Reply
Occasional Contributor
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎07-01-2011

Does anyone know what the shelf life is for Hope in a Jar? I had some that I forgot I had (duh) & when I opened it it was real watery & smelly. I had to throw it out. What a waste of $100 bucks!! I wanted to order the TVS coming up but just ordered a jar so am not sure if the TVS will last on the shelf until I use up what I just bought. Any help would be appreciated. Do any of the Philosophy employees answer on this forum? This is my first post so I"m not sure. Thanks for your help.

Super Contributor
Posts: 282
Registered: ‎11-25-2010

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

I won't buy the large 8 oz jar anymore. I used mine every day and I started to see a separation that produced a liquid on top of the cream at the 6 month mark. There was no odor, but the cream was not as "fluffy" as it was when I first opened the jar. The 8 oz jar is sold as an 8 month supply so it should last at least that long. However, I question the efficacy of a cream that is opened twice a day and exposed to the air. Also dipping your finger into the cream twice a day has got to do something to the product. I wish this was sold in an air tight pump.

Super Contributor
Posts: 325
Registered: ‎06-09-2014

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

I have a larger size jar of Dr. Denese cream and I worry about the constant opening of the jar. I use a spatula to scoop out what I need...that helps keep the product cleaner. Sorry you lost a whole jar of product.
Frequent Contributor
Posts: 147
Registered: ‎11-14-2011

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

Philosophy says its one year shelf life once it's been opened. Two years unopened (saw it on their Facebook a while back) I also had a bad jar and no longer buy the huge HIAJ
Honored Contributor
Posts: 16,060
Registered: ‎09-01-2010

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

Mine turned rancid within a year.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 20,466
Registered: ‎12-07-2012

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

I bought one super size Hope In A Jar years ago, and within a few months it separated, looked yucky, and I threw it out. Never again. They keep saying on air "we demand super sizes", do we? Or is it them convincing us???
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,731
Registered: ‎01-22-2012

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

Same here with Hope in a Jar: after about four months it went bad, watery, yellow, smelly. Sometimes you can use some skin care that separates on your legs or feet. Not HIJ, nothing but to toss the smelly stuff out.

Also had Dr. Denise Supersize Daycream w/melantonin go real bad with about 2/3 left. It got thick, muddy, separated. It didn't smell, but too crumbly to even use on feet. Tossed it.

This taught me to never buy supersizes. Hah! But I just bought the Supersize Super Smile. Smiley Happy

I think this will be safe (I hope).

Valued Contributor
Posts: 677
Registered: ‎06-10-2012

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

I often wonder about the two years after opened thing with the 8 oz jars of the moisturizer because they are not actually sealed. The little 2 oz. jars have a foil seal but the large jars just have that big plastic disc on top. I have an 8 oz. miracle worker moisturizer that seems to be fine so far though and it also just has that plastic disc (it's from the feb tsv or whenever that was). I think the makeup of mw is such that it doesn't separate the way hiaj does. I've never been able to get through an entire 8 oz. hiaj and have the product maintain its wonderful fluffy texture and not separate into that yellowish liquid, unfortunately.

I think I've read on this forum that some people have success with storing the jar in the fridge and/or refilling smaller jars from the big one so that the 8 ouncer only gets opened a few times a year instead of twice a day.

Occasional Contributor
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎07-01-2011

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

Thanks gals for your responses. I always buy the supersize but this is the first time I've had this happen. If it is supposed to have a 2 yr. shelf life unopened, then mine should have still been good. Putting it in a smaller jar & keeping the big jar in the fridge would be a good idea I think. Now, to find a smaller jar...........lol

Occasional Contributor
Posts: 9
Registered: ‎07-01-2011

Re: hope in a jar shelf life

By the way, I've used Miracle worker & had it sit opened in my drawer for over a year & it is still good. I've been alternating between mw & hiaj just to use up the mw (which is what I should be using but I love hiaj so much, can't stop using!!{#emotions_dlg.biggrin}