You may not know this, but Hada Labo actually means "Skin Lab" in Japanese - "hada" means skin, and "labo" is "lab" transliterated from English. The Japan-based skincare brand has garnered quite the following in Asia, and this is in part due to the most popular product in their line, the Hada Labo Super Hyaluronic Moisturizing Lotion (which I need to get around to reviewing one day), which is marketed with the catchy tagline, "One drop locks up an ocean".
Now, Hada Labo has launched a new Lifting and Firming Line, which is an anti-aging line. Seeking to capitalize on the "one drop" tagline, the Lifting and Firming line has the tagline "One drop restores youthful bounciness". And as with the Moisturizing line, the star product of the Lifting and Firming Line is expected to be the Retinol Lifting and Firming Lotion.
The Lifting and Firming Lotion comes in a tall, red plastic bottle with a flip top. While the lotion isn't exactly that runny, you need to be careful when pouring it out, as you may end up accidentally pouring out too much!
The lotion itself has a milky, gel-like texture that's a bit on the sticky side. So yes, you do need to wait for a couple of minutes for the lotion to sink into the skin after use.
This is more of a night lotion for me, for two reasons. First, I don't really like fiddling around with sticky lotions in the day. Secondly, there is a small amount of retinyl palmitate in the lotion (the retinol they refer to in the marketing material), and retinyl palmitate applied topically may increase the skin's photosensitivity, which is why concentrated forms of retinyl palmitate are probably best used only at night. However, give that the concentration of retinyl palmitate in this product is quite low, and given that retinyl palmitate is actually one of the weakest forms of retinoid out there, it's may probably be safe for day use as well. I just prefer to be cautious with regard to sun exposure whenever I use a retinoid, so all retinoids are treated the same - night use only, sunscreen in the day. The directions on the packaging, however, are a bit less parannoid, and encourage both day and night use.
After using the lotion for awhile, I do feel like it helped my skin. I'm not too sure about the "restores youthful bounciness" bit, because that's kind of hard for me to assess, but I did feel like the product helped to moisturize my skin and gave it a slightly better texture. If this sounds like the product for you, then this will be worth checking out. I believe Hada Labo is having some Facebook promotion, where if you like their Facebook you can redeem your Hada Labo Sha lotion samples. The offer is available here: http://www.facebook.com/hadalabosg?sk=app_151292538267800 or http://www.facebook.com/hadalabosg.
(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)
