, denser appearance. The Beyond Mascara in this bundle is a volumizing and lengthening mascara that may help enhance the lashes with a smudge-proof, long-lasting formula.

  8. The Hit List Bundle

    The Hit List Bundle from City Beauty is a collection of four advanced skincare products to manage signs of aging, including fine lines, crepey skin, thinning texture, and dullness.

    Priced at $130 (originally $186, with a total value of $266), this bundle could provide a comprehensive and cost-effective option for people seeking full-face and body rejuvenation. This bundle combines Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler, InvisiCrepe™ Body Balm, UpLift Firming Serum, and City Lips®. The Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler in the Hit List Bundle could help reduce the appearance of fine lines and deep wrinkles on the face, while the InvisiCrepe Body Balm addresses fragile, crepey skin commonly found on areas such as the arms, legs, and chest.

    The Hit List Bundle by City Beauty also features the UpLift Firming Serum, which contains hyaluronic acid spheres that penetrate the skin to hydrate deeply and improve structural support, and the City Lips® lip plumper, that focuses on lip volume and smoothness.

  9. The Holy Grail Bundle

    The Holy Grail Bundle from City Beauty includes seven full-size products, including City Lips®, Line-Blurring Wrinkle Filler, InvisiCrepe™ Body Balm, Advanced Action Sculpting Cream, Lid Lifting Treatment, Restoring Hand Treatment, and Ultra-Firming Dry Oil.

    Originally valued at $468, this seven-piece set is priced at $325 but is currently on sale for $227. This bundle could be suitable for people experiencing fine lines, sagging skin, dryness, crepiness, and volume loss. The Holy Grail Bundle delivers visible anti-aging benefits through a routine of scientifically advanced, cruelty-free, vegan formulations free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, mineral oil, and gluten.

City Beauty Advantages

  1. Focus On Commitment To Innovation

    City Beauty claims to back its products by using the latest advancements in skincare technology. The brand focuses on using clean, research-backed ingredients to create products that provide visible and effective results.

    For example, City Beauty uses technologies and ingredients like peptides, hyaluronic acid, and advanced anti-aging compounds that are known to support skin health and improve its appearance over time.

    The brand claims to offer effective options for specific skin concerns, particularly aging signs like fine lines, wrinkles, and sagging.

  2. Follows Ethical Practices And Certifications

    As per the official website, City Beauty holds Leaping Bunny and PETA-certified cruelty-free certifications. These certifications ensure that none of their products are tested on animals, which is an essential factor for many consumers who value animal rights. The brand ensures its products are formulated without harmful chemicals like parabens, sulfates, and phthalates, making them suitable for conscious users who are mindful of both animal welfare and personal health.

  3. Loyalty And Reward Programs

    City Beauty promotes customer relationships by offering loyalty rewards. Customers who make regular purchases are incentivized through points, discounts, or exclusive offers, enhancing their shopping experience. Loyalty programs like this not only encourage repeat purchases but might also create a sense of appreciation and exclusivity for customers who support the brand over time. This might indicate that City Beauty focuses on ways for customer retention, as through its Loyalty Reward feature, people could feel recognized for their continued support and can benefit from savings or early access to new products.

  4. Easy Access to Customer Support

    City Beauty provides easy access to customer support through a dedicated “Contact Us” section on its website. This feature ensures that customers can quickly reach out for assistance regarding product inquiries, order issues, or general questions. The brand focuses on responsive, helpful customer service, allowing you to feel supported throughout your purchasing journey. Whether it's resolving an issue with an order, answering product-related questions, or providing more information about the ingredients used, City Beauty claims that its customer support team ensures that all queries are handled professionally and promptly.

City Beauty Limitations

  1. Premium Pricing

    City Beauty's products are positioned in the premium price range, which can be a barrier for some customers. The brand's offerings like the City Lips® gloss at $35 and the Sculpting Cream at $49, which some people might find pricier. This makes the brand less accessible to people who are budget-conscious or simply unwilling to spend that much on skincare. Even if the formulas use quality ingredients, the steep prices can push potential customers toward cheaper alternatives that claim to offer similar results.

