Aviqua Review: Don’t Buy Before You Read This!
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What is it?
Aviqua is a skin care product that claims to be used for reducing wrinkles, increasing moisture levels, and making the skin appear younger and healthier.
Their advertising says that it can increase collagen levels, which helps generate new skin and repair old and damaged tissues. They recommend their product to people that are looking for a daily moisturizer and skin care product, as well as those trying to reduce redness and fight conditions like eczema and psoriasis.
Our team believes that Kremotex is the single most effective skin cream to reach the market. It has been tested by our panel of health and beauty experts, who ranked it above all other moisturization, daily care, and color correction products currently available. Click here to see before and after photos of Kremotex’s effects.
Aviqua Ingredients and Side Effects
Strangely, Aviqua does not publish any of their ingredients. They are not listed on their home page, on any independent seller’s websites, and there are no images of it posted anywhere on the internet. They do not even list one or two main ingredients – there is no mention in any of their materials about what any additive in their blend is except for vague mentions of two elements:
Collagen: The fundamental building block of the skin, as well as the bones, joints, and other tissue. Collagen is a complex combination of vitamins, protein chains, and amino acids that combine at various densities to create up to 30% of the body’s proteins.
Aviqua’s advertising mentions very briefly that it uses collagen – the most concrete mention of any single ingredient in their blend. Despite the fact that it is the only additive actually named, it is not generally considered a high-quality ingredient for a skin care product.
Collagen is used as a buzzword in the cosmetics community to sell products to customers that don’t totally understand the body’s dermal system but know that collagen is a big part of it. There has been a rise in popularity recently in collagen injections into the face and lips, which is a more efficient usage of the material, however it also comes with far more complications than topical or oral products. Bruising, infections, and nerve damage are all potential hazards of injectable collagen, and it has also been known to clot or clump.
When applied topically, collagen is not as effective as many beauty companies would like consumers to think. Collagen is a thick, complex molecule that has a difficult time penetrating and being absorbed by the skin. The majority of a topical product’s collagen is going to stay on the outer layer of the dermis where it may work as a general smoothing agent, however that benefit is purely cosmetic and will wash off in the next shower that person takes.
Furthermore, the elements of the collagen that are absorbed don’t just become part of the skin – collagen is multi-facet protein structure that has to be broken down into its individual components before it can be used. Rubbing collagen on your face and expecting it to become part of your skin would be like rubbing someone else’s hair on top of your head and expecting it to become part of your own hair.
Collagen is not harmful to the body; there are generally no side effects or long-term health risks associated with its usage and it may end up having some mild general benefits. All of those proteins, vitamins, and amino acids that its made of can be put to use by the body somewhere, however they may or may not end up being specifically related to the skin.
Antioxidants: This is as close to a mention of another ingredient as our research team could find after searching through all of the promotional materials for Aviqua that they could find, but it is far from specific.
Antioxidants are what our body uses to fight the free radicals released by sun damage, environmental toxins, and other hazards. Free radicals destroy cell membranes, which in the skin leads to sagging, dull color, and rough texture. This makes ingredients that are high in antioxidants popular choices for inclusion in a skin care blend, however there are literally thousands of different products that contain some form of antioxidants.
Green tea is very popular right now, as are extracts taken from fad superfruits like acai and goji berry. There are forms of algae and seaweed that some blends use, and others have developed their own synthesized chemicals in their labs. Saying that their product has antioxidants in it really does not tell the consumer anything about the actual makeup of the material, how effective it may be, or whether or not it is even safe for human consumption.
Click here to see which skin care products were rated the highest by our panel of experts.
Aviqua Quality of Ingredients
Our panel of skin care experts could not stress enough how unusual it is for a skin care product to not list any ingredients. Even the least reputable products will generally highlight a few of their more reputable additives while choosing not to advertise only their more questionable or hazardous ones.
It is an unprecedented step for a company to try so deliberately to obscure from consumers everything that is in a product that people will be applying directly to their skin – and on their face, no less. The list of reasons this is an unacceptable business practice are long:
- Consumers with food and chemical sensitivities do not know if this product will provoke an allergic reaction.
- People taking medication may experience harmful interactions.
- It is impossible to tell if the ingredients are effective at all, or if so, in which ways.
- It is impossible to tell if they use additives and fillers like simple alcohols that look good going on but dry the skin more over time.
