product review: philosophy's makeup optional skincare kit

  One of the things I desperately wanted for xmas was a cohesive skincare regimen, so I asked for Philosophy's. This was mostly based on the marketing genius of something called Hope in a Jar, which Sephora lists as its best-selling moisturizer. I smoked for over a decade. I have concerns about my skin aging prematurely. So I requested that someone buy me the whole Makeup Optional skincare system. I began using it just as soon as I received it, so it's been over a week now.

My impressions, let me tell you them.

purity made simple

Ok, first off this facial cleanser smells awesome. The bottle makes a big deal about how the lovely smell is the result of the natural ingredients, not added perfumes. (The bottle also reveals that the cleanser contains Yellow No. 5 dye. Hm.) Despite it being gentle and smelling gorgeous, I am not a huge fan of this cleanser. It doesn't seem to do a very thorough job. On its own it might be ok, but combined with the greasy products that are to follow, well, I've had this one blemish since Boxing Day.

when hope is not enough

When I opened this little bottle of "firming serum", my first thought was that it had better work like the dickens to make up for the fact that it smells exactly like wet dog. Sadly, it does not appear to have any effect. I'm not even clear on what it's supposed to be firming. I can only state that my skin is not appreciably firmer. The only notable change is that I now smell like I've spent the morning bathing my pets.

hope in a jar

So this is the guy who's supposedly so popular with everyone in the entire world. I can't see why. I hate this stuff. It's thin and super greasy. My skin feels oily for a good four hours after I put it on. And despite being full of some sort of super-hydration, it stings my eyes something terrible. I frequently have to pause to cry, then blot my eyes, during the process of rubbing it on my cheeks. It doesn't make my skin look as bright as the Aveeno moisturizer I was using before. Either I'm ten years too young for this stuff, or everyone else who buys moisturizer from Sephora is totally high.

hope in a tube

This is firming goop for eyes and lips. Mysteriously, it doesn't smell nearly as bad as When Hope is Not Enough. It does seem to do a little something for my lips. They look slightly swollen and feel smoother after I apply it. It doesn't do anything for my eyes except make them shiny underneath and make it difficult to apply my eyeliner.

the microdelivery: in-home peel

You thought I was just going to hate on everything that came in this box. Not so. This vitamin C peel is freaking amazing. In the gift pack you get three envelopes each of the two steps the peel consists of. My experience was that each envelope contains enough for two doses, despite that they're billed as "single use". Which is great, because this product does something. My pores were, like, half as noticeable afterward and my skin generally felt really nice and smooth. Big fan, totally recommend.

philosophy's website

Yeek. Somebody needs to lay off the Flash. Slow as molasses due to too many dynamic widgets that could easily have been static HTML. Very frustrating.