Okay, so let’s begin with a disclaimer: neither Alicia or I are skincare professionals, and everything we say here is based off of our own research, our opinions. We’re just here to share the info that we find and the opinions we develop with you for your perusal. Anyways, today we’ll be talking about what’s on our skincare shelf right now!
I feel like the beauty community has created this “ideal” aesthetic for shelfies with full shelves lined with products. It’s definitely an aesthetic, and we both have fallen down the rabbit hole of opening products left and right since we couldn’t wait in trying them out. We are trying to move away from having a full shelf and minimize the number of products we have open, since having so many products of the same type open at the same time and incorporating them into our skincare routine on a rotational basis isn’t actually all that great for the skin. And also, all of the products will probably be left open on the shelf for a longer period of time than when we’d be using them individually. Right now, we definitely don’t have that minimalist skincare shelf, but we are trying to empty products and minimize it, so here’s what we have :) TLDR: 🥰love, would repurchase 😊enjoyed it 🙂okay 🙃didn’t really like it, but don’t hate: maybe others would like it? 🤨really didn’t like it, don’t recommend 🥶this product is an absolute bummer, don’t buy it Thayer’s Facial Witch Hazel Unscented toner 🤨 Caudalie Vinopure Toner 🥰😊(kinda between the two, since we won’t repurchase it anymore, but we’ve gone through around 5 bottles?) Innisfree Bija Trouble Skin 🙃 Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 🤨 Mothermade All Green Tea-Rouble Away Toner 🙂🙃 Let’s begin with toners. (By the way, all of the products we talk about today will be classified into our dewy skincare system, so check that out as well!) 1. Thayers Facial Toner So, Olivia doesn’t really use this toner, simply because she finds it a bit drying and she also prefers toners that help with acne or dehydration. Alicia: To be honest I can’t really tell the difference between when I apply the toner to when I dont, however some articles that I have read explained how toners help balance your pH levels as well as helps better absorb your later products (serum, moisturizer/hydrator). Once again, I do not know for sure if it is effective. But, so far using this product I really like the fact that it is unscented, has some aloe in it (because currently I am in love with aloe vera), as well as the fact that it is alcohol free! I’m not sure about purchasing this products after I finish it because I do want to explore more toners, but This is the official ingredient list provided on their website: Purified Water, Glycerin, Certified Organic Witch Hazel Extract Blend (Hamamelis Virginiana Extract (Witch Hazel*), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Filet of Aloe Vera*)), Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, Potassium Hydroxide *Denotes Certified Organic Ingredients We’d just like to point out some ingredients that stick out as potential irritants: witch hazel is a problematic ingredient for us. Obviously, this is a popular opinion on skincare and there are also people who say the opposite, that witch hazel actually isn’t that bad, but for us it just sticks out. The reason being that: 1) witch hazel contains tannins which are skin irritants, and if used for a long period of time, it can lead to skin sensitization (maybe even in the short term) and 2) witch hazel is often distilled using alcohol (the drying kind). There is phenoxyethanol (an alcohol) in the ingredient list, which is known to dry the skin and it can lead to eczema and other skin conditions. Overall, we definitely wouldn’t recommend this product, especially for those with sensitive skin, and we won’t be repurchasing after Alicia empties this product. (Olivia refuses to even touch it, lol). 2. Innisfree Bija Trouble Skin This one is a bit iffy. We both really like the Innisfree Bija Trouble and Bija Cica lines for helping with acne, but this product we can’t really see the difference when using it. It has fragrance, and alcohol is the second ingredient in the list. That’s very concerning, because Olivia has super dehydrated skin all of the time and having alcohol in such a high concentration in this product can only add to the drying. Otherwise, to be honest, this product has a lot of good qualities: it has antioxidants, willow bark and cica extract (both powerhouse skincare ingredients), and urea (a skin-like ingredient). This was gifted by a friend, and we’ll definitely try to finish it, but we just don’t know if we’d repurchase it as of now. 3. Caudalie Vinopure Toner So, we’ve kind of fallen into the Caudalie cult. We are absolutely in love with the vinopure line, since we’ve seen it do wonders for our teenage acne-prone skin. We’ve definitely noticed a decrease in efficacy over time, since we’ve been using this same product (and the vinopure serum) for a very long time. That can probably be explained by our skin adjusting and adapting to the salicylic acid (main BHA and acne-targeted ingredient) concentration in this product. Ingredient list: Water, Alcohol Denat.*, Rosa Damascena Flower Water*, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Fruit Water*, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside*, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Juice*, Salicylic Acid*, Cymbopogon Citratus Leaf Oil*, Lavandula Hybrida Oil*, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Oil*, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil*, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil*, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Oil*, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Phytate, Arginine, Citric Acid, Citral*, Citronellol*, Geraniol*, Limonene*, Linalool* (182/035). This one has alcohol, which was actually very surprising for Olivia, since she’d been using this for so long. We’ll definitely be taking a break from this and trying other toners in the future that are more hydrating, since Olivia really needs to work on rehydrating her super dehydrated skin. We’ve bought several bottles of this and we’ve seen some results, so we’ll definitely still use it in the future. It also seems to have some products in it for fragrance and some essential oils which can sensitize the skin. It’s not a huge concern for us, but definitely something to watch out for if you do have sensitive skin. 4. Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2 This one is in a super large size, since we got it in this gift set. To be honest, not a fan of this. You can smell the alcohol in this product so strong to the point it brings tears to our eyes and makes our noses burn. We use it occasionally as an exfoliating toner with a cotton pad, and it comes in really convenient pump form packaging, but we definitely wouldn’t recommend using it more often than that. Ingredient list: Water , Alcohol Denat. , Glycerin , Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) , Menthol , Acetyl Glucosamine , Trehalose , Sodium Hyaluronate , Butylene Glycol , Sodium Bicarbonate , Red 6 (Ci 15850) , Red 33 (Ci 17200) , Ext. Violet 2 (Ci 60730) The menthol can give a cooling/burning feeling, which we’re not really a fan of since it really is only included for that feeling. Some of you may like it, but we personally just don’t like it. As you can see, alcohol is also very high on their list, which does worry us in terms of skin dehydration. They also have colourants (the last three ingredients) which seem to have been used to create the purple colour. Once again, they have witch hazel which we don’t feel too great about, but we like how they included trehalose (a sugar that works really well with the skin) and sodium hyaluronate (which dissociates into hyaluronic acid which we know and love). The reason why the alcohol smell seems to be a lot stronger in this product versus that of Caudalie toner may be because Clinique is fragrance-free with a lot of their products, including this one. Personally, we don’t really care whether a product has fragrance or not as long as it doesn’t make us feel nauseous or if it’s too strong, since our skin(s?) aren’t too sensitive. Definitely something to consider when you’re looking into products for sensitive skin though! 5. Mothermade All Green Tea-Rouble Away Toner* This one contains AHAs and PHAs which are good for exfoliation. Personally not a fan of how thick it is and it seems to have caused small bumps to form on the face for Olivia. Olivia is using it right now as an exfoliator for her armpits, since we’ve heard it’s a good tip for BO and getting rid of any dead skin in that area! *gifted product: no obligation to post here We’ll be back soon expanding on to serums, and the rest of the products on our shelf :)
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