Hi guys!
Just a short one today but I really wanted to review this Elemis Rehydrating Ginseng Toner. I bought this a while back when I got a facial at Bannatynes as I got an offer. It retails at £25 and I think I got it for £20 ish with the discount.
I LOVE a good toner. While there's a lot of argumentation about toners in the skincare community about their worth, I personally think that, whilst they're not the most vital aspect of a skincare regime, they can be really lovely to use and can help clean any leftover cleanser/makeup/other as well as add a bit of hydration back into the face in preparation for a serum/moisturiser.
There are some toners on the market I can't abide, and these are usually the ones marketed at oily people to help 'mattify' the skin. As an oily person, I have dabbled with these in the past hoping they'd give my skin a deep cleanse whilst keeping spots and blemishes at bay, but really all they do is dry the skin out and give the illusion of mattified skin. Over time these can be really damaging to the skin due to their high alcohol content.
I also personally avoid anything with too much witch hazel in - it's a great ingredient for targeting blemishes but not something I'd advise for all over the face every day.
Back to the Elemis toner! Like I said, I love a good toner and I usually look for ones with soothing qualities (I get quite a bit of redness in my face naturally and, due to aforementioned oiliness, I do use a cleanser with salicylic acid in which can also cause redness if you're not careful). I also look for hydrating properties, and I favour toners without alcohol, perfume or any other unnecessary ingredients.
I use toner after cleansing. I dampen a cotton pad and wipe it gently all over the face and neck. I also use toner to 'refresh' the skin throughout the day by lightly misting it onto the face. I find it satisfying because you can see whether your cleanser has done its job properly (you'll see any makeup you've failed to get off on the cotton pad). I also think it helps gently wipe off any cleanser you didn't wash off properly.
This Elemis toner is designed to add hydration back into the face whilst also balancing and soothing the skin - tick, tick, tick. These are keywords I look for in a toner and this one covers all my requirements.
The Elemis website says:
"This nourishing toner effectively tones skin, rebalances its pH level and preserves the natural oils, without the use of alcohol or harsh detergents, to reveal a radiant and hydrated complexion. For dehydrated, mature skin."
Excellent! Whilst my skin isn't mature (yet), I am a big believer in preventing ageing so this really does tick all my boxes.
I've been using this for a while now and I LOVE this toner. It smells absolutely amazing - fresh, floral without being too flowery, and expensive. It really does soothe the skin and it is a pleasure to use. I particularly love spritzing this onto the skin to refresh it - I took this on holiday and used it several times daily to keep my skin hydrated and refreshed in the heat.
The scent is just so clean and lovely and feminine. If you prefer unscented products, I would avoid this; whilst it doesn't have any alcohol it does have ingredients like linalool and fragrance. Whilst I do usually try to avoid these in my skincare, they're not too high on the ingredient list (the higher the ingredient in the list, the more there is in the product) and I'm not overly sensitive to fragrance. Having said that! I don't use this every single day. I have another toner that is purely water and rose with zero fragrance in it, and I will use that every other day. When you use a product with fragrance in every single day you risk your skin becoming more sensitive to it. So be aware!
I use it once in the morning and once in the evening on a cotton pad after cleansing. It's one of my favourite steps to my skincare routine and I would definitely buy this again - it's just so lovely to use! Just be conscious of its fragrance and, if you notice your skin becoming sensitive to it, swap it out for a non-fragranced product.
Melissa x
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