Toners have come such a long way from being just a product that you use as the next step in cleansing. These days, you can find all kinds of toners out there, ranging from hydrating and exfoliating ones to soothing and mildly-formulated toners for acne-prone and sensitive skin. Just choose the right ones based on your skin concerns. I myself love layering different toners; from the most lightweight to the thickest in terms of texture. I always start with an exfoliating toner, especially in my evening skincare routine to remove dead skin cells and make way for the rest of my skincare products to be well absorbed.
However, my toner-layering method just stopped working when I had the worst allergic reaction that caused my skin to become red, irritated, and flaky, or so I thought. As it turned out, I needed to combine a moisturising toner with a stronger exfoliating toner; Glycolic Acid treatment to really smooth out the flaky skin. I've tried several different toners that are powered by Hyaluronic Acids, ceramides, and other hydrating ingredients, but I kept my options open. One day, I got my hands on a deluxe-sized sample of the Cream Skin Refiner from one of my favourite Korean skincare brands under AmorePacific, LANEIGE. I think it's safe to say that my search for a hydrating toner is over and I quickly got myself the full-sized product. Before I go further into this highly-raved skin care product, let's get to know it a little bit more.
Product Description:
A Cream that melts into a Skin Refiner. This hydrating skin refiner provides ample moisture to the skin at the very first step of skincare routine.
Capacity: 150ml
Ingredients:
Water / Aqua / Eau, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Inulin Lauryl Carbamate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Propanediol, Disodium Edta, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Tocopherol.
Packaging:
The Cream Skin Refiner comes in a pretty frosted glass bottle. Want to bring it along during your travels? Transfer some into a travel-friendly bottle to prevent accidental breakage.
There's simple product description printed on the back side of the box but also full description in the brochure that comes with every LANEIGE product.
Highlight on the ingredient; White Leaf Tea Water that's rich in amino acids that soothe the skin and reinforce the skin moisture barrier, making the skin truly healthy - which I have to agree!
Notice the sticker below there? I've received this from Hermo Malaysia so I'm assuming their stocks are from LANEIGE Malaysia.
The product features a unique cap that I have not encountered before. It has a lock system to prevent spillage, so make sure you twist the cap until you hear the 'click' sound. Notice the relief at the neck of the bottle?
The expiry date is printed at the bottom of the bottle in YYYYMMDD (Year-Month-Day) format.
APPLICATION
The toner has a milky-looking watery texture that felt nice on my skin. I always use cotton pads for first liquid-based product application after cleansing routine, but if I were to use first treatment essence, serum, or ampoule prior to this toner, then I would apply it by pouring a few drops into my palms and spread it well on my face.
THOUGHTS
Once applied, the toner slightly dries down and my skin felt so nicely hydrated. I followed up with thick-textured essence, serums, and/or ampoules after this toner; essentially the rest of my skincare routine. On lazy nights when I'm too exhausted to do my usual full routine, I'd be deep cleansing my skin and applying this toner several times before putting on a sleeping mask. I'd still be waking up with well-moisturised skin!
I didn't use the Cream Skin Refiner every day as I still love layering lightweight hydrating toners on daily basis. However, this toner is the only one I'd be using after every Glycolic Acid-infused product. The reason is because this toner really helps in replenishing moisture loss as glycolic acid can potentially dry out and irritate my skin. Thanks to the White Leaf Tea content (high in amino acid), it provides better moisturisation hence strengthens the skin barrier. I can totally tell that my skin is feeling much smoother.
I also love carrying this hydrating toner in the mini bottle (refilling it again and again!) in my office bag so I can replenish my moisture in my mid-day skincare routine; layers of this toner and reapply my sunscreen.
If you have normal to oily skin that's dehydrated like mine, a single layer of this toner would be suffice. If you have dry to normal skin, then I'd recommend layering this toner at least 2 times per application in your morning and night skincare routines.
Overall, I give this toner a 5/5! I love it; it works well with my dehydrated skin. Plus, it helps so much in repairing my skin when it was recovering from the flaky situation. Now that I'm about to finish my first bottle after about 2 months (at the time of this post), I'm glad that I purchased another one (and then some more) as backup.
Have you tried this lovely hydrating toner? Let me know your thoughts below in the comment section. Until next post, annyeong~
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||| Official links |||
Website | https://www.hermo.my/
Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/HermoMalaysia
Instagram | http://instagram.com/hermomy
Disclaimer: Links provided are non-affiliated. This product was sent to me for review purposes and all opinions here are based on my personal use of the products.
