I know Hope in a Jar by Philosophy is a popular moisturizer but I still wanted to do my own review. I like having my reviews documented in one place so I can have an organized set of my opinions on products I've tried.
Now that I told you that pointlessness, let's move on to the review...
I bought the special edition Hope that Oprah gave away as one of her most favorite things. So this one's box has a little Oprah on it:
Hope says that it's for all skin types. I have oily, acne-prone skin and this moisturizer works well for me. It's not oily or heavy and it doesn't clog pores--I didn't have a single problem with any new breakouts from using this product.
The back label boasts these points (and I've made some notes on each):
Contains the ester of lactic acid for exfoliation to help promote smooth, healthy skin
I use a glycolic acid exfoliator right now and so that definitely out-performs Hope on that note, so the additional exfoliation benefits of this moisturizer kind of go unnoticed to me. I can't make a solid comment about just how much exfoliation you get from this.
Contains beta-glucan to help give your skin a healthy, rosy glow
I'm not sure that I have a rosy glow but I would definitely agree that my skin looks less dull since I've started using Hope.
High-performance moisturizer with antioxidants to help protect against environmental attack
No comment here.
Results may be seen within a few days
It didn't take long for me to see the positive changes (which I go into below...), I would agree that a few days will give you enough time to see the benefits.
It's super light and creamy. When I first tried it, I hated the smell. It's a really subtle smell but it's there. However, I think I've come to associate the smell with being clean and well-moisturized and so now I'm digging it. Weird how that works... I wouldn't be put off by the smell (if you were to test it out in the store before buying) because I got used to it and it doesn't linger anyway.
Putting this moisturizer on feels so light it's as if you were spreading water on your skin--that's a HUGE reason why I love this moisturizer. I thought my previous simple moisturizer (Johnson & Johnson Purpose moisturizer) was light but once I started using this, it made my old moisturizer feel heavy!
As far as moisturizing goes, it does the job for me for sure. Even though I'm oily, I will occasionally experience dry, flaky skin and this took care of that almost in one go.
When I first started using this product, I had a period of dry, flaky skin due to a different product I'd been using and to remedy that, I just used a little more Hope than I normally would on the flaky area and my skin balanced back out after a day or two and I haven't had a problem with flakiness since.
Another great benefit from this product was how it reduced my skin's shininess. Usually once I have my makeup on, I need several touch-ups during the day but I only need 1 or maybe 2 with this moisturizer. My cheeks on either side of my nose are prone to getting oily and shiny throughout the day and Hope has totally changed my oil output and I adore it for that! Nothing worse than looking like a slick, hot mess in your makeup. Yuck.
The jars come in 2, 4 and 8oz. This jar I have is a 4 ouncer and it's tons of product because you don't need a lot of this moisturizer. A thin layer keeps my skin well moisturized all day.
Rating: 4/5
