Where to purchase: Available on Yesstyle HERE
You can use my discount code: CVQFZA to receive % off.
Price: £17.97
Made in: Japan
Volume: 170ml
What is it?: A Premium version of the regular Hada Labo Gokujun lotion (Review HERE) – this contains more HA forms (5 to be exact) which is NOT the same as the Niod MMHC which contains 15 compounds of HA (Review HERE)
Note: I have reviewed the Hada LaboGokujun LIGHT HERE
Description: A Hydrating Premium Lotion to lock in hydration and combat dry skin. This ”gently wraps and retains moisture in the skin.” This is ”pH balanced and contains no fragrance, alcohol or colourants.”
Good for: it’s stated to be good for dry, dehydrated skins. (I think because this is quite thick, meaning Oily skins or those who live in hot humid weathers might find this too heavy). Personally, I don’t find this too heavy (once it has absorbed) even if it’s thick because to me, this seems to almost disappear into the skin. It’s not sticky and doesn’t make my skin feel like it’s suffocating. If you tolerate the dear Klair’s Supple Preparation toner’s texture (review HERE), then you would find this suitable for your skin.
Packaging: Plastic Tube with a cap. (The good thing about the Hada labo Lotions is that you can buy refillable pouches instead of repurchasing the tubs).
Directions: ”Use in the morning and at night on cleansed skin. Dispense a few drops of the lotion into your palm, warm up between your hands. Gently pat onto your face and neck until thoroughly absorbed. Repeat if required. Can also be mixed in with your serum or moisturiser to add an extra boost of hydration for your skin. Follow on with your serum and moisturiser. Always apply a sunscreen in the morning.” – NOTE: I like these instructions a lot. It shows what a versatile product this is.
How I use it: I apply this straight after cleansing – I saturate a cotton pad with this (quite thick) product and then swipe my face to remove excess dirt/grime before moving on to my next step. SOMETIMES if I want to use this like an HA serum, I will swipe my face with a cotton pad, let it dry, and then add a second layer with my hands and massage in (doesn’t take long to dry). I can use this both AM and PM but find myself using this more in the PM (and I’m wondering if subconsciously I do this due to the thickness of the product).
Key Ingredients: Urea (extra moisturisation). And contains 5 types of HAs – Hyaluronic Acid (forms a layer on the skin’s surface to reduce moisture loss), Super HA (apparently has 2x the moisture retention of HA? To ‘super-hydrate’ the skin). Nano HA – this is a small sized HA so it can penetrate deeper into the skin to provide moisture. Absorbent HA – allows HA to stay longer on the skin due to a ‘strong holding feature’, supposedly even after one works out or showers… and 3D HA – this is closely bound HA that forms a net around the skin to provide ‘superior’ moisture retention.
Full Ingredients: Water, BG, hydroxyethyl urea, PPG-10 methyl glucose, diglycerin, acetyl hyaluronic acid Na (super hyaluronic acid), hyaluronic acid Na,
hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid (nanoized hyaluronic acid), hyaluronic acid hydroxypropyltrimonium (skin Adsorption-type hyaluronic acid),
hyaluronic acid crosspolymer Na (3D hyaluronic acid), suizendinori polysaccharide (sakuran), hydrolyzed hydrogenated starch, glycosyl
trehalose, sorbitol, pentylene glycol, triethyl citrate, carbomer, polyquaternium-51, PEG -32, PEG-75, acrylate ammonium copolymer, EDTA-
2Na, hydroxide K, diethoxyethyl succinate, succinic acid 2Na, succinic acid, phenoxyethanol, methyl paraben
NOTE: The Incidecoder have a full ingredient list breakdown HERE
Texture: Very similar to the Dear Klairs Supple Preparation Toner (Review HERE). It’s thick (not like a watery toner but very much like a serum to me). It does spread and absorb well though, I’m not left with this hanging about on my skin waiting for ages to get it to absorbs. And it does look like water once it’s spread out. There’s no stickiness or tackiness to it which is surprising. I did think that this would ball up/pill under the other layers of skincare but no – it sits comfortably under layers. My skin doesn’t feel like it’s suffocating either. But I can still understand why this would be geared more towards dry skins as I’m not sure how one would feel using this in HOT and HUMID weather compared to the Hada Labo Light Lotion (Review HERE).
