Philosophy Hope in a Jar Review/Rant.

Feb 9, 2015

Ashli R.

Hey sweets!! Recently I picked up a travel size jar of Philosophy Hope in a Jar. I had read quite a few reviews on the product before purchasing it with my Ulta 20% of "practically" anything coupon. I have to say I had really high hopes for this product. Before I get into my review/rant let me give you a some insight on my skin type. I have extremely oily sensitive acne prone skin. The worst of all worlds in my opinion lol. Recently I have also been dealing with some pretty annoying cystic acne breakouts which I am attributing to my crazy hormones since I am only breaking out on my cheeks and chin area. Over the past year or so I have taken a holistic route to my skin care, which has improved the condition of my skin greatly, but occasionally I get a wild hair up my a$$ and I have to try some new moisturizer or cleanser. This usually leaves me perplexed and disappointed that I ever strayed from my regime. So lets get into this review shall we. I tried Hope in a Jar the night I got it, thinking it would probably be pretty thick and moisturizing AKA perfect for night time. Upon opening it I noticed that the consistency was much life a souffle, as I believe I had read that somewhere in my research before purchase. It was pretty light feeling between my fingers. Once I applied it to my face thats when I noticed that it became very greasy and made me quite shiny, and then it hit me. What was that smell? Was it plastic? Is it coming from my face? Inevitably it was my new moisturizer. So right off of the bat I wasn't to fond of its scent but smells really don't bother me personally and it seemed to fade over a little time. I woke up the next morning to find my face decently plump and hydrated feeling. I did notice a few bumps appearing on my cheeks but I figured that this was pretty normal behavior for my skin as off late. So I decided to give the Hope in a Jar a day time test run. Per my usual morning routine I cleansed and toned my face and applied my new moisturizer. Again the souffle type texture left my face very greasy but I decided to just roll with it anyway. I noticed that through out the entire day my face remained with the appearance of an oil slick. I definitely remember being at the gym on a stretching mat and leaning my face down to the mat to perform a good stretch and when I lifted my face from the mat there was a large oily spot where my face had been. Uggghhhhh I am not even going to sugar coat this I was thoroughly disgusted by my faces' behavior and could only attribute it to my moisturizer. None the less I continued applying it for the next few days during the week. So around day two or three is when I started noticing that I was waking up with severely irritated angry red like I'm talking super painful and pissed off cystic acne. Granted these were on my cheeks and chin where I have been getting acne more recently, but these things were crazy big crazy painful like nothing I have ever had before. I was really put off thinking that this could be from my new Hope in a Jar. Over the weekend I discontinued the use of Hope in a Jar and resumed my regular routine and I can safely say my skin is getting back to normal again today. I was wondering if perhaps any of you had a similar experience with this product? I'm very curious. Thank for letting me rant ladies. I really wanted to get my feelings about this off of my chest and I hope maybe it will be hopeful to someone. Have a great day sweets!

Feb 9, 2015

Raylene I.

Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry about this whole ordeal! First off I'd be upset that I wasted my 20% off coupon for a piece of crap product that second of all fussed my face up with cystic acne which I do have and it sucks! And third of all made me leave a grease print on a mat in a public place.. Ugh I'm sooo sorry! Sadly I have no help to offer except that I'm glad returning to your old routine helped clear this all up.

Feb 9, 2015

Ashli R.

Aww thank you so much love. I'm returning that crap I swear!! I am super ticked I wasted my coupon but I think I will find some solace in returning it.

Feb 9, 2015

Ashli R.

You guys are to sweet. You make me feel so much better. I was venting to my fiancé and he just really doesn't understand how aggravating it is I suppose since his skin is nearly flawless

Feb 9, 2015

Raylene I.

That's guys though. My husband NEVER gets it haha and I know! I'm soo jealous of my husbands skin it's like amazing!! It's soo unfair! Lol.

Feb 9, 2015

CPT- Lili R.

There was no hope in that jar lol sorry you had to go through this and wasted your coupon on his crap, good thing is you can get your money back so its not a complete loss.

Feb 9, 2015

Shelley W.

