While some skincare products contain a cocktail of ingredients, a few are built around one or two super ingredients. Caudalie harnesses the power of grapes, and DermaDoctor taps into the vitamin C rich kakadu plum. Former supermodel Josie Maran has built an entire beauty empire around argan oil. While you may have heard of grapes, vitamin C and argan oil in skincare, you may not be as familiar with truffles in skincare. Truffles are starting to crop up in beauty products such as Philip B White Truffle Ultra Rich Moisturizing Shampoo, while truffles give a distinct musky scent to Valentina Eau de Parfum, as well as Tom Ford Extreme Eau de Toilette. Skin & Co also has a truffle based collection, including the Umbrian Truffle Body Lotion.
Truffles are also the driving force behind the skincare company Truffoire, which has built its collection around two types of truffles – black and white varieties. If you’re a foodie you know that truffles are incredibly expensive and are used sparingly in dishes – they are shaved over dishes like risotto and chicken. The same hefty price tags apply to Truffoire products. Here’s a look at the brand, what Truffoire sells and whether it’s right for you.
What are the Best Skin Care Products of 2021?
What Is Truffoire?
Truffoire skincare company offers two collections based around its signature ingredient, truffles. The Black Collection contains tuber melanosporum (black truffle) extract while the White Collection is formulated with tuber aestivum (white truffle) extract. So why truffles? The company says that truffles have the ability to “renew the skin and increase its age-fighting capabilities.” Truffoire believes that truffles can help the skin repair itself and while defending it from environmental damage. Truffles are thought to be packed with essential fatty acids and protein, and also have antibacterial properties. They also cite how truffle products feel on the face. The company says it does not test its products on animals.
What Does Truffoire Sell?
Truffoire offers an extensive collection of skincare products, including serums, masks and cleansers. Truffoire also sells body creams and scrubs, as well as an essence and ampoules. Here is a closer look.
Black Collection
Black Truffle Vitamin C Cleanser is formulated with ascorbic acid and amino acids. It is designed to remove dirt and makeup without stripping the skin.
Black Truffle Instant Repair Syringe can be applied directly to wrinkles on the face to soften their appearance.
White Collection
White Truffle Eye Cream is meant to be applied after the White Truffle Eye Serum to help nourish the delicate eye area.
White Truffle After Shave Balm is formulated to soothe and smooth the skin post-shave.
The White Truffle Cleansing Set includes two products: the White Truffle Milk Cleanser as well as the White Truffle Toner, which helps to rebalance the skin after cleansing.
Diamond Collection
The Diamond Truffle Face and Neck Cream contains diamond powder as well as DMAE, a known as derivative of the B vitamin choline. The company says this multitasking cream helps diminish the look of wrinkles and firms the skin.
Diamond Truffle Lifting Essence is formulated with sodium hyaluronate, DMAE and diamond powder. An essence should be applied before a serum.
Volcanic Collection
The Volcanic Activating Serum contains a cocktail of peptides, retinol, skin brightening kojic acid as well as hyaluronic acid and volcanic water.
The Volcanic Perfecting Cream is designed to be lightweight, and contains volcanic water, glycerin and multiple fruit extracts.
Perigold
The Perigold Truffle Magnetic Mask contains nourishing essential oils as well as black truffle extract and is designed to firm the skin.
The Perigold Truffle Duet is a serum with two compartments, one with a gold extract and one with truffle extract.
Orchidea
The Truffle Orchid Silk Mask should be used once a week, and is formulated with vitamin E, white truffle extract, and extracts of bilberry and goji fruit.
The Truffle Brightening Cream contains SPF 30 and is meant to leave skin looking brighter and more even.
What Are Some of the Most Popular Truffoire Products?
There is no information available about the most popular or best-selling Truffoire products.
What Ingredients Are in Truffoire Products?
Extracts of white and black truffles are the signature ingredients, and the formulas contain a mix of standard beauty ingredients such as hyaluronic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E and the skin brightening kojic acid. More unusual ingredients include gold and diamond powder, volcanic water and DMAE. Other key ingredients include aloe leaf extract which soothes the skin; the acne fighter salicylic acid; and the antioxidant green tea.
Where Can I Buy Truffoire Products?
Truffoire products are sold directly on the company website, and a few products are sold on Amazon. A few of the products are available on discounted retail websites such as Poshmark. The company website says that the products are also sold at state fairs and a handful of boutiques in Las Vegas, and according to Yelp, there is a retail store in Hawaii.
How Much Do Truffoire Products Cost?
Truffoire products come with astronomical price tags. The Black Truffle Vitamin C Cleanser retails for $400, while the Black Truffle Instant Repair Syringe sells for $1,250. The Black Truffle Illuminating Facial & Eye Mask sells for $3,000, while the Diamond Truffle Lifting Essence will set you back $1,800. By comparison, Guerlain’s Orchidée Impériale serum sells for $510 and its Orchidée Impériale Black Day Cream is $1,340.
Do Truffoire Products Work?
When trying to decide if a product works, it’s important to keep in mind that everyone’s skin may react differently to the same product. One cream that leaves a person with glowing, refreshed looking skin may cause breakouts in another person, or do nothing at all, so a little trial and error is always needed when finding the right products for yourself.
