Tried it for two weeks

The lilac face belt everyone keeps asking me about

By REPLACE — your name REPLACE — Month DD, YYYY 5 min read

A woman fastening a lilac V-line lifting belt around her jaw and chin

It's a lilac strap that wraps under your chin and fastens over the top of your head, and the first time I put it on I laughed at myself in the mirror. Two weeks later it's part of my evening routine, and three separate people have messaged me asking what it is.

So here's the whole thing: what it actually is, what it genuinely does, what the product photos oversell, and who I'd tell to save their money.


What actually arrived

A single piece of soft, slightly stretchy lilac fabric with white velcro tabs. It's lighter than it looks in the listing photos, closer to swimsuit material than to anything medical. There are two cut-out holes for your ears, a small perforated panel over the cheek area for airflow, and the chin is left open rather than fully enclosed, which matters more than you'd think when you want to talk or drink water.

Labelled diagram of the belt showing the fixed strap, ear holes, breathable fabric, double lift and open chin design
The bits that matter: ear holes, the perforated panel, and the open chin.
REPLACE — what you paid

Prices on Temu move constantly, so put in what you actually paid and note whether shipping was free. Mine took REPLACE — X days to arrive.


What it does, and what it doesn't

This is the part I want to be straight about, because the listing photos are not.

What it does: it's a compression band. Worn for twenty minutes to an hour, it presses gently along the jaw and under the chin, and skin in that area looks a little tighter and less puffy afterwards — the same way your face looks different after a cold morning walk or a gua sha session. If you've slept badly, eaten a lot of salt, or cried, that de-puffed feeling is real and it's pleasant. It's also, quietly, quite relaxing to wear while you read.

What it doesn't do: change your bone structure, remove fat, or permanently reshape your jawline. Those side-by-side before-and-after panels you see on listings like this are marketing, not evidence. Any tightening you see fades within a few hours. Nothing you wrap around your face can alter the shape of your skull, and a product that promises otherwise is promising something it can't deliver.

Go in wanting a nice ten-minute ritual and you'll like it. Go in wanting a new face and you'll be disappointed, and you'll have spent two weeks studying your own jaw in the mirror, which is its own kind of cost.


How I actually use it

After cleansing, before bed

Clean, dry skin, a light moisturiser absorbed first, then the belt for about twenty minutes while I read. Putting it over a thick cream or oil is a mistake — it slides, and it traps product against your skin in a way that broke me out around the jaw on day three.

On puffy mornings

Fifteen minutes while making coffee. This is the use I've kept up with, honestly. It's the morning equivalent of a cold spoon under the eyes.

Not overnight

The listing suggests sleeping in it. I wouldn't. Eight hours of pressure on your jaw joint, with no way to notice it's too tight once you're asleep, is how you wake up with a sore jaw and a headache. Short sessions while you're awake are the sensible version.

Illustration showing the belt being worn while reading, exercising and cooking at home
It's designed to be worn while you get on with something else, which is the best thing about it.

Fit, sizing and comfort

One size, 54 cm end to end and 12 cm at the widest point, adjusted by velcro. It stretched comfortably over a fairly average adult head with room left on the tabs, so the fit range is generous — but there's no smaller size, so on a narrow face the ear holes may sit slightly off.

The lilac belt laid flat with measurements: 54 cm long, 46 cm across the strap, 12 cm wide
Product graphic listing the claimed benefits: easy to use, lifting effect, tender and smooth, cooling effect
The listing's claims. Treat "lifting effect" as temporary, and the rest as marketing language.

The honest verdict

For the price, it's a pleasant, low-stakes addition to a skincare routine, and I've kept using it. It is not a treatment, and it won't do the thing the before-and-after photos imply. Buy it the way you'd buy a jade roller.

Worth it if

You enjoy a slow evening routine, you wake up puffy, and you want twenty quiet minutes with something on your face. Low expectations, low cost, mild payoff.

Skip it if

You're buying it to fix how your face is shaped, or you have jaw pain, braces, a night guard, or sensitive, reactive skin. It won't help with the first and it may make the rest worse.

If you're a teenager reading this

Worth knowing: your face is still changing. Jaw and cheek structure keep developing into the late teens and early twenties, so the face you're looking at right now isn't the finished one — and a fabric strap can't speed that up or redirect it.

If you like the idea of it as a calming twenty-minute thing while you do homework, that's completely fine. If you're buying it because a video made you feel like something about your face needs correcting, that's the part I'd push back on. That feeling is what the before-and-after photos are engineered to create, and buying the product doesn't resolve it. Also: ask a parent before putting card details into any app.

Questions people asked me

Does it actually slim your face?

Not permanently, no. You may look slightly less puffy for a few hours after wearing it. That's compression and circulation, not fat loss or bone change.

Can you sleep in it?

The listing says yes. I'd say no — you can't feel it getting too tight once you're asleep, and pressure on the jaw joint for hours can leave you sore. Twenty to forty minutes awake is plenty.

Does it fit over ponytails or a bun?

A high bun works well, since the strap crosses the top of the head and sits around it. A low ponytail is fine too.

Can you talk while wearing it?

A bit, awkwardly. The chin is left open so it's not sealed shut, but you won't be taking a phone call in it.

How long did shipping take?

REPLACE — your delivery time.

Where I got it

This is the exact listing I ordered from.

See the listing