Awww so bummed you had such a nasty reaction to this cream. This cream was my gateway into the line and I loved it and despite it containing lavender it didn't cause my skin grief. I do know that I didn't use it during the daytime though because of the finish after application. Glad to hear that your skin was able to bounce back after all that. I tried reintroducing this particular cream back into my program a couple of months ago and my menopausal skin drank it completely up. My skin was feeling tight and parched 3 hours later. Feel free to vent away Ashli. xxx

Feb 9, 2015

Winnie B.

I also had this at home and am using it today. I am sorry it didn't work for you! I have dry to normal skin, and it lays well into my skin (it's especially dry now because do the weather!) I do complain though that it does NOT sit well with my SPF, it causes a ball up reaction which I hate!

Feb 9, 2015

Angela J.

I have the same issue with several Philosophy products so I don't chance using anything from that company any more. The purity made simple cleanser left me with several cysts and I ended up going to a derm who told me it was very likely a particular preservative they use that is a known irritant. I forgot the name of it but it's a formaldehyde releaser of some sort. It's really too bad bc I had really high hopes for thier products as so many people swear by them:(

Feb 9, 2015

Riff W.

Wow, I have the same type of skin and I use it twice a day but this has never happened to me! But hey, different people's skin react differently. I'm sorry it didn't work for you, I really like it and it is very expensive as well. Although I do have to admit, the smell is pretty bad. Sorry you had such a bad experience! :(

Feb 9, 2015

Ashli R.

You ladies are the greatest. It makes me feel less alone in this crazy makeup/skincare life of mine. I had super high hopes for this cream!! You guys have no idea how disheartening it was to see my skins reaction. I was going to document with pictures but I was so embarrassed by the crazy cysts on my face that I almost stayed home from the gym. Almost. The true gym rat in me made me go lol.

Feb 9, 2015

Kelly V.

That sucks!! I've had that reaction before to a moisturizer as well. I started getting huge zits on my cheeks and my face became an oil slick after 3 days of use so I feel your pain. I quite like hope in a jar though. I also have oily, sensitive and acne prone skin. although I'm still figuring my skin out, I start out dry but as the day goes on I get oily. I found hope in a jar to be a good day time moisturizer for me, and not quite heavy enough for night time. I tend to stick to face oils though and reach for hope in a jar as my summer moisturizer.

Feb 10, 2015

Marleen B.

A lot of people like this moisterizer. I heard Oprah loves it. Although I couldnt get past the smell. The strong smell of lavender was not only annoying, but it was making my eyes water and I did not use it around my eyes. I wanted to like it because it felt good on my skin. But at the time I tried it I had combination skin, no acne. I returned it the next day. Btw, just because lavender is a natural ingredient, doesn't mean it can't irriate your skin. I have been reading how lavender can actually be harming your skin.

Feb 10, 2015

Ashli R.

Oh man @Marleen. The smell was super over powering at first but I'm not super sensitive to smells. I'm currently using some tea tree oil and some neem oil at night both of which are crazy smelling hahaha. I was pretty disappointed honestly. I had heard great things about it as well. I should have known better to tell you the truth. My skin is just super sensitive...its pretty ridiculous and annoying...

Feb 10, 2015

Traci L.

That sucks I like miracle worker much better than hope in a jar and those creams are really night creams that's why they are thicker and more heavy , you never no what your skin will like or hate it all trail and error

Feb 10, 2015

Maggie F.

Sorry you had a back experience! I have skin that is naturally oily and acne-prone as well. You should definitely make sure ALL products that you use are non-comedogenic or non-acnegenic. I also prefer that they be oil-free. This was recommended by dermatologists I've seen over like 20 years for acne. It has gotten harder to meet this requirement now that I'm older as a lot of anti-aging stuff doesn't indicate that. I know I'm playing with fire though if I don't. I definitely won't try this since you had this experience as I'm sure I would also have that reaction. Now I'm just trying Retin A, Cetaphil moisture cream (different than moisturizer, way heavier but so much more effective and non-comedogenic) and some products by Vi Derm (they have one product with retinol, salicylic acid, Vit c, azeloic acid, etc). I try to focus on products that treat acne and aging.

Feb 10, 2015

Ashli R.

I'm back to using my cerave moisturizer and my face is almost...almost back to normal.

Feb 12, 2015

Marleen B.

@Ashli, Glad your skin is better. Maybe if you venture out again with something new,.you should do a patch test first. Maybe on an area on your face where if something did pop up, it wouldn't look so bad. Lik on one side of your forehead near the hairline or near the sideburn area.