In a nutshell, toning isn’t an essential part of a routine. The main purpose is to remove final traces of dirt after cleansing but, unless your face gets incredibly dirty, that seems a bit pointless if you’ve cleansed properly. It’s also claimed that toners close pores after cleansing, but I’m not really sure they do this any better than simply splashing your face with cool water.

All that said however, the decision to use a toner is a personal one. I like how it makes my moisturiser go a bit further when if I apply it when my skin is still damp. I also think toners are great for spritzing onto a tired face throughout the day.

I think it’s important to take a look at what kind of toner you use as well. When you think of toner, an alcohol-based product with a variety of ingredients probably comes to mind. But a toner doesn’t have to be this complicated or harsh. Plain floral waters (or hydrosols) are a lovely alternative resulting from the distillation process of essential oils and are particularly good for people with sensitive skins. You can pick them up pretty cheap too!

I have a variety of toners to hand, which I switch between depending on how my skin is feeling. For regular use, I use a mild astringent to take care of my oiliness. I have a bottle of rosewater which I use for refreshment as needed. Finally, I have an alcohol-free mineral water and aloe based mist which is very soothing on hot, inflamed skin.   

So in conclusion, I personally like to use a toner, if not for the primary reason of being ultra-clean. It’s not a necessity and I don’t think my skin would care if I stopped using one, but it does enhance the use of my moisturiser and keeps me feeling fresh throughout the day.

Source: Online Goddess

Is Toning Really Necessary?

I decided to take the plunge and buy the anti-inflammatory mini-kit. Needless to say, I was very impressed and promptly purchased several full-size versions.

This is going to be something of a mega-review as I’m going to talk about all six products from this range that I use. So grab yourself a nice cuppa and read on!

Lemongrass Cleanser
a.k.a Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser
Price: £24.95 for 150ml
Rating:
Link: http://www.sukipureskincare.co.uk

Ingredients: Organic rice flour & sugar, pure handmade organic saponified olive oil, natural vitamin c, organic chamomile, lavender, calendula, rose hips, lemongrass & orange, pure vegetable glycerin, sea extracts & pure, premium, steam distilled essential oils.

Initial Impressions: My first thought as I opened the mini-kit box was that this was very generous for a trial-size coming in at 50ml. The product itself looks like a moist sugar-scrub with a very refreshing lemon scent. You have to dip your finger in and scoop the scrub out which isn’t the most hygienic of options, but I’m not sure if this product would work well in a tube. The tub is also made of glass, so you need to be careful handling this in the shower.

Application & Results: There’s a reason this is the most popular product in the line, it is simply wonderful to use. While massaging into wet skin, the scrub dissolves into a foam, leaving skin thoroughly cleansed and exfoliated without any irritation.

Since using this, I have no need to manually exfoliate and oiliness is significantly reduced. After rinsing, my face has a healthy tautness to it (not the uncomfortable kind) and feels nicely prepared for whatever products I wish to apply afterwards.

I initially used this morning and night, but have since adjusted my routine to morning only. Apparently, you can over-use it and some people have reported developing small white bumps as a result of doing so.

Review Conclusion: I would have to agree with the many people who say if they had to choose one Suki product this would be it. It manages to do a stellar job of keeping your face fresh and clean and would be a perfect base cleanser for use with any range of products. It’s also pretty good value – although I’ve bought a full-size version, I’m still using the trial one after a month and am only about one third the way through!

Moisture Rich Cleansing Lotion
Price: £22.50 for 168ml
Rating:
Link: http://www.sukipureskincare.co.uk

Ingredients: infusion of fresh organic sage and thyme in filtered water, organic oat milk, organic sunflower and grapeseed oils infused with organic chamomile, extracts of sage, thyme & rosemary distilled in fermented sugars, kaolin, cocoa butter, lemon, beeswax, pure vegetable glycerine, lecithin, gums arabic and xanthan, & pure, premium, steam distilled essential oils.

Initial Impressions: The lotion is housed in a lovely glass pump bottle and, like the rest of the range, has a waterproof label which is a nice touch. The product itself is light and milky and has a gentle herbal scent.

Application & Results: This is applied just like a regular cleanser. I use three pumps and massage them into my face before rinsing. I use this at night as I find it a slightly faster routine than the Lemongrass Cleanser which I treat as more of a pampering session.

The product absorbs into the skin very quickly and feels very moisturising – it’s quite tempting to not rinse it off. I find it’s just as effective as the Lemongrass Cleanser at giving that ultra-clean feeling but doesn’t feel quite as luxurious to use.

Review Conclusion: This is a lovely cleanser which I feel is often overlooked for it’s more popular companion. I think the two actually complement each other extremely well and make a lovely morning/night routine if you can afford both. Of course, it does mean both products will last twice as long if you do.

Transformative Facial Clay
Price: £37.00 for 50ml
Rating:
Link: http://www.sukipureskincare.co.uk

Ingredients: Infusion of organic rose petals, kaolin, rice starch, standardized extracts of white willow, chamomile, green tea and grapeseed, witch hazel distillate, pure vegetable glycerin, organic food grade aloe, distilled tincture of organic rose hips, calendula & green tea in fermented sugar, organic oat milk, seaweed extract, food grade xanthan gum, zinc, and pure, premium steam distilled essential oils. Vegan.

