Ours 24HR Face Cream

With this review, I’m almost done testing out the items in my Spark Sessions swag bag. I received my full-sized bottle of Ours by Cheryl Hickey 24HR Face Cream in my bag because Cheryl was one of the keynote speakers at the conference. While she’s best known as the host of ET Canada, Cheryl is now also in the beauty game with the launch of her Ours label.

She released the brand because, “…of a need in the market for a more simple, healthy and safer products.” Says the site, “We only include natural, and simple ingredients that have been used for centuries, making sure they exclude harsh chemicals and toxins.” Every product in the brand is designed to be used by the whole family, “from babies, to children and even to mom and dad.”

That angle is smart and different but the rest isn’t particularly novel or even accurate. The lotion I received definitely contains ingredients that haven’t been used for centuries (propanediol for example) but personally, I don’t care how long we’ve been using an ingredient for as long as it works and with glycerine as the second ingredient (after water), things look promising.

Of course, glycerine isn’t a very natural-sounding ingredient so instead the focus is on how this lotion contains, “Prickly Pear Extract to soothe and hydrate. Rose Oil to repair and protect.” It’s also, “Free of: Silicones, parabens, phthalates, fragrance, dyes, formaldehyde, PEG, petrochemical, most common allergens, cruelty.” This combination, according to Ours, creates a production that “…is perfect for all skin types” and “Safe to use on kids and hydrating enough for mom and dad, this gentle cream will help to hydrate skin all day long leaving it silky and dewy.

While I wouldn’t say that this product left my skin “silky” or “dewy” (which I actually wouldn’t want), it did leave it soft and hydrated under normal circumstances. However, when less-than-ideal-circumstances popped up, like when I had to apply benzoyl peroxide to fight a blemish, this cream just didn’t have what was needed to fight dry spots.

I completely agree that this is a “gentle” moisturizer; maybe too gentle for my skin. I want, and sometimes need, something richer and packing more anti-aging ingredients. But obviously those qualities aren’t suitable for an all-ages product. What is suitable is a lightweight formula that absorbs quickly and with no trance, which is exactly what this product does.

As the name suggests, this cream is meant to provide moisture for 24 hours. Sometimes I found this to be true but other times, like when the air was drier or I’d just done a thorough manual extraction on my skin, the hydration just didn’t last. I suspect that the 24-hour angle, as well as the desire to make this product suitable for all ages, is why there is no sun protection in this cream. While I get this, I’m not a fan of day creams that include a broad spectrum SPF.

The packaging for this product isn’t fancy but it works and it’s a pump bottle, something all creams should be since keeping air and fingers out of direct contact of the product helps to preserve it. This simple, but effective, packaging also helps to keep the price at a very reasonable $14,99.

Would I buy this product: No as I don’t use day creams that don’t contain SPF and this product just isn’t rich for me to use as a night cream.

Should you buy this product: If you have normal skin and aren’t worried about fine lines, blemishes, oil, dry patches or anything like that then I can see this product working as a night cream. And if you promise to always combine it with an SPF before you wear it out during the day, then yeah, it could also do double-duty as a day cream.