Review | Mamonde Rose Water Toner & Toner Pad

Hydrating toners are currently my favourite steps in my daily skincare routines as it is a huge part of my therapeutic self-care ritual where I would be layering my hydrating toners; sometimes with numbers of different hydrating toners but most of the times, I would be using a single toner and apply 3 to 7 times depending on the hydrating power of the toner itself or simply how dry my skin at that point of the day.

MAMONDE ROSE WATER TONER

Product Description Rose Water Toner contains 90.97% Rose water,with soothing and moisturising effects, offering greater hydration with each swipe on skin:

• Building a water-based moisture barrier on the skin
• Exceptional soothing and moisturising effects of the Damask Rose
• Formulated without 7 ingredients - Free of animal ingredients, mineral oil, polyacrylamide, imidazolidinyl urea, triethanolamine, silicone oil, synthetic colour.

How to Use: After cleansing, take appropriate amount of the product onto cotton pad and wipe across the face, from inner to outward of facial area. Tap the skin lightly to let the excess absorbed into skin nice and even. Capacity: 250ml

Ingredients List:
Damask Rose Extract (90.97%), Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, 1,2-Hexanediol, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Acrylate/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tromethamine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Purified Water, Sucrose, Prunus Mume Fruit Rosehip Fruit Extract, Indole Acetic Acid.

PACKAGING

 

As you can see in the above photos, the product comes in that transparent pink plastic bottle. There's no English product description nor label sticker so all the information you need is in the section above and there is a product expiry date printed at the bottom of the bottle with the format being YYYYMMDD (Year-Month-Day).

 

The product doesn't come with a pump or anything; just a simple cap with seal that needs to be removed before using and with the small hole at the cap, I'd say it's easy to dispense the toner whether on cotton pads or your palm. I'd recommend for you to decant into smaller bottle if you were to travel with this one or even better, a spray bottle as you can surely use this toner as facial mist.

APPLICATION

 

The product has a watery texture which is quickly absorbed into the skin and I know the scent is quite overwhelming for some but for me, none whatsoever plus I love the rosy scents; good thing that it doesn't irritate my skin or anything.

THOUGHTS

I find this toner is simply hydrating and thanks to its lightweight watery texture, I have been using it a lot in both of my morning and evening skincare routines. I am optimising it's usage by layering the toner 3 to 7 times in the morning and then followed up with applying my daily serum, lightweight moisturiser and physical or tone-up sunscreen of the day.

At night, I always apply this toner after my exfoliating Glycolic Acid; alpha hydroxy acid (AHA)-containing toner to simply hydrate my skin because I find my skin tends to feel even drier if I don't pile on layers of hydrating products on top. Also, it's actually even better when I add soothing toner on top of this and that's how I gather the ultimate trio to treat my dehydrated flaky facial area.

MAMONDE ROSE TONER PAD

• Product Description

Cotton pads soaked in Rose Water Toner that can be used as a toner or a sheet mask.

• Soothing, moisturising effects of Damask Rose Water. The brand have picked damask roses that were grown in morning dew to deliver soothing and moisturising effects to the skin.
• Long-lasting moisture barrier. Goes on light on the skin without stickiness and creates a moisture barrier for long-lasting hydration.
• Formulated without 7 ingredients - Free of animal ingredients, mineral oil, polyacrylamide, imidazolidinyl urea, triethanoamine, silicone oil, synthetic colour.

How to Use: Use the toner pad as a mask!

• Take out the pads and leave on the cheeks, forehead, chin, and other spots like a sheet mask. Remove after 10~15 minutes and lightly tap on the residue to absorb.
• When used instead of cleansing in the morning or as a toner, wipe across the face following the flow of skin texture and lightly tap on the residue to absorb.
• Leave the pads on the face while drying hair or applying lip & eye makeup. Remove the pads and then apply base makeup for an effective use.

Capacity: 40 pads, 80ml

Ingredients list:

Damask Rose Extract (90.97%), Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, 1,2-Hexanediol, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Acrylate/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Tromethamine, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Purified Water, Sucrose,  Prunus Mume Fruit Rosehip Fruit Extract, Indole Acetic Acid.

PACKAGING

 

As you can see on the above photos, the product comes in that pink tub with screw lid. There’s simplified Korean product description at the side of the tub and there is a product expiry date printed at the bottom of the tub and the format is YYYYMMDD (Year-Month-Date).

If you're familiar with regular daily sheet masks from AmorePacific brands like Innisfree, the sheet is similar to the sheets of the sheet masks; thin, perforated and can hold the liquid in it for about 10 to 15 minutes, provided that you're not sitting under a fan or it'll dry out even quicker.

 

Single pad is actually quite big as it covers my cheeks area rather sufficiently and adheres well onto my facial area too. As the pad is quite thin and if you feel the toner pad is rather insufficient you can simply add more toner of your choice by pouring directly onto the sheet in small amount.

