I'm not sure that I can fairly review this product.
First of all, it was a sample container of Ole Henriksen's anti-aging truth creme that I got during my short-lived etsy subscription stint in 2013. (and I opted out of that after a year because it didn't offer a month-by-month opt out and resulted in a huge explosion of products that I had no idea how to get rid of... and am currently working on doing so) Which means by the time I used up that tiny container's worth of the product, it has been three years since I originally got the product. And God only knows if it was at all effective after that much time.
But it needed getting rid of, so I had to find a way to make it bite the dust in the end. So I used it, and now here it is.
The other problem I had also concerns the fact that that sample pack was in my possession for quite some time. Because when I went to Sephora back in February to replace the moisturizer in my skincare regime I discovered that the exact same creme (but in a retail container) was... very different than what I had in my sample container. The version I had from the start was a very, very watery formula, hardly a creme at all.
The retail equivalent that I found in 2016 was actually a creme. And also around $50 CDN for easily a hundred times the amount I got in the container I had.
So fair warning that your mileage may vary here. Because as far as I'm concerned, the sample I'm reviewing is nothing like the product I found in retail stores.
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS: (from the website) Aqua/Water/Eau, Glycerin, Squalane, Triheptanoin, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Candelilla/Jojoba/Rice Bran Polyglyceryl-3 Esters, Glyceryl Stearate, Cetyl Alcohol, Dimethicone, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-5, Ceramide 2, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Hydrolyzed Viola Tricolor Extract, Calcium Ascorbate, Rosa Canina Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Saccharum Officinarium (Sugar Cane) Extract, Acer Saccharinum (Sugar Maple) Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Soybean Sterols, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Seed Extract, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Extract, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Bisabolol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Trehalose, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Vaccinium Myrtillus Extract, Sorbitol, Xanthan Gum, Potato Starch Modified, Sodium Phytate, Potassium Sorbate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Parfum/Fragrance
Given my concerns voiced in my introduction to this product, my standard disclaimer most certainly applies here.I don't know the exact ingredients of my version of this product because I didn't keep the box it came in and the container didn't disclose it's contents. So the ingredients above are from its current iteration found on the website.
The ingredients list for this product is massive. And very overwhelming for someone like me who generally best gauges her products by how my skin feels and reacts to it rather than reading and breaking down the ingredients in it. (Thankfully, no major skin allergies here in which knowing ingredients would make the above more necessary for me) But a cursory glance will quickly tell you that natural oils and ingredients seems to be a big thing in this product. Particularly when various natural oils rank above alcohols.
And reassuringly, fragrance measures in last in the ingredients list.
PACKAGING, APPLICATION & USE
INSTRUCTIONS: Apply evenly to face and neck AM and PM. Warning: For external use only. Avoid contact with eyes. If contact occurs, rinse eyes thoroughly. Keep out of reach of children. Keep in a cool dry place.
So clearly, I really didn't follow these instructions on best uses given that I had what should have been a month's worth of this product (if it was used as instructed) for three years. Mostly because I never quite figured out or developed a means in which to regularly use it in my life. I primarily use an SPF lotion during the day and I used to go bare minimum with a clean face at night up until this year. Which was basically when I worked it into a routine of use once every few days.
The fact that it had a warning attached to it about eye contact though is a bit alarming.
As for the cool dry place instruction? I really didn't follow it as well as I should have. Because in trying to find a regular use for it, I once stuck it in my travel make-up pouch and carried it in my bag for an extended period of time during the summer in the hopes of using it as a moisturizing touch up.
And say what you will about Canada, nothing that goes out of doors during the summer can be considered 'cool'.
Which segues well to the packaging. Because... well... I was quick to find out eventually that the packaging was not made for being bounced around in a make-up bag. Because no matter how tight I screwed it, the lid unscrewed itself absurdly easily. And given how watery the formula was by this time, it leaked onto everything in a bad way. I must have easily lost half of the product in that one event. And it stayed in my bedroom ever since.
As for application, well, it was watery by the time I chose to pay any regular attention to it. And not just a kind of creme that didn't hold its consistency. No, it was about as runny as water with a similar consistency. Like putting an actual wet oil on your face, except it had a milky colour to it.
It didn't seem to be bad for my skin however. (thank goodness I guess?) And as a result of its thin consistency, it was easy to spread about the face with minimal product used and it seemed to dry quickly, but not in a way that it dried my skin out either. I mean, it felt moisturizing and hydrating, so that's a plus, although I couldn't tell you if it was any good at the whole anti-aging thing either.
But by then, I couldn't even tell you what it was that I was precisely using, because it definitely wasn't the version I found in stores later.
With that said, I did consider giving the retail version of this product a go when I was perusing the moisturizers at Sephora. I liked the idea behind what it does and skin hydration has always been an issue for me day and night. And the ingredients list proved to be very encouraging as far as the natural ingredients that you more or less put on your face.
It's probably a better product than what I ended up with, particularly as far as packaging goes. But I did ultimately make a decision to go to a different brand as a replacement moisturizer to my new skincare routine in order to broaden my horizon and also getting to know my skin a little better as a whole.
But don't be surprised if I end up revisiting this exact brand at some point. And with a better eye on how to handle the product perhaps.
This product placement was not sponsored by either Ole Henriksen or etsy. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review is my own.
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