little white truths

You may have heard me mention that I bought a truckload of Antipodes products in the Priceline skincare sale back in January. It's something I'd wanted to do for ages, and I made sure to get there early so I could buy a good chunk of the available range before it sold out.

Slowly I've been introducing and reviewing each item in turn: next up is this Hosanna serum.

Long story short, it's not terrible but I don't recommend it and I wouldn't buy it again.

I won't bore you with all my review links for Antipodes products but I will give you those for my two favourites to date, these being the Avocado Pear Night Cream (reviewed here) and the Chia & Kiwi Seed Serum (reviewed here).

I also really enjoyed the eye cream (reviewed here) and it's one of the better eye creams I've tried.

Antipodes claims/product details:

• A water-charged serum that immediately plumps thirsty skin while helping to intensively improve your skin's appearance over time
• An oil-free bioactive organic serum that delivers pure hydration to skin cells
• Contains vinanza grape, an antioxidant that helps protect and build resistance to damage caused by environmental aggressors and pollutants
• Extract of mamaku black fern helps foster cell renewal, to encourage plump, healthy and youthful skin
• Its plumping action supports collagen production; independent scientific investigations show impressive results: Hosanna significantly stimulates synthesis of Type I collagen in human fibroblast skin cells by up to 72%
• Pure plant fragrance: rose and cardamon
• Suited to all skin conditions, especially water-deprived
• Use daily for immediate hydration and the best long-term results
• RRP $49 AUD for 30ml, but do shop around

Verdict

I don't love this product but it's not terrible and I have similar feelings about this one as I did the Antipodes Apostle Serum (reviewed here): basically, it's passable but it doesn't do much.

It's a thin, watery product that's super lightweight - so if you prefer thinner serums like I do, this might appeal. It's orange-brown in colour and it indeed smells of rose and cardamon, but the scent isn't strong and I'm pleased about this because I'm not big on either of those scents.

What's good about this product is that it spreads well and absorbs instantly, given how thin it is, so I have no concerns that it's coating my skin or interfering with my moisturiser's ability to absorb. This is how I like my serums so that's a plus.

Unfortunately, though, that's the only thing I like about it.

I've been using this at least once a day - often twice - for around three months now, and I think that if it were going to offer any cumulative benefits over time, it would have done so by now. So it's safe to say that this hasn't done anything for my skin. 

Also, what bothers me most about this serum is that it's not hydrating in the slightest, so my skin always feels dry after use and I've needed to use an oil in the morning to combat the problem. I normally only use oils at night, so that's telling you something.

Oh, and the plumping? No, no. No plumping for me in sight.

Also, reading through the product claims has annoyed me a little. Here's why: no it doesn't 'immediately plump thirsty skin'; no it hasn't been hydrating in the slightest, nor does it make my skin look healthy or more youthful; no it hasn't improved my skin's appearance over time; and no I personally don't think it's suited to 'water-deprived' skin.

I can say this because my skin is dry and dehydrated so I need hydration and nourishment more than anything, and I could definitely do with some plumping action because I'm 37 so I have fine lines that I'd hoped this serum would target - at least temporarily - but it has not.

Also worth noting is that I've read some online reviews of this product and plenty of people have said that it's not plumping or hydrating at all (and it leaves their skin feeling tight), and some of those reviews are from people with normal or oily-combination skin - so you can imagine that it's definitely not a good one if your skin is dehydrated and dry!

Overall I don't like this product and I don't recommend it. Still, it has been a good 'carrier' product for the lactic acid I've just introduced from The Ordinary (I'm bringing that in slowly by adding a drop to this Antipodes serum on alternate evenings), so at least there's a use for a plain, doesn't-do-anything serum like this.

Doesn't hit the mark.