Hope Against Hope

Somehow or other, I managed to get a deluxe sample of Philosophy's Hope in a Jar moisturizer. Offer code, point perk, something. It was a big sample, and I used it as my nighttime moisturizer for about two months.

Doing skincare reviews is always hard, because you have to use the product for awhile, and even then, you’re not really sure what the long term effects are, because everything is so subtle. I mean, I’m not really expecting a miracle in a jar, although this particular moisturizer is called Hope In A Jar, so you would think, maybe? But I didn’t really have my hopes up. Philosophy has another one called Miracle Worker, which is a pretty bold statement, and I’ve tried that too, but not extensively enough to comment on.

Hope, however, I can talk about. Finally.

Aside from moisturizing, duh, this stuff is supposed to reduce wrinkles and discoloration. I kind of feel like two months of daily use should be enough to see some kind of change, but personally, I did not. It did a nice job of moisturizing though, and it didn’t clog up my pores at all. This product is allegedly a “cult-favorite” though I wouldn’t say I am part of that cult. (I might be president-queen-lady of the Dr. Jart+ BB Cream cult though.)

What’s great about Philosophy is that the packaging is really simple, and they don’t have a ton of terrible chemicals in their products. This one is 99.9% oil free, and doesn’t have any sulfates, synthetic fragrances, dyes, phthalates, GMOs or Triclosan.

About that fragrance thing though: This stuff smells weird. It didn’t necessarily smell bad, it was just unpleasant enough to annoy me every time I applied it. It smelled in the way unscented things sometimes smell, which is kind of hard to describe, but is the reason I don’t buy unscented dryer sheets. I was sort of relieved when the jar was empty, but I couldn’t throw it away before then because as a moisturizer it was good.

This is probably the kind of thing for people who are sensitive to certain chemicals and don’t mind dealing with a slightly weird smell if the product doesn’t set their face on fire. The nice thing is, it’s offered in four different sizes, the smallest of which is .5 oz for $15. (Note that .5oz is SMALL.) Of course, you can always get a tiny sample in the store for free. You should definitely smell it first, which is probably a good rule for pretty much anything you’re ever considering taking home.