I have another skincare review since in September I finished up all of my skincare and rather than buying more (due to No-Buy), I finally cracked open a bunch of products in my stash. The Mandom Barrier Repair Concentrate Serum is a product that I had read many online rave reviews and had been keen on trying it out for myself. I purchased this in December 2014 from Sasa.com, at $16 for 60g.
The bottle comes in a clam-shell packaging that thankfully did not require bolt-cutters to open. The baby on the packaging kind of freaks me out.
This product is made in Japan and for distribution outside Japan, they slapped on this English label with instructions and warnings. The key ingredient in this serum is my HG hydrating ingredient: hyaluronic acid. It’s to the point now that I refuse to buy serums that claim to be hydrating without hyaluronic acid in the ingredient list (preferably in the top ingredients – this serum lists it sixth).
I’ll cut to the chase: this serum is AMAZING. It absorbs in easily, leaves no sticky film, and keeps my skin supple through the whole day. I’m quite enamoured by it. A couple of pumps covers my whole face – I apply this after my toner, and let it absorb into my skin (about 5 mins) and then apply my face lotion on top. The serum is milky with a gel consistency and no fragrance. I’ve found it to work well under all kinds of foundations. The ingredients are all generally rated well on Cosdna.
So having said all that… I just found out that this serum is discontinued! 😦 Apparently it happened toward the end of 2014 – I must have just bought it as it was being phased out. How disappointing and baffling. RANT: Why do companies pull this crap? This serum was no doubt Mandom’s best seller – did they decide they didn’t want to be in business anymore? This reminds me of the time when Sofina discontinued their most popular item, the Perfect UV Lucent SPF50+ PA+++ sunscreen. That sunscreen was my introduction to the Sofina brand, as I’m sure was the case for many others. Since then, I’ve never bought another product from Sofina again. And the same will happen with Mandom. Their website only lists sheet masks now. I guess it’s more lucrative to sell sheet masks soaked in the serum than selling the serum itself? HUGE head scratching on this one. RANT OVER!
Pros:
• provides effective lasting hydration
• fragrance-free
• inexpensive
• practical packaging
Cons:
• no effing longer available 😥
Stash worthniess: 9/10
Has anyone tried the Mandom Barrier Repair Concentrate Serum? Can anyone recommend a good serum containing hyaluronic acid?
stash matters 
The baby IS pretty creepy, haha! That sucks that you found a perfect serum for you only to have it be discontinued!
So far I’ve only tried hyaluronic serums from Paula’s Choice and Oz Naturals. I like both, but Oz Naturals is cheaper and the ingredient list is easier to understand.
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Both Oz and PC are on my hit list! I do really like this one serum from Neostrata but it’s a bit pricey at $38 for 30ml. I’m drawn to the PC one simply because it contains Ceramide but it’s USD $45 for 20ml! I go through serums pretty quickly – do you find that too?
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I’m pretty slow to use up most products, I think that a 1oz bottle of serum lasts me at least 3 months or more. I’ll have to try to keep track.
I am always amazed by people who post a load of empties each month – I always think to myself “are they eating the products?”.
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Brace yourself then, my bag of empties for this month is growing by the day! Don’t know how it happened! 😐
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I hate when companies does this 😦 At least you can enjoy this bottle !!! I’m with you about the baby on the packaging, kind of strange. 😬
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I’m looking online to see if I can find any left over bottles of this. If I see it, I’m buying it – it doesn’t count in my No-Buy! 🙂
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As I can see, you are on a mission !!!😄
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It sucks when something you love is no longer available. So sorry. 😦
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Thanks – I just hope I find something else!
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Ugh another discontinued lovely product?! What’s wrong with the world! I feel you. This only reminds me of my Clarins sunscreen. Still gotta search for its equal.
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We must gravitate toward items that will get discontinued. It’s just how we roll! 😛
Good luck with your search. I bet you will have luck with Asian brand sunscreens – they’re really lightweight and have good protection. Check out this site:
http://www.ratzillacosme.com/category/sun/
I really trust her reviews – that’s where I learned about this serum to begin with!
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Thanks! I will check out that link 🙂 Clarins was nice because it was lightweight and seemed to act like skincare + makeup where it smoothed out the look of my skin. It was a miracle sunscreen!
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Sound interesting! I’ve been seeing so many Asian skin care products recently I definitely want to give some of them a try.
Oh and the baby on the front is pretty creepy lol
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Oh you must try Asian skincare! They’re so advanced compared to North American ones – I really like how refined the texture is, and they put really high quality ingredients in them.
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I’ll definitely pick some up the next time I run out of skincare!
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What does the baby have to do with the product? Unless it claims to have a baby bottom softness to correlate? *shrugs*
I recently bought a serum, it’s on sale, organic so why not. But I did some research first so don’t worry. It brings me to telling this because I remember saying something to my sister that we have to stock up on this good stuff while it lasts because that how stashy does it. 😉
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Yes, I think something about making your skin as soft as a baby’s… Asian brands seem to like that!
Oh yes, you have to get back ups if you love something! It’s like an insurance policy. 🙂
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