Beauty Heroes Beauty Discovery Review – December 2020

ByMegan K.Jan 1, 2021 | 22 comments

Beauty Heroes is a clean beauty subscription box that focuses on non-toxic ingredients for $58.95/month. Each month they send you one new full-size “hero” product in the face, body, hair, or sun care category accompanied by "deluxe sidekicks."

This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.

About this Natural Beauty Discovery Subscription

The Subscription Box: Beauty Heroes

The Cost: $58.95/month or $137.85 for a 3-month commitment ($45.95/mo). Save even more with longer commitments.

ACTIVE DEAL: Get 10% off any subscription!
CODE: MSABH10

The Products: One full-size face, body, or hair "hero product" plus a deluxe "sidekick" from the featured brand.

Ships to: The U.S. for free, Canada for $11.95, and worldwide for $18.95

Beauty Heroes December 2020 Review feat. Ayuna

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Usually, this box arrives with a card featuring a new monthly ritual that includes past and present featured Beauty Heroes items. But this is a special sort of Beauty Heroes delivery with one single, big $$$ item so, instead, there is a booklet with loads of info on this treat.

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Ayuna Terra Bella, 3.4 fl oz - Retail Value $455.00

The retail price of this cream is making my eyes water. And this product has a lot of science I honestly don't understand behind it, but let's give it a shot!

From the info booklet, I gathered this cream is special because of its use of "cannabis sativa stem cell technology". In fact, the booklet boasts that this is the first face cream to use this sort of technology. I don't know much about plant stem cells (or... really ANY stem cells) but I do enjoy cannabis sativa skincare because I find it calms a lot of my redness. There is a lot in the booklet about how this cream doesn't just improve your skin but also uplifts you mentally and emotionally through some sort of skin to brain transmission via an increase in skin oxytocin (I legit have no idea what this means, sorry), and I just don't know about all that. Full disclosure, I am not a mindful person so this might just be beyond me. I just kind of slap my skincare on and go about my life. It all feels a little abstract. I will tell you that the ceramic vessel this stuff arrives in does make me happy because I collect interesting ceramics and I love the green color and the rough feel of the unglazed clay in my hands. So, that is mentally boosting for me, at least?

As far as how this cream feels, I have mixed feelings. It is a heavy cream. Like, really heavy. Which makes it good for my dry face but maybe a little much for someone who has a face that isn't its own mini-desert. Texturally, it kind of reminds me of a hand cream. I also found that if you use this in combination with literally any other skin product it pills pretty badly. This isn't ideal for those nights when I want to layer and take my time, but it is great for those nights where I am lucky to just wash my face at all and get anything on it before bed. I also am not terribly fond of the scent. It is green and creamy, but just not right for my nose.

In terms of ingredients, other than those fancy stem cells, grape water, olive oil, ferments, sweet almond oil, vitamin E, and more make appearances. It all adds up to a nourishing and (in my case) anti-inflammatory experience, but this isn't my favorite cream of the year, even if it might feel like the most unique. That being said, I am totally cool with trying such an expensive product in my Beauty Heroes subscription and I appreciate the BH team for including something totally different and way pricy for the final box of the year.

I noticed our shot of the ingredient list was a wee bit tiny, and I don't want anyone squinting to try and decipher it. So here it is in more legible font size:

INGREDIENTS: VITIS VINIFERA (GRAPE) FRUIT WATER, OLEYL EUROCATE, PROPANEDIOL, WATER (AQUA), GLYCERIN,TREHALOSE, SUCROSE STEARATE, OLEA EUROPEAE (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL, BEHENYL ALCOHOL, LACTOBACILLUS FERMENT, BUTYROSPERMUM PARKII (SHEA) BUTTER, CAPRYLYL CAPRYLATE/CAPRATE, STEARYL HEPTANOATE, CANDELILLA/JOJOBA/RICE BRAN, POLYGLYCERYL-3 ESTER, GLYCERYL STEARATE, MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE, SQUALANE, STEARYL CAPRYLATE, CETEARYL ALCOHOL, SODIUM STEAROYL LACTYLATE, CANNABIS SATIVA CALLUS LYSATE, GLUCONOLACTONE, SODIUM GLUCONATE, PRUNUS AMYGDALUS DULCIS (SWEET ALMOND) OIL, , CURCUMA LONGA (TURMERIC) CALLUS LYSATE, HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (SUNFLOWER) SEED OIL, LACTOBACILLUS, COCOS NUCIFERA (COCONUT) FRUIT EXTRACT, PENTYLENE GLYCOL, SODIUM LEVULINATE, ACACIA SENEGAL GUM, XANTHAN GUM, CELLULOSE GUM, CYAMOPSIS TETRAGONOLOBA (GUAR) GUM, SODIUM ANISATE , FRAGRANCE (PARFUM), BETA-SITOSTEROL , SQUALENE, TOCOPHEROL, PHYTIC ACID, CITRIC ACID, CARAMEL.

