I wanna open this post with two distinct truths. The first is that, with one exception, my skin has absolutely loved every peptide product that I've tried. Seriously, for about the past 4 years I've had a bit of an obsession with products containing various peptides, I wanna catch 'em all, but.... The second truth is that products containing peptides tend to be expensive. Why? Because peptides are definitely a higher cost cosmetic ingredients, which is of course why we do tend to see them in higher end skin care products. It's because of both of these truths that I get excited to try out lower cost options that contain peptides and why I basically stalked my local Shoppers Drug Mart to get my hands on The Inkey List Hepta-Peptide Serum. Because the world has been weird, I've gotten a little bit behind on my reviews, so I've actually completely used up this bottle at this point and definitely have thoughts on the product. 

Keep reading for more!

The last time I reviewed a product from The Inkey List, my biggest complaint was definitely about the packaging, so I was really, really excited that this product came in a pump bottle. Personally, I just prefer a pump style packaging because it tends to be the most hygienic and the most protective of the ingredients from environmental things that can degrade them. I also think that this is a pretty solid pump in that it pumps out an appropriate amount of product really smoothly - which should be a given with pumps, but in my experience is not. Two thumbs up for the packaging.

When it comes to the formula of this, it's quite a thick cream and I actually find that if I apply this to dry skin it can end up being a little bit difficult to spread. In testing this, I've remedied that by applying it immediately after a toner, essence, or other serum that has some slip to it so that this spreads a little bit more easily and I don't have to tug on my skin to get a smooth application. One of the bonuses of this products - and probably my favorite thing about it - is that the texture of it really, really has an immediate smoothing effect to the skin. Ultimately, after a couple of weeks of testing, this became a morning skin care product for me because it really did give me a great base for my makeup. 

The reason that I've always, always, always found with peptide products in the past and ultimately the reason that I've been so obsessed with them is that I've always seen really quick and consistent results with the look of my skin when I use them. I've had products in the past that I've consistently reached for when I specifically needed a boost to my skin or was in need of a good skin day. Unfortunately, beyond those immediate smoothing effects, this formula just didn't give me those kinds of results. In fact, I really saw no discernable difference in the look or behavior of my skin while I was using this, which did definitely make it a bit of a letdown for me overall. 

I have to say, overall this just isn't a product that lived up to what I was hoping. Now, if you're looking for a morning skin care product to really smooth out the look of your skin and possibly have some subtle, long term benefits, this could absolutely be an affordable option - in fact, I would personally recommend it as a primer type of product that's probably more affordable than a lot of other options. For me, though, this just doesn't live up to what I was hoping and isn't something that I'm likely to repurchase. 

I don't want my review of this particular product to give you the impression that I don't like the brand - I do and I definitely plan on reviewing more products in the future, this just isn't one that I would personally put my stamp on. The Inkey List products are available in Canada at Shoppers Drug Mart.