For hygienic reason, do not try to recycle the pad as I'm pretty sure the pads are merely for single use only.

THOUGHTS

Having both products in my skincare collection is great! While the bottled toner serves its whole purpose to hydrate my dehydrated normal to oily skin in this hot and humid weather, the toner pad however is simply a convenient or at some point, a luxury for me because every time I use the toner pad, I keep on adding more toners after 10 minutes or so. Now that I'm halfway through the tub, I am definitely sure that I would rather getting actual rose daily sheet masks compared to this as I can source compressed sheet mask from drugstore myself these days.

Bottom line, definitely get the toner because it nicely hydrates the skin and you can use it as simple toner after cleansing, toner masks even as liquid medium if you were to mix it with powder wash-off masks for example clay masks and by mixing hydrating toner like this with it, you can still get a little bit of hydration while letting the clay ingredients pulling out all the impurities off your skin.


I guess that's all from me and I hope this review helps you to choose which of the five that you want to pick up or try next. Let me know your thoughts by leaving comments down below. Annyeong~

Review | LANEIGE Cream Skin Refiner

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? That's the proof I've got mine (the first bottle) from LANEIGE Malaysia via their Official Lazada store during the product launch online before the stocks hit their beauty counters in departmental stores, etc. The promotion was to get a bottle at the retail price and get the miniature in 50ml for free. Definitely appreciate that as I've been traveling and I just love carrying this in my office bag so I can replenish my moisture in my mid-day skincare routine; layers of this toner and reapply my sunscreen.

 

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.

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~

|||   SHOP THE PRODUCT   |||

LANEIGE Cream Skin Refiner | RM125 on HERMO

||| 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.

Review | Innisfree 3-Minute Green Tea Skin Pack

Unlike three to five years ago, applying toner is merely a step between double cleansing method and the rest of the products at least to a skincare enthusiast like myself. These days, while most of toners are simply hydrating (watery), some others are added with soothing, brightening, moisturising (thicker; essential oil-containing) ingredients but my current favourite type of toner to discover is exfoliating toner; gentle acids-containing toners that help with exfoliating dead skin cells off my skin.

While most conventional toners come in bottles and it is totally up to you whether to use cotton pads with it or not but for me, I always use cotton pads for first application after cleansing step. As I would be using cotton pad with exfoliating toner which is always a first step after cleansing; sort of pH-adjusting toner that lowers the skin pH especially after using high-pH cleansers like most basic foam cleansers, I would not be using cotton pad with the following hydrating toners. It is important to have hydrating and soothing skincare products after exfoliating the dead skin cells (both physical and chemical exfoliation) so I’m going to talk about this toner pad that can be used as point masks for a quick soothing and hydrating remedy.

Product Description:

Enriched with freshly double-squeezed green tea from the Jeju island to deliver abundant moisture and nourishment deep into your skin.

• 3-in-1 mask with Jeju green tea extract; 1, cools on contact 2, thoroughly hydrates and 3, brightens the look of dull, flaky skin in 3 minutes.

How to Use: Apply onto troubled areas with dryness or dead skin cells, remove 3 minutes later and then pat to finish.

5-Free System.

Capacity: 70ml (100 pads)

Ingredients list:
Water, Butylene Glycol, Propanediol, Panthenol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glycerin, PPG-13-Decyltetradeceth-24, Sodium Citrate, Fragrance, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract

Packaging:

 

There are sufficient information about the product printed in English on the sides of the box.

 

Period-After-Opened is 12 months but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna finish this within 3 months at max.

 

As you can see on the above photos, the product comes in that green tub with screw lid. There’s simplified Korean product description at the side of the tub and there is a product expiry date printed at the bottom of the tub and the format is YYYYMMDD (Year-Month-Date).

 

Looking at the small tub with 100 pre-soaked pads and 70ml of liquid, I can already hope that the pad is thin and I’m so glad I’m right about it! The pad is actually a Tencel sheet; similar material to the sheets for the brand’s water-type Real Squeeze sheet masks. This toner pad also comes with a plastic tweezer for convenience.


Application:

I’m not going to lie but it’s actually quite difficult to pick up a single pad! I had to use my other tweezer to peel off a single pad for the bunch that got stuck together. Still, that doesn’t make me loving the thinness of the pad.


Final verdict:

A single pad is actually quite big; enough to cover the points of my facial area like cheeks and forehead; my sensitive and redness-prone area. My skin does feel sufficiently hydrated when I use this in place of hydrating toner; I would be wiping my whole facial area with it like a regular toner pad but I mostly use it as point masks right after using exfoliating toner as I actually love the gentle soothing sensation this provides thanks to Panthenol in it.


The fresh green tea scent somewhat gives me some therapeutic effect but if you are not big on fragranced skincare products then it is best to avoid this.


Although this is truly at its best if you merely need a mild soothing effect with but there are times when I don’t find this is soothing enough so that is when I add several drops of Centella Asiatica-containing serum or ampoules underneath the pad while it is still damped and let them work together for like 5 to 10 minutes indeed like a regular sheet mask.


