Kiehl’s Malaysia responds. Summary and personal observations are in this post. Additional update at end of this post. Final update as at 20 June 2017 – go here
UPDATE: I realised, while writing this post in June 2017, that the Kiehl’s Pure Vitality cream was impossible to source online. This was interesting, as I noticed that it had launched with a huge bang early in 2017 (January 2017) where members of the media were taken on a press trip to New Zealand, due to the manuka honey contained in the product. The local launch, I later saw, was just as impressive (I was not invited and did not know about this cream till it was available). It has been less than 6 months since the product was heralded as a brand new approach to skin health, and it has since been very quietly pulled, with very little attention drawn to it. I got curious and decided to do some research. I elaborate on it further at the end with some official statements from the brand. My review stands, based on my experience with it. But I recommend you read all the way to the end.
UPDATE 2019: As at July 2019, Kiehl’s has brought back the Pure Vitality Skin Renewing Cream. I have not tested the new version but I don’t think it’s very different, based on the description. My opinion on it remains as below.
I hadn’t paid a lot of attention to Kiehl’s skincare for a while. For a time, it seemed like nothing very interesting was happening. Then, I noticed that there was a new yellow tub of cream in town, that contained Manuka Honey, and I was all abuzz with excitement.
I love manuka honey in my skincare! Primarily because they work well for my skin, and usually smell delicious. I love the sourish-sweet smell of manuka honey too!
I happened to fortunately be gifted with a tub of Kiehl’s Pure Vitality Skin Renewing Cream very early in the year, and I promptly put it into circulation. I was playing around with manuka honey cream at this time, and I wanted to see how a more conventional brand would fare.
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