Brilliance Advanced Whitening Reviews - Is it a Scam or Legit?
Brilliance Advanced Brightening skin serum claims to help you naturally and safely reduce the appearance of age spots, liver spots, blemishes, and pigmentation.
We've reviewed dozens of products similar to Brilliance Advanced Whitening, all of which claim to contain revolutionary or breakthrough ingredients. As it turns out though, they're rarely anything more than something basic you'd find at your local pharmacy.
But is there anything that makes this product different? Can you even expect it to work? Keep reading to learn more!
Brilliance Advanced Brightening claims to use "revolutionary ingredients" to lighten your age spots, brighten your complexion, and revitalize your skin. All you have to do is apply the serum to your skin 2-3 times daily, and it will begin working its magic—or so the company claims.
They also claim that Brilliance Advanced Whitening works regardless of where your dark spots are, such as your face, hands, shoulders, or arms, and whether you're a man or a woman.
We've seen several different products from Chamonix (the company behind Brilliance Advanced Brightening), including T-Gen, Genucel, and Genucel Dark Spot Corrector. Ask yourself: Why would the company make 2 different dark spot products? Is there anything different about them?
To answer this, let's take a look at the ingredients.
Will Brilliance's Ingredients Actually Help Your Dark Spots?
It's difficult to tell. Why? Because the Brilliance website doesn't list any ingredients.
However, there is a link for Lumiskin, a proprietary and patented ingredient from Sederma that's claimed to use caprylic/capric triglyceride and diacetyl boldine to reduce skin pigmentation. Despite how effective the ingredient is claimed to be, there aren't any third-party clinical trials showing that Lumiskin works as advertised.
Chamonix's (other) Genucel Dark Spot Corrector also contains Lumiskin, in addition to marine hydrolyzed collagen, alpha-arbutin, and Stay-C. Are these ingredients also included in Brilliance Advanced Brightening? We simply don't know.
As a consumer, would you consider all of this sufficient evidence to reasonably call Brilliance Advanced Brightening "revolutionary" or "magic?" Maybe, maybe not. In our opinion though, any legitimate company will provide a list of ingredients, and the fact that Chamonix doesn't should act as a big red flag.
Before coming to a conclusion though, it's important that you understand the causes of dark spots, as well as common methods used to treat them.
Think you look good with a tan? Well, what you're actually doing is creating a very large dark spot that covers your whole body. Say what?
This is because melanin—pigment in your skin—rushes in to prevent damage to deeper layers of skin by making the top layers darker, and therefore more resistant to UV exposure.
Over time, this melanin can clump together in certain areas (even after your tan is long gone) and stick around for good. This results in the classic age spot.
Is there anyway to get rid of these dark spots?
Most over the counter dark spot treatments contain topical bleaching agents, including hydroquinone, glycolic acid, kojic acid, or even vitamin C. This is why you'll find one or more of these ingredients in nearly all dark spot products, including some of the most popular ones we've reviewed here at HighYa, such as TruVitaliti, Beverly Hills MD, City Dark Spot Corrector, and more.
You'll also be able to find these types of products elsewhere online, or even locally, some of which cost less than $10.
Despite their popularity, these ingredients may cause mild to moderate skin irritation, and can take weeks (or even months, depending on how dark your age spots are) to provide results. With continuous use though, you should see at least some level of skin lightening within 3-4 weeks.
However, since your skin cells constantly turn over, if you stop using dark spot treatments, your age spots could quickly reappear. In other words, you'll need to continue using treatments to maintain results.
If you don't have the patience for OTC treatments, more intensive (read: more effective, but also much more expensive) treatments include laser therapy, freezing, dermabrasion, chemical peels, and more.
Each of these come with their own set of pros and cons, such as how fast they work, common side effects, recovery time, etc. So be sure to speak with your dermatologist about the best option for you.
As we mentioned above, in addition to Brilliance Advanced Brightening, Chamonix makes a lot of other beauty products. But as a company, are they any good?
Chamonix Skin Care is based out of Edison, NJ, and despite nearly 40 closed complaints, the company held an A rating with the Better Business Bureau (as of 8/20/15). Most of these appeared to reference problems with customer service and difficulty cancelling refunds/autoship programs.
Based on 23 customer reviews here on HighYa, Chamonix's Genucel product has an average rating of 1.4 stars, based on complaints of failure to work, poor customer service, and difficulty obtaining refunds/cancelling autoship programs.
What's up with these automatic shipments anyway? Let's take a look.
A 2-month supply of Brilliance Advanced Brightening will cost you $139.95 plus $8.95 S&H.
With your order, you'll also receive 2-month supplies of the Chamonix's Deep Firming Vitamin C Serum, Esotique-RF with Matrixyl, and Genucel Immediate Effects products.
Don't want to keep reordering Brilliance? If so, you might like the company's autoship program, which will send you a fresh supply of all 4 products every 60 days, and then charge your credit card $139.95 plus $8.95 S&H each time.
Don't like autoship programs? Tough cookies! You're automatically signed up as soon as you place your order.
All Brilliance Advanced Brightening orders come with a 60-day refund policy, less S&H charges and a 9% restocking fee.
Note: This only applies to your initial order—it does not apply to any subsequent shipments after the original 60 days. In other words, any products you receive through the autoship program are non-refundable.
Also, remember that changes or cancellations to your autoship enrollment must be made at least one week prior to your next shipment.
To cancel your autoship enrollment or request a refund, you'll need to contact customer service at 800-SKIN-211 (754-6211).
Should You Buy Brilliance Advanced Brightening?
First, talk with your dermatologist. Why? Because they'll be able to recommend products based on your specific needs and your physician's diagnosis.
If you're intent on trying something before visiting your doctor, then we might recommend purchasing a much less expensive product than Brilliance, but that also contains hydroquinone, glycolic acid, or kojic acid. At the very least, this could save you a good chunk of change on S&H charges and restocking fees if you're not happy.
Still intent on Brilliance Advanced Brightening? Just don't think the product will make you look like the women in their testimonials. They're just generic images pulled from the web, and not at all what you can expect to experience. In other words, keep your expectations realistic.
Bottom line: When treating age spots, there are solutions that can work, and Brilliance might be among them. However, when you consider that similar products can be purchased from more reputable companies, for less money, and with more straightforward ingredients, you might want to choose one of these options first.
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