  2. Limited Product Range

    City Beauty primarily offers anti-aging skincare, including serums, moisturizers, and lip treatments. Their product lineup focuses on addressing issues like wrinkles, fine lines, and skin firmness. However, the brand only offers a limited selection of makeup, mainly a few lip glosses, and no products for the eyes, face, or other makeup categories like foundation or blush. There are also no haircare products, such as shampoo, conditioner, or treatments. This narrow product range means that if you're looking for a complete beauty routine from one brand, City Beauty falls short. The brand offers plenty of options, but it doesn't cover the full spectrum of beauty needs like makeup or haircare, which limits its appeal to a broader audience.

Pros

  • The brand emphasizes scientifically backed formulations to ensure effective and safe skincare.
  • City Beauty is cruelty-free, holding certifications from Leaping Bunny and PETA.
  • The brand claims its offerings are free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, mineral oils, and formaldehyde, aligning with clean beauty standards.
  • The product line is broad and addresses a variety of beauty needs beyond skin care, such as lip and lash care.
  • City Beauty provides free shipping on orders over $70, providing added value for U.S. orders.

Cons

  • City Beauty's products stored in jar packaging may degrade quickly due to exposure to air and light.
  • Popular items often go out of stock, making it difficult for returning customers to reorder.
  • Cancelling a subscription or order could be difficult and time-consuming.

How Did We Evaluate City Beauty?

  1. Consumer Feedback And Reviews

    When evaluating City Beauty, we took a close look at customer reviews on Trustpilot, focusing on product performance, user experiences, and brand responsiveness.

    From the feedback, it's clear that City Beauty's lip products, particularly City Lips, generally meet the expectations of many customers, especially in terms of moisturizing and softening the lips. A number of users appreciated the brand's offerings for their smooth application and non-irritating formula, with some even noticing subtle plumping effects. The product's consistency and long-lasting effects were frequently mentioned as positive aspects, making it a popular choice for people seeking lip care.

    However, the evaluation revealed that the results can vary. While some users found City Lips by City Beauty to deliver satisfactory results, others felt that it didn't live up to the bold plumping claims and acted more as a high-shine gloss than a lip enhancer.

    Some consumers noted issues with the product's stickiness and difficulty in layering with other lip products. These mixed reviews highlight that while City Beauty's products may work well for many, they might not meet the specific concerns of all customers.

    Several reviews highlighted the brand's strong support system, offering assistance with returns and product usage tips. City Beauty's 60-day money-back guarantee further reinforced the brand's commitment to customer satisfaction.

  2. Brand Reputation

    Founded with a focus on anti-aging skincare, City Beauty provides a wide range of options for people looking for products that target signs of aging. Their signature product, City Lips, is widely recognized for its plumping and anti-aging benefits.

    City Beauty, with a Trustpilot rating of 3.9 based on over 2,660+ reviews, has established itself as a notable brand in the beauty industry. While the score indicates a generally positive customer experience, it also suggests some areas for improvement, likely relating to customer service, shipping, or product results.

    As with many skincare brands, consumer experiences can vary, and some customers may have had less-than-ideal outcomes. However, a rating of 3.9 still reflects a significant level of satisfaction, with many customers praising the brand's products.

    City Beauty has also got an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This high rating indicates that the brand maintains strong business practices, including transparency, ethical advertising, and responsiveness to customer complaints. It might indicate that City Beauty is committed to resolving issues and treating customers fairly, further enhancing its reputation in the market.

  3. Refund Policy

    City Beauty's refund policy is generally customer-friendly, offering a clear 60-day money-back guarantee for most products and a 90-day guarantee for supplements. This straightforward promise of a full refund, if you're unsatisfied provides reassurance. However, there are a few points to consider.

    While returns are allowed, shipping fees are non-refundable, but it could be a downside if you're returning smaller items or prefer not to cover those extra costs. The policy doesn't offer exchanges, meaning if you're interested in a different product, you'll need to return the current one and repurchase a new one. This adds an extra step, especially if you're looking for something specific.

    To initiate a return, you must contact customer service to start the process, which might be a bit more effort compared to companies that have automated return systems. They also recommend using a tracked or insured shipping service to ensure your return isn't lost, which could add an extra cost for you.

    If you receive a damaged product, City Beauty offers a replacement, which is a fair solution to avoid any disappointment. Overall, while the policy is decent with a clear refund window, the non-refundable shipping costs and lack of exchange options might be minor inconveniences depending on your needs.

Alternatives To Citybeauty

  1. Perricone MD

    City Beauty and Perricone MD are two skincare brands that offer products targeting aging concerns, but they approach skincare differently in terms of their foundations, ingredients, and customer engagement.