Clear liquid as you can see. Initially comes out looking like it may be thick however…
This does still run down the hand, but not as loosely as water would. I also don’t really get a scent other than a subtle hint of the ingredients.
Do you see it sort of looks like water on the skin once spread out.
Further trying to delineate the watery-ness of the product. It spreads out easily and it does absorb well. It doesn’t remain like this on the skin for very long.
Youtube Video – If you would like to see a live texture shot of this product, I show a swatch here in my Night Time Routine Video!
Fragrance?: No Fragrance or Essential Oils 🙂
Good Under Makeup?: Yes this seems to be fine (unlike the regular Gokujyun Lotion – Review HERE)
How long have I been using this?: For about a month
The Effect?: Hydrated skin! No irritation.
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What I like:
- No irritation
- No essential oils
- No Fragrance
- Layerable
- Hydrating
- I like that it has >1 form of HA (more penetration and therefore hydration)
- I’m impressed that although this is thick (same texture as the Dear Klairs Toner which I’m not a fan of, review HERE), this product doesn’t ball up or pill on me and it doesn’t feel suffocating.
- Get a lot of ml for the £
What I don’t like:
- Because I use toners mainly to saturate a cotton pad and swipe my face to remove dirt/oil/grime – the texture of this product (thick and gloopy) means that it’s messy/difficult to control and saturate a pad with the product to swipe on my face. so that’s why it’s quite hard to use this as a toner and not opt to use this like a serum/essence. I think i prefer my toners to be watery so that I can swipe my face with a pad, but it doesn’t make this product bad, it’s just I would prefer to use it in the step just after a toner or even AFTER applying my Argeriline solution which I usually put on straight after cleansing. So basically this isn’t a great toner FOR the purpose that I use a toner purposefully (swiping with a cotton pad) BUT this is a good, hydrating product if you just want to use your fingers and massage/tap this in.
Overall Rating and Conclusion: 4/5 – Not the best toner (I mean, it’s not easy to use (can be messy and gloopy) if using a cotton pad with this product), but a good hydrating HA serum that doesn’t ball up. It decently hydrates the skin and is layerable if one requires more. Is this for oily skins? I think those in hot and humid climates may not enjoy this as much as dry skin and those in dry weather. Personally I would like to use this as an HA serum and so first use something extremely lightweight and watery to swipe my face with like the Muji toner (Review HERE) and then go in with this, dabbing and patting into my face before moving on to an active, or even in the AM just double-layering with this for extra hydration before putting my sunblock on.
Would I repurchase?: Yes I would – not as a toner, but as an HA serum I would. I’m surprised by the absorbance, the spreadability and that it is not fragranced/contains alcohol. This is layerable so if I don’t feel like 1 layer does enough for me, I can apply 2 without worrying that this will ball up.
Compared to the Niod MMHC: The MMHC contains more forms of HA (15 compounds of HA) and it is extremely light and watery compared to the texture of this product. I could not say they are the same or substitutes for eachother. I would say that those who want thicker texture would prefer this premium hada labo lotion and ALSO the MMHC is a serum whereas this lotion can be used like a toner and I use it (currently) like a toner although I would prefer to use this as a serum/essence like I do the MMHC, so that should also be taken into consideration. HOWEVER I would say since the MMHC is so expensive, opting for this instead, it isn’t a bad secondary option at all! And you get a lot of ml for your £, but note that they are not the same product ingredients-wise.
Ranking the Gokujun Lotions: I would say This premium lotion and the Gokujun Lotion (Light) are my favourites so far from the lotion line. I have also tried the regular gokujun lotion (balls up on me) and the Arbutin Lotion (didn’t notice a difference) and also the Rohto Melano CC lotion (way too much fragrance).
My Skin Type: I am acne prone and have combo skin. My skin is usually tight where the cheeks and eye area is and the outer parts of my face. My T zone is oily. My skin isn’t a fan of thick/heavy formulas so I opt for lightweight formulas to prevent it from clogging up. My skin doesn’t like essential oils either and I try to avoid fragrance when I can.
Disclaimer: I am a skincare enthusiast and not a skin expert. I am not qualified to give out dermatological advice. This type of advice should only be given by a medical practitioner. Upon trying / using any of the reviewed products on the blog, please follow the manufacturer’s instructions and warnings and please seek medical advice if needed.
My Skincare Regime 
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