But it is hard to determine how well Truffoire products work given the lack of customer reviews available. Truffoire’s Facebook page has only around 2,500 followers. The Black Truffle Instant Repair Syringe has only two reviews on Amazon. One customer writes, “The group that convincingly talked me into trying and buying eye cream in a black syringe were a bunch of con artists and I am stupid and gullible to even listen to them and bought the product and more. Did not work when I use it at home” while the second review says, “A dab of this product was put on my under eye area and dramatically improved the appearance. It lasted for the rest of the day and was comfortable… I did not buy it yet, but am planning to, after there is more experience published about it.”
There are a handful of beauty blogger reviews. Creative Fashion Blogger doesn’t go into much depth but liked the Black Truffle Vitamin C Cleanser, writing “I really liked this one. Apart from Truffle Extract, this product was also made of ascorbic acid and amino acids.” A blogger at Beauty Frizz also had a positive review- “The White Truffle Eye Cream is buttery smooth to the touch, and it’s pretty lightweight. I actually loved this cream.”
Truffoire’s own website has some reviews but they are combined with customer service Q&As, where feedback includes, “I tried your product while out in Palm Desert, the Black Truffle instant repair syringe and had amazing results! Where can I purchase it in San Diego, Ca?”
The 18 reviews on Yelp are decidedly mixed, with customers mostly complaining about heavy handed sales pressure. Reviews include “Unfortunately it’s a scam. I’m still up in the air as to if the products actually work, but the means by which they go about pressuring you into buying the items is less than professional” to “Best experience ever! I’ve been using the past few weeks Truffoire facial cream and I’m truly recommending this amazing company products! Since I started using it, my face feels like silk yea !”
Similar complaints can be found on TripAdvisor and the company gets a score of “F” from the Better Business Bureau, largely due to the lack of refund policy.
What Are Some Alternatives to Truffoire?
Given the astronomical prices and lack of reviews, you may be hesitant to try Truffoire. There are other skincare lines to consider, including Formulyst and Advanced Dermatology.
Formulyst’s philosophy is long-term and effective skincare. The brand wants to help its customers achieve their best looking skin, rather than covering it up with makeup. The comprehensive line of products targets everything from wrinkles to dark spots and dry skin. Some of the products designed to help improve skin’s texture include Formulyst Retexturing and Perfecting Serum. The serum is powered by gentle but effective alpha hydroxy acid (AHA) which dissolves dead skin cells, leaving behind fresher, smoother looking skin.
A more affordable option to help fade dark spots is Formulyst’s Luminous Skin Serum. It tackles skin discoloration thanks to Triple Brightening Technology, a powerful blend of naturally derived alpha arbutin (derived from the bearberry plant), Rumex extract (a plant that helps stop the production of melanin) and a biomimetic peptide. The serum leaves skin looking lighter, brighter and more luminous.
When it comes to fighting wrinkles, there’s one ingredient that is the gold standard– retinol, a vitamin A derivative. Retinol is the key ingredient in Formulyst’s Anti-Aging Night Cream. What makes this formula different is that it contains a high dose of retinol but it’s also packed with ultra-soothing and hydrating safflower seed oil and jojoba to lock moisture in and soothe the skin.
If you like the simplicity of a skincare kit, consider Advanced Dermatology. This no nonsense brand offers a pared down approach to skincare. The packaging is simple and streamlined, and the products bring skincare back to the basics. The kit contains just six essential items including a daily cleanser; serum; anti-wrinkle firming treatment; night cream; day cream and an eye cream. In other words, everything you need to achieve your best possible looking skin.
Joanna Original review: Jul 09, 2020.
We lost my grandmother earlier this year, and my mother and I spent several weeks living in her home (out of state), as we worked in settling her affairs. I hadn’t bothered to bring a face cream, since we flew and I figured I could get some later. But grandmom had a bunch of face creams, so waste not want not, right? Better to use them up than throw them out. She had a whole bunch of this Truffoire stuff, and most of it felt like crap on my face, but the white truffle orchid silk mask felt very nice, moisturizing and lightweight, and not sticky or oily at all. So I started using that as my daily face cream (I mean it’s not like there are instructions printed on the bottle or anything) and I didn’t think much on it beyond that. This morning I got to wondering what was actually in the stuff (because that’s not printed on the bottle either), so I googled it- HOLY SHIT, SHE SPENT HOW MUCH???????? I was expecting something in the neighborhood of $60-80, but TWO THOUSAND AND SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS???????? FOR FACE CREAM????????? She would have bought it in store; there’s a Truffoire outlet at the flea market near her place, so I highly doubt she payed what it’s listed for on their website. More likely, there was a “special sale” as others have mentioned offering a steep “discount”. In any case, I CERTAINLY won’t be replenishing when I’ve used it up- it feels nice, sure, but everything I’m reading about this company indicates that it’s wildly overpriced snake oil. I’m certain I can find a cream that feels exactly as nice without paying hundreds of dollars for it, and even if I can’t- oh well, I guess I’ll just get wrinkles.