Verdict: This month, Beauty Heroes sent a product I would never in a million years be able to afford, and I am cool with that! I think I learned a little more about stem cells, but the jury is still out on that one. I also realized I am not deep or mindful enough to totally buy into the "depth" of some products but I am fine with myself. I loved the beautiful green ceramic vessel and I also liked this cream on my face a lot and thought it improved my skin's texture and hydration levels. Is that worth $455? Eh, not when other creams do it just as well if not better, and for a whole lot less. But at the under $60 price of this box, this delivery feels mighty special indeed.

If you're curious about other great skincare boxes, check out our Best Niche & Specialty Beauty Boxes list!

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, this box has sold out.

ACTIVE DEAL: Get 10% off any subscription!
CODE: MSABH10

Value Breakdown: At $58.95 for this box, I saved $396.05 off of this product by having a subscription. (Which is bananas.)

Check out all of our Beauty Heroes reviews and more of our best beauty subscription boxes of 2020!

Keep track of your subscriptions by adding Beauty Heroes to your wishlist or subscription list!

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Beauty Heroes

4.5 overall rating

19 Ratings | 6 Reviews

Beauty Heroes offers a curation of beauty, lifestyle, and wellness that's good for people and planet. Beauty Heroes holds the most rigorous ingredient standard in the industry and stocks over 100+ of the healthiest beauty, lifestyle, and wellness brands from all over the world. Their monthly beau... read more.

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Posted in Beauty Subscription Boxes, Natural Beauty Subscription Boxes, Subscription Box Reviews, Subscription Boxes for Women

Megan K.

I love natural/vegan beauty products, Korean skincare, unique jewelry, and weird candies from far away places. When I am not waiting for my next exciting box you can find me painting or taking photographs of interesting people. I never leave home without pug hair somewhere on my shirt and a bold lipstick on my smile.

Read More By Megan K. >

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22 comments

The Andalou Naturals Cannacell product line has been available for at least a couple of years now and may be a suitable, cost-effective alternative.

Jenny

WHY include fragrance in a face cream at this price point?!? 🤷🏻‍♀️

Mellissa

Thank you for your honestly Megan. I submitted up for a full years membership of BH to replace FFF.

I hated this cream and it’s container. Even when I take great care, I cannot get the jar’s lid to stay shut. It stays on but out not creating an air tight close.

I have oily skin and this pills on me. I’ve tried using it just after stripping my face, after serum, before anything else, alone, overnight, in the morning when I’m home and therefore not wearing anything else and finally gave up.

I thought it a quanity amount. I put on more, I put on less, I put on almost none of the product. It pills. I was walking up with pills in my hair if I wrote it at night. If I actually touched my face during the day, pills. Forget about wearing makeup on top of it.

It’s now being using on my feet. Plus the scent is farther from my face.

I would never ever buy this again, even for a dollar or 2.

Joy

Thank you for the honest review … I’ve been dying to hear what you thought of this! My experience with and feelings about this product mirror yours exactly.
I still love my BH subscription. I adore the Biophile products from November and am excited to try Fitglow in January.

Alice

I always love your reviews!

Nat

I really enjoy using this cream. Of course, I would never pay $400 + for this, but at $58 for this box this is amazing. I use it with Votary oil and no pilling

Snow

What an interesting product! Unless this cream is going to give me a whole new face, I just can’t justify that price. $455 could buy a lot; food, clothes, a weekend getaway.

I love learning new things, so thanks for this great review 👍

Gloria

I’ve been using it with the Biophile from November and Votary super seed oil and no piling issues for me. I dont do double cleanse though…

My skin is not dry and the cream just works
wonderful for me.

I also love the jar.

I usually ignore the price tags of the items and go on with my day. Overall Im very happy having gone back to BH since November. Their customer service is responsive, attentive and just amazing. My skincare budget will be used in BH all 2021!