It is in many ways scarier that they have listed no ingredients than if they had listed a roster of harmful ingredients. Then you would at least know what you were getting and could make an educated choice about if that was a risk you were willing to take.
The fact that they have chosen so deliberately to try to hide information from consumers can only logically lead one to believe that there is something that is worth hiding, we just have no way of knowing what that might be.
Follow this link to find out which skin care products tested the highest for moisturization, color correction, and overall effectiveness.
The Price and Quality of Aviqua
If the lack of published ingredients was not suspicious to you, the lack of a published price should be. It is highly unusual that a company selling a product through their website would refuse to name a per-unit price, choosing instead to only give customers the option of signing up for a free trial.
“Signing up” is a key part of the free trial, because in order to get your complementary tube of Aviqua you have to enroll in their automatic shipping program. The hook here is that if you don’t cancel the program right away you will automatically be charged $98.11 per month. There are also fees associated with keeping the sample and cancelling, returning the sample and cancelling, and shipping and handling for all orders as well.
To see how our experts measure skin care products during their clinical trials, click here.
Business of Aviqua
Things get more and more mysterious the deeper that you look into Aviqua’s business practices. In the hidden terms and conditions link on their website, Aviqua’s owner Refreshing Beauty, LLC is mentioned, as is their contact information:
Phone Number: (888) 853-7721
Address: 120 East 8th Street, #301
Los Angeles, CA 90014
Email: Refreshing Beauty does not publish an email address, however they do have a customer comment form that can be used for electronic communication.
Some research into Refreshing Beauty shows that they are connected with a network of other companies and products that have the exact same business model which seems to be built exclusively around trying to dupe consumers into signing up for the free trial and then springing hidden charges on them later on down the road.
They have a 100% negative feedback rating with the Better Business Bureau and there are dozens of formal complaints filed against them with numerous different oversight agencies.
Follow this link to find skin care products that tested highly for suppleness, smoothing action, and liquidity.
Customer Opinions of Aviqua
Customer reviews reflect our panel’s guess that Aviqua was never trying to create a quality product, they were only trying to scam people that were looking for skin care solutions. Many users’ responses to their experience were similar to these:
“Help! I signed up for a free sample of a product that turned out to be junk, and now I’m on the hook for over $100!”
“When I got their goop in the mail it smelled awful and felt worse going on, and then it left me with a horrible rash! When I tried to return it, they’d already charged my credit card a crazy amount of money. How are these people allowed to stay in business?”
“THIS IS A SCAM. DO NOT SIGN UP. RUN AWAY.”
There are hundreds of people online expressing similar frustration about getting lured in with the promise of a free product, only to be sent something that was never intended to help them and having their credit cards charged upwards of $100 for the pleasure.
To see the list of the most reputable brands of skin care products on the market today, follow this link.
Conclusion – Does Aviqua Work?
After performing extensive research into their product, their company, and the responses of consumers, it is our panel’s conclusion that Aviqua, Refreshing Beauty, and their associates are one of the least reputable organizations that our team has ever encountered in our combined years of covering the skin care industry.
To sum up the case against them: Aviqua has created a product that claims to be beneficial for the skin, yet they won’t disclose what’s in it. They won’t let consumers buy it individually, they force them to sign up for a program that has a number of hidden fees that often aren’t discovered until they’ve already been charged. Their activity is borderline criminal and there are thousands of cheap, legal, healthy alternatives to their products that are available instead.
The safest and most reliable skin cream according to our panel is Kremotex. Kremotex uses apple stem cells, shea nut extracts, and other premium quality additives that make skin beautiful by first making it healthy. To see a list of all of Kremotex’s ingredients, click here.
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I am highly dissatisfied with this company. They charge you for shipping and if you use this product, you will be charged another $10. If you cancel, you have to pay to return it. If you don’t cancel, you will be charged automatically about $100 for a monthly refill. I thought the sample was free…..but it is NOT. Be very wary of ordering this product.
This whole deal with the Aviqua cream is a big scam. I ordered the sample, and didn’t really read the small print, so in January they took a $39 payment from my account, and not until Feb 2017 did I notice this same amount was taken out of my bank account. I tried to call them for 3 different days, finally getting someone on the phone yesterday, Feb. 13th, 2017. Yes I cancelled it, too late to get those charges back. The guy I was talking to was like unfazed that I was charged this amount, and said I should have seen the small print when I sent for the sample He was like really acting smug about the whole thing, and I wish I could have come through the phone lines to give him a swift kick in the butt. This company is a big scam, don’t get hooked like me. I closed out my charge account to stop any more money being taken out. SCAM ALERT!!!!!!
