Philosophy Hope in a Jar Review

I've always been really lucky to have trouble free skin. As a teenager I never had a spot, my skin was always glowing and I could use anything on it and it wouldn't react. When I hit my mid-20's though that all changed. Spots became more frequent and I was always trying out new blemish remedies. I'm sure by some standards my skin still looked great, but I'm a bit of a perfectionist and wanted totally clear skin again. Then last year I had a terrible break-out whilst using The Body Shop Tea-Tree Oil. Most of the lower part of my face (where I'm more prone to spots) had broken out in these rash-like bumps. They weren't big blemishes, but there were so many of them. It was a real knock to my confidence as makeup could cover the redness but not conceal the bumps.


I took lots of skincare advice and decided that what I needed was to simplify my whole routine. I needed to find the cause of the problem as well as getting my skin back to normal. So I had to go back to using products that I knew worked for me. I used No7 cleanser and toner but I've never really had a favourite moisturiser and often tried GWP sample sizes. I had been using Nivea Creme (in the blue tub) on occasion when my skin was playing up as well as using it as an eye cream, so I decided to just use this. It is a very rich cream though, so I needed to find a lighter one for daytime. I'd heard lots of good things about Philosophy Hope in a Jar and saw it was coming up on QVC, so took a (desperate) chance and ordered some of that.


I had expected it to be a really luxurious cream with comforting scent, so I was really surprised when I tried it. It has a strange consistency, it's really light and almost watery. It didn't feel like it was going to sink into my skin even although it wasn't 'sitting' on top of it either. The smell is very strange, I can't put my finger on it, not at all fragrant like I'd expected.

However, I must say I noticed results almost immediately. It didn't work miracles and clear my skin up in a day, but it did make the skin look plump and glowing. So I used this every morning, Nivea at night and Calamine Lotion on the rash areas. It took about a year for my skin to clear up and even now it's not totally back to 'normal'. Although I'll never touch Tea-Tree again, I can still break-out when I change moisturisers. Just last week, I ran out of Hope in a Jar and my skin has been playing up. I have been using a (very expensive) Lancome moisturiser during the day and Dior (also expensive) at night, as I feel Nivea is too heavy for the summer months. Luckily QVC is showing Philosophy today so I am definitely buying more Hope. It's quite expensive, but I realise that it works for my skin, so I have to use it. I usually buy the value set and get hooked on the other products in it too, but I'll tell you more about them in another post.



I have heard some people say that the scent of Hope is too much for them. I don't like it, but it isn't overpowering for me. Some also say that they felt the moisturiser was greasy or broke them out, but it's never done that to me. I guess each person has to try it for themselves, although I'm not keen on the texture or scent it just works wonders for me, so I'll keep using it. Let me know if you love it or hate it, by posting a comment below or emailing me.