Ragan Buckley

“Plant stem cells” is marketing speak. Unlike animal cells, all plant cells can essentially be considered stem cells. Also, of course, growth factors and such in plant cells aren’t going to have the same effects in animal (i.e., human) cells as they do in plants. So this is pricy CBD moisturizer. If it works for you, great.

Ashley

Ragan, I would love to see you review boxes like this. There are NUMEROUS ones I would like to see you reviewing.

alli

I agree, I’m a research psychologist and I think the whole “oxytocin” stuff is also just bull. First of all, a topical application is unlikely to have psychoactive effects. Also, oxytocin isn’t exactly a “happiness” hormone, it has a role in mate bonding, sure, but also roles in things from breastfeeding to giving birth to aggression. Again, not that any of this matters because this cream is not going to have an effect on anything psychological (except through the placebo effect). What is ‘skin oxytocin’ anyway? All of this pseudoscience talk in skincare really annoys me.

Jess

So interesting reading everyone’s experiences with this cream. I have oily skin and while the cream is heavy I find it somewhat mattifying and worked with my skin. I have used it with biophile and other products and haven’t had any pilling either. I do use it at night since it’s heavy. I did get a few new breakouts recently but unsure if it’s from this cream, hormones (4 months postpartum), or work stress and masking as a nurse.

Lily

Haha, I checked to see who reviewed this and was mildly bummed it wasn’t you, because I wanted some science smackdown on those claims!
Thanks for posting in the comments.

Cindy

The price is outrageous. I have mixed feelings about all subs that send out extremely high-end products, because if I end up loving a product, I’m not in a position to go and buy it once I run out. Even if I loved something like this, unless I win the lottery I won’t be purchasing it, so I don’t really see the point, I would only have a few months or a year of it, and then once it ran out, that would be it. At least in my case, it makes no sense though of course to each his or her own.

Flora

I listened in the Zoom meeting they sent and from what I understood, this was a special one time presentation of the cream. I think it will come out more in line with the prices of their other products (which are still pricey). Each ceramic jar was hand made so that was supposed to be something special.

Lydea

I have read so many comments where people had problems with pilling. I have not had any issues what so ever. I have normal skin and have had no concerns with this being too heavy, though I have found that a little goes a long way! In fact I typically have enough left to use some as a hand cream. I do layer my products and wait about 5 minutes before using the Ayuna, not sure if that is helping stop the pilling? I also try to use upward strokes on my face when applying.

My biggest complaint with this is the container it came in. I do not feel confident that it is getting closed enough. I have taken to putting something on top of it, but have considered moving it to a different container altogether.

Jenny M

I actually did end up transferring it to another container, I just couldn’t get the ceramic jar to stay closed. I love the jar but it’s not practical for me.

Jenny M

In reply to B – it wouldn’t let me reply directly to you for some reason! – I actually bought a makeup jar off Amazon and transferred it with a beauty spatula. The cream works wonderfully on my skin, but I just couldn’t get the jar to stay shut – now at least I’ll be able to use it without worrying!

Jenny – what did you put it in? I wish I could find some airless pumps for a lot of these green beauty products but I think they might need to be manufactured that way!

Tolin

I haven’t had any issue with pilling either; I’m also waiting five minutes after applying other products and then massaging it in well. My skin is dry (but not ultra-dry), and I love the results I’m getting. I’m not sure if I’m more relaxed, but my skin is soft and glowing, and the beautiful little pot makes it feel special. I’d never pay even half that much for a skin care item, but at around $43 with a six-month sub, this was an amazing value — I’ve never had a creme in that price range work this well on my skin. So this was a real win for me!

What products did you both use? I used with the previous months BH products – the biophilw combo – no pilling or breakouts. I only used a small amount I scooped out with one end of a q-tip and used it to dot around my face in a heart shape and blend into heart and out (per the booklet). I know it sounds silly but I really enjoyed the ritual.

Break

Totally in agreeance with your review, Megan. My skin is also super dry and this was too much for me. It ended up giving me whiteheads every morning after I used it. The piling also drove me insane!

The ceramic jar is very nice and I’ll probably end up using it as a tiny planter if I ever end up finishing this product.

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Beauty Heroes Beauty Discovery Review – December 2020

About this Natural Beauty Discovery Subscription

Beauty Heroes December 2020 Review feat. Ayuna

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