Welcome to Deep Reviews—your one-stop destination to discover the absolute best products and brands the beauty industry has to offer. The Who What Wear staffers you already know and trust will research, test, and review the market's most sought-after and buzzed-about products to see which formulas (of the hundreds up for consideration) are worth your hard-earned money and attention. You can expect honest, uncensored feedback and no-BS recommendations our hard-to-please testers endorse without reservations.
The majority of our Deep Reviews will feature our editors' honest, ultra-hot takes on entire product categories or multiple products from a particular beauty brand, but every so often, we'll sprinkle in a special single-product format called Honestly, I Love It. As the name suggests, these reviews will hone in on one standout beauty formula our editors can't shut up about. This time, I'm highlighting one of the most popular neck creams money can buy, StriVectin's TL Advanced Tightening Neck Cream PLUS ($59).
I'll be honest, until a few months ago, I never really gave a hoot about the appearance of my neck. And I certainly wasn't concerned with adding a neck cream to my routine. In fact, I've never even bothered to extend my facial skincare routine down my neck and décolleté, as so many product labels—and skincare experts—recommend. (I know I should know better as a beauty editor, thank you very much.)
However, ever since I turned 30, I've gradually noticed some changes to how my skin looks and how quickly it does—or doesn't—recover. I realize I am still very young, and the shifts are subtle, but suddenly the chest wrinkles I'd wake up with each morning weren't diminishing as the day wore on. And in certain photos or at certain angles, I noticed the skin on my neck doing things I'd never really seen before. My neck looked noticeably more dry and crepey, and it just didn't seem to have the bounce-back resilience it once did. I wish I could tell you I didn't panic, but I did, and I immediately began researching the best neck creams the Internet had to offer.
Touted as the number one selling neck cream, StriVectin's cult-loved TL Advanced Tightening Neck Cream PLUS ($59) immediately seemed to be the resounding answer to my call, and knowing it's done wonders for my 75-year-old mom's "crepey neck" (her words, not mine!), it seemed like a no-brainer. Four weeks later, I'm so happy it's the formula I reached for.
As StriVectin explains on their website, the skin on our necks is an entirely different beast than the skin on our faces. So, even though slathering your neck in your face cream certainly won't hurt, choosing a formula strategically designed for your neck is the smartest way to go if you want to see faster and more noticeable results. "The skin on your neck is different from the skin on your face," the brand states. "The neck has less fatty tissue and collagen and fewer oil glands, which is why this skin can appear slack, loose, dry, and crepey. Only a neck cream can give this delicate skin what it needs to be its best."
The Results
TL Advanced Tightening Neck Cream PLUS is specifically designed to target and improve lines, wrinkles, discoloration, dryness, loss of firmness, and crepey texture. And while the results supposedly really kick in at the two-month mark (consistency and patience are vital), I got results in as little as four weeks.
Of course, my before and afters are subtle—again, at 30, any lines, dryness, and texture issues are pretty minimal. But once I compared the photos I took four weeks apart (taken in the same light, at the same time of day, and with my skin just slightly more tan because… summer), I immediately noticed that the sleep-induced lines I wake up to each morning were significantly less deep, the loosening skin on my neck area (right under my chin) had practically disappeared, and even my smile lines (because I'm extra, and I decided to apply the cream wherever I saw fine lines on the lower side of my face) had practically vanished.
While these changes are slight and not something I noticed in my day-to-day testing, my unedited photos are proof. This stuff works, and if these were my results after just one month, I can only imagine what might happen after a few more months or a year of use. In my research phase, I noticed many reviewers scream in all caps, "THIS ACTUALLY WORKS," or exclaiming that StriVectin's neck cream "snatched" their neck. And now, I'm officially a believer.
Details + Benefits
So, what makes StriVectin's beloved formula work harder and faster than all the rest? I'd honestly assume witchcraft, but the difference comes down to a few incredibly effective key ingredients. The cream recently got an upgrade, and now, the brand's signature (and patented) Alpha-3 Peptide formula powerfully targets the skin's natural collagen, elastin, and hyaluronic acid to noticeably help lift and smooth the skin. The formula also contains Spilanthol, a special photosensor that helps improve the appearance of firmness by visibly tightening and strengthening the skin. Last but not least, additions like bearberry and clary sage extracts brighten and even out the tone of the skin. (This was another huge perk I noticed.)
Truthfully, I'm annoyed at myself for not adding this Tightening Neck Cream to my routine sooner (especially knowing how much my mom loves it). However, now that I'm sold, I'm happy to report that it only adds about 30 extra seconds to my morning and nighttime skincare routines. I start with my neck, adding a thin layer to the front and lightly massaging it into my skin in an upward motion. (This is important for extra lifting benefits.) Next, I move to my jawline, sides of my neck, and chin area. And then end on my decollete, rubbing the cream in all over in a light circular motion. And that's all there is to it! Again, I am obsessed. I am so excited to see where this neck cream takes me in the coming years and months, as I already feel I'll be a lifelong fan.
More StriVectin Products I Love
As much as I love the cream, I'm also a little addicted to this handy and ingenious roller. It utilizes a potent serum fortified with special lifting dipeptides to help address horizontal lines on the neck and the loss of definition along the jawline—aka tech neck. Plus, I really love how cooling and instantly relaxing the metal roller feels against my skin.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a sucker for anything that promises to keep my eye area looking perky and youthful, and while so many formulas fail, this one actually does the trick. The cooling applicator is a godsend on mornings when I wake up feeling extra warm and puffy (so basically every morning when you live in an apartment in L.A. that doesn't have AC), and the three unique peptides this serum uses tighten, firm, and brighten the eye area provide visible results. It's definitely one of the best eye products I've ever tried, and I've tried LOTS.
I'm almost as maniacal about my lip care as I am about my eyes, so it's no surprise this two-part formula has been a nonnegotiable staple of mine for a while now. Think of this as a fairy godmother's 2-in-1 wand that delivers fuller, plumper-looking lips while diminishing those stubborn vertical lines around the mouth.
Hot off a new launch, this is one of the best glowy sunscreen formulas I've ever tried. It's supremely moisturizing, so you can skip an extra step in the morning and use this as a moisturizer and SPF. As far as that glow factor, it's made with reflective pearl technology and a hit of argan oil for even more dew-inducing goodness.
In case I haven't drilled it into your head enough already, I love a multitasking beauty formula, so this retinol-infused moisturizer is really it for me. (Especially since so many standalone retinols irritate the heck out of my sensitive skin.) This formula features both retinol and retinal, the latter of which is one of the most potent forms of retinol. This is paired with StriVectin's signature skin-barrier strengthening NIA-114 and a dreamy skin-soothing complex to nix redness.
This top-rated duo really can't be beat if you're after smoother, firmer skin everywhere else on your body in addition to your face and neck. The scrub and lotion tag team to resurface, exfoliate, and tighten the texture of the skin.
If you have keratosis pilaris (KP), you already know it can feel almost impossible to tame the condition's signature bumpiness and redness. This exfoliating body scrub and smoothing cream offers legitimate results in as little as one week.