    Perricone MD, founded by Dr. Nicholas Perricone, a dermatologist, focuses on anti-aging solutions by addressing the root cause of aging, which they identify as inflammation. The brand is scientifically driven, with products that are often supported by clinical studies demonstrating their effectiveness.

    Perricone MD's product lines include Cold Plasma, High Potency, and Neuropeptide, which incorporate ingredients such as peptides, antioxidants, and essential fatty acids. These lines target various skin concerns like wrinkles, fine lines, loss of firmness, and texture.

    City Beauty offers skincare options that address signs of aging, with a primary focus on clean beauty and research-backed ingredients. The brand claims to mix natural and scientifically validated synthetic ingredients to create effective formulas.

    As per the official website, City Beauty is said to be cruelty-free, and it emphasizes both innovation and ethics in manufacturing. The brand offers products targeting fine lines, wrinkles, hydration, and skin firmness, with a standout product being City Lips, a lip gloss designed to hydrate and plump the lips. They also offer face, eye, and body care products that might improve skin health and address concerns like puffiness, dark circles, and sagging.

  2. Strivectin

    StriVectin and City Beauty both offer skincare options aimed at addressing aging concerns, but they target different audiences and employ distinct approaches to formulation, ingredients, and product philosophy.

    StriVectin claims to offer anti-aging products that can help target the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines, and loss of firmness. The brand is known for its NIA-114™ technology, a patented form of niacin (vitamin B3), which could help strengthen your skin's barrier, improving moisture retention and protecting the skin from environmental damage, including UV rays and pollution. StriVectin offers a wide range of products, including moisturizers, serums, and eye creams, with popular items like the SD Advanced Plus Intensive Moisturizer and Peptight Face Lift Serum. The brand's offerings claim to address visible signs of aging but also improve skin texture and hydration. The brand places a strong emphasis on clinically tested ingredients and proven results, ensuring that each product is backed by scientific research.

    In contrast, City Beauty offers clean beauty and research-backed skincare options. Its products also target aging concerns like fine lines, wrinkles, and skin hydration, but the brand places a focus on combining both natural and synthetically backed ingredients.

    As per the official website, StriVectin offers a 30-day return policy for purchases, with strict guidelines for returning products. On the other hand, City Beauty provides a 60-day money-back guarantee, which gives you a longer window to try the products and return them if you are not satisfied.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Does City Beauty Use Any Unique Technology In Their Products?
    Yes, City Beauty uses advanced skincare technologies such as peptide complexes and hydrating agents to enhance the skin's natural functions, promoting smoothness, elasticity, and a youthful appearance.
  • Are City Beauty Products Safe For Sensitive Skin?
    Many of City Beauty's products are formulated to be gentle on sensitive skin. However, if you have highly sensitive skin, you should do a patch test before using it regularly to avoid any reactions.
  • What Is City Beauty's Approach To Anti-Aging?
    City Beauty emphasizes scientifically backed ingredients, like peptides and antioxidants, to address aging concerns. Their products are designed to hydrate, repair, and protect your skin to reduce fine lines and wrinkles.
  • Are City Beauty products available offline?
    City Beauty products are primarily available for purchase online through their official website (citybeauty.com) and Amazon store. For authenticity, avoid purchasing City Beauty products from unauthorized sellers or salons, as these may not contain genuine formulations.

Final Words

City Beauty focuses on clean, cruelty-free products that target fine lines, wrinkles, and dryness. The brand claims that its formulas rely on research-supported ingredients like peptides and hyaluronic acid and follow ethical standards, including cruelty-free certifications and the exclusion of common irritants.

However, the brand's narrow focus on anti-aging limits its relevance for people with broader skincare needs. Premium pricing may also be a barrier, especially when more affordable brands offer similar ingredients.

If your skincare goals center on age-related concerns and you prioritize clean formulations, City Beauty claims to offer a focused approach. For broader skin support, combining targeted products with natural habits like wearing sunscreen daily, staying hydrated, eating antioxidant-rich foods, and avoiding tobacco can also help prevent premature aging over time.

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This project was supported in part by NSF Grant IIS-03-25867 (ITR: An Electronic Field Guide: Plant Exploration and Discovery in the 21st Century) and by the Washington Biologists' Field Club.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views, opinions, or policy of the National Science Foundation (NSF).