Overall, 5/5. I love it! Definitely will be repurchasing another tub; the repackaged version from local Innisfree store. Bought this at RM84. Pretty pricey but I still think I can stretch the usage pretty well so.


I guess that's all from me! Have you tried toner pads before? Tell me all about it in the comment section down below and I'll be seeing you on my next post. Annyeong~

Review | Hada Labo Hydrating Lotion

 

When my social media followers asked me on which product I have recently used to help restore my damaged skin barrier; an aftermath of several episodes of allergic reactions due to food poisoning or after trying new products that severely sensitised my skin, I would answer: AHA-based exfoliating toner coupled with Hyaluronic Acid-powered hydrating toners or as Japanese would refer as lotions. Of course, I had to wait for several days after the redness and irritation calmed down by Centella Asiatica and Panthenol-based serums or sheet masks but that's on another post.

Hada Labo Gokujyun (Hydrating) Lotion deeply hydrates as it contains different molecular sizes of Hyaluronic Acid that penetrate skin layers on different levels, helps in balancing the overall moisture balance and prepare my skin to absorb the rest of my skincare products but first thing first, let's go to some basic details about the product!

Product Description:

Formulated with Japan's upgraded formula and High Performance Penetrate & Deep Moisturising (HPP&M) Technology actively infuses 4 types of Hyaluronic Acid (HA) to fully hydrate skin from the surface to inner skin layer for significantly soft, smooth and supple skin; to prepare skin for enhanced absorption of skincare ingredients.

• Large-size HA - forms a layer of moisture retaining barrier to effectively provide skin with a powerful moisture-locking shield to lock in moisture on skin.
• Medium-size & Super HA - combine 2 types of HA with high water retention ability, to lock in and retain large volume of moisture inside the skin for super and long-lasting hydration.
• Nano HA - with fine molecule size HA that easily penetrates and infuses moisture deep into skin to prepare skin for enhanced skincare ingredients absorption.

How to use: Use twice daily after cleansing face. Apply on palms and gently pat onto skin until thoroughly absorbed. Store in a cool, dry and away from direct sunlight.

Capacity: 170ml

Ingredients: Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, PPG-10 Methyl Glucose Ether, Disodium Succinate, Methylparaben, Sodium Hyaluronate (Medium-size HA), Hydroxyethylcellulose Succinic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate (large-size HA), Hydrolysed Hyaluronic Acid, Sodium Acetylated Hyaluronate.

Packaging:

 

As you can see on the above photos, the product comes in that transparent plastic bottle. There's English label sticker at the back covering the Japanese product description and unlike most Japanese beauty products that I have used in the past, there is a product expiry date printed at the bottom of the bottle! The format is MM YYYY (Month Year). 

 

The product doesn't come with pump or anything; just a simple cap with no bottle neck hence huge opening so be careful not to spill the product. I'd suggest for you to decant into smaller bottle if you were to travel with this one.

APPLICATION

 

The product comes in a quite thick yet watery texture and quickly absorbed into skin. Once spread even, it leaves skin feeling well-hydrated and soft to touch.

THOUGHTS

I think I've mentioned this many times before but when it comes to exfoliating dead skin cells off my face, I'd prefer to use chemical exfoliators; at least for the past couple of years. However at this point, I only use Glycolic Acid (AHA)-containing exfoliating toner like 2 to 3 times a week depending my skin condition of the day. Even though the exfoliating toners contain merely 5% AHA at most, my skin can be sensitive at times so I have to add not only soothing toner or essence in order to reduce the redness and irritation but also hydrating toners, essences, serums even ampoules to compensate the moisture loss often caused by exfoliation. This is where this very product comes in as it's powered by Hyaluronic Acid that is known for its hydrating properties in different sizes that penetrate the skin layers on different levels together with Butylene Glycol and Glycerin i.e humectants that help drawing in moisture from the environment. It's important to know that whenever you're using humectant-containing skincare product, always have facial mists or humidifier with you especially when you're in dry condition otherwise the moisture in your skin is going to be sucked out instead.

This toner can be used as first step after cleansing routine or when in need; 3 to 4 drops on thin cotton pads and place on dry facial area as point masks to have a quick hydrating treats. I also love putting the toner in fridge these days as chilled toner is such a saviour in our current hot weather. As I actually have normal to oily skin, I do enjoyed the Light version of this toner too; sometimes layering it several times before applying my sunscreen of the day and I'm good to go!

You guys know that I don't really have a lot of Japanese beauty product but this product is indeed one of my favourite Japanese skincare product that I've indulged enough to put this on my forever-repurchase list. Do check out some other beauty bloggers' Must-Have Japanese Beauty Products by clicking here! I have to say that the list actually includes some of my other favourite Japanese beauty products too!

I guess that's all from me! Let me know what do you think by leaving comments down below and I'll see you guys on my next post! Jyaa ne~!