HUGE SCAM!! THEY CHARGED MY ACCOUNT $98.11 LUCANA ON 2/13 THEN $89.26 ON 2/14 AVIQUA THE CHARGES COME IN LOOKING LIKE TWO DIFFERENT COMPANIES YET THEY ARE THE SAME. THEN THEY SIGN YOU UP WITHOUT YOUR KNOWLEDGE FOR REPEAT MAILING OF THE PRODUCT. YOU HAVE TO CALL AND CANCEL THE ORDER AND WAIT ON HOLD FOR AN EXTREMELY LONG TIME. VERY DISSATISFIED
SCAM! I ordered it in March and knew there was a 14 day trial and to call and cancel to avoid more charges. I did this before the trial was up and they still charged me $98.11! I called and asked them to cancel and credit my account. After a lengthy conversation they insisted that I buy more products, seriously!! I expressed I didn’t like it and wanted a refund, I was told if the container was opened and I used it that I broke the free 14 day trial, how can you trial it without using it!! Totally disgusted in myself for falling for it and for the people that work for them thieves. If there is any way to get my money back let me know.
I told them I hadn’t opened them (which I hadn’t because I was nervous for this exact reason when I saw “free! just pay S&H”) and that I would sue them with the 5 attorneys in my family if I wasn’t refunded the full amount. They tried to say I could get 50% back with an additional restocking fee of $9.95, and I told them that they either need to put a manager on the phone or refund it completely. They finally gave in and gave me a refund minus the restocking fee and said I could keep the products. I just got two confirmation #’s (I had two products) and takes up to 72 hours to get posted to my account but would be processed today. If I don’t get the money I will in fact sue because I have it recorded with the confirmation #’s they gave me. Good luck!
I want to cancel my order-how do I do that??
As with everyone else I was immediately charge $98.11 in addition to the seven dollars they had already charged me. I canceled within the timeframe and was given a confirmation number. A few days after that I received the product again. I called demanded a refund and assurance this was cancelled,it was not. On my next credit card bill was another charge for $98.11 and there was no credit. At this point I contacted my credit card company and they have filed with their fraud department and issued me a full credit. I hope all of you are able to do this with your credit card company.
This company is horrible! This is a SCAM SCAM SCAM. People like this disgust me and should be put in jail.
Instead they are allowed to continue to rip people off!
The law is too slow when it comes to these get rich scams who take advantage of people.
Aviqua is run by a group of scam owners out of downtown LA. One is greedy Chineese and another lives out of country. They pay everybody minimum wage to fill in their pockets and scam ppl for $90 product with the cost of product less than $3. They rebrand (just change the name of the product every 3 months) to cover all existing negative reviews that way they can scam new customers and customers will not be able to search new scam product due to a new name and no search results via internet. Aviqua, Lucana, Lumella, Lletoile, etc…. are all their products. All the blogs, positive reviews are created in their office by their employees.
DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! They lie about sending you a free trial and tell you it’s delayed by the post office (when you track it, the product has NEVER been sent to the post office. It’s still pending delivery to the USPS.) Then they send you the next month’s auto shipment of the product and you haven’t even tried it yet. So when you call them and want to send it back, they charge you. TOTAL RIP OFF. This is my first post and I will make sure everyone I know doesn’t try this product.
Such a rip off! They charged me full price for the trial size, added it as a recurring membership, which I did not ask for, the product made me break out horribly. When I called to ask for the status of my refund they said they refunded it to my account on a specific day, which they did not! My bank confirmed no such refund. It’s been a headache to get my money back, they’re crooks, don’t trust it! My battle continues with customer service saying it was refunded and the bank filing a claim.
I told them repeatedly that I just wanted the “free” sample and did NOT want to sign up for anything. They got my card number to pay for shipping only. Right after I hung up, I checked my bank account and saw the full price charge, so I immediately called my bank, Wells Fargo. They called the Refreshing Beauty number and we had a 3-way conversation about why I wanted Wells Fargo to cancel the charge to my account. Finally, they decided that they just wanted me to send the product back. I refused because I never agreed to buy it in the first place and it was their loss for trying to scam me.