Initial Impressions: I must confess, my first thought was “£37 for this tiny bottle!”. Yes, it’s definitely pricey. Thankfully I got mine in a sale for 70% off. Anyway, after the initial price shock, I had a look at the product itself. It comes in a stylish little pump bottle and the clay actually looks like a light moisturising cream.

Application & Results: This is one of the loveliest clays I’ve ever had the pleasure to use. It glides on just like a moisturiser at first, but once applied it starts to dry up and tighten the skin just like a regular clay. It’s practically invisible too, so you can wander around the house without anybody noticing.

After 5-10 minutes, it reaches maximum tightness and you can either rinse it off or let it work it’s magic for a little bit longer. Interestingly, there is no suggestion to remove the mask before toxins are re-absorbed into your skin, in fact it is recommended to use overnight on problem areas.

Additionally, for stubborn problem skin, the clay can be used as a regular daily cleanser. I would be interested in trying this out someday, but the cost factor is a bit of an obstacle.

Review Conclusion: I’m in mixed minds about this product. It’s a pleasure to use and I love that you can leave it on for as long as you like without penalty. I also love that it can double-up as a cleanser. Ultimately though, the high cost is a huge deterrent for me, I can’t honestly say that this is worth almost £40 a pop hence the four heart rating. I think I’ll be sticking to my plain green clay pack when this runs out.

White Willow Toner
a.k.a Concentrated Balancing Toner
Price: £24.50 for 168ml
Rating:
Link: http://www.sukipureskincare.co.uk

Ingredients: organic rose petal, chamomile, calendula and tea tree infused in purified, filtered water, standardized white willow and chamomile extracts, distilled extract of white willow & chamomile extracts, white willow bark extracts distilled in fermented sugars, chamomile, and rose, witch hazel distillate, pure organic food grade aloe vera, natural vitamin liposomes c and retinol, seaweed extracts, and pure premium steam distilled essential oils. Vegan.

Initial Impressions: Like the cleansing lotion, this comes in a lovely glass bottle, albeit with a spray this time. I absolutely love the smell of this toner (I think it’s the rose coming faintly through the other extracts) and it has a cloudy, milky look to it.

Application & Results: I’m honestly not sure if this product really does anything for my skin, but I really love using it. I would love to use it more often than twice a day but, as with toners generally, it seems to get used up extremely quickly.

Generally I use three sprays directly on my face. I’ve tried popping some on a cotton wool ball, but this seems to use it up even quicker and it doesn’t seem like my face gets as much. I guess that’s the ball absorbing most of it.

Review Conclusion: This is one of those products that I really love but wonder if it’s actually necessary. If I could afford to use it more often, I’m sure I would appreciate it even more. However, when I’ve run out, I’m going to switch back to a cheaper toner and see if there’s any noticable difference. Hence four hearts for this one also, at least for now.

Velvet Facial Creme
a.k.a Balancing Day Lotion
Price: £26.50 for 50ml
Rating:
Link: http://www.sukipureskincare.co.uk

Ingredients: infusion of organic chamomile, calendula & rose in filtered water, organic jojoba, rice germ, borage, hazelnut, grapeseed & sunflower oils, standardized white willow extract, organic fermented rose, calendula, comfrey distilled extracts, natural vitamin c and retinol liposomes, organic shea butter, beeswax, organic food grade aloe, organic food grade lecithin, gums arabic and food grade xanthan, pure wasabi extract, cetearyl alcohol, and pure premium steam distilled essential oils.

Initial Impressions: This comes in the same pump bottle as the Facial Clay. It looks like a regular light moisturiser.

Application & Results: The first time I tried this, I don’t think I was particularly impressed – I was intending to use the Blue Chamomile Serum instead. However, after using it a few times as my day moisturiser I realised I really liked it. It sinks in extremely fast and prevents oiliness from recurring for several hours. My face had a pleasant matt sheen to it and smelled ever so slightly of green tea.

After a couple of weeks, as suggested by Suki, I decided to mix this with the Serum and use it 2x daily. I squirt one pump of each into my palm, rub my hands together and then apply to my face. This combination brings out the best aspects of both products for me.

Review Conclusion: I adore this product now and I’m so glad I decided to stick with it. It is quite pricey, but you really only need a small amount for each use and I can see it lasting me several months, especially as I’m using it in conjunction with the Serum.

Blue Chamomile Serum
a.k.a Pure Facial Moisture – Balancing
Price: £25.00 for 22ml
Rating:
Link: http://www.sukipureskincare.co.uk

Ingredients: organic jojoba, grapeseed & sunflower oils infused with organic chamomile, organic echinacea, borage, evening primrose & rose hips oil, rice germ & hazelnut oils, blue chamomile & echinacea oils, organic mixed tocopherols & pure, steam distilled essential oils. Vegan

Initial Impressions: The product comes in a tall, thin glass pump bottle which actually seems quite large considering it’s only 22ml. The Serum itself is yellow with a light, oily consistency.

Application & Results: This was one of the products that I first tried in a sample sachet about a year ago. I remember disliking the smell and didn’t think it did anything for me. I guess this is another one of those products that you really need to try for a week or so to see the benefits, which is why I strongly recommend buying a mini-kit first.

I started off using this at night as it’s oily and I thought it would make me look greasy. I was very wrong about that – the oil absorbs into the skin very quickly and left my face feeling baby soft with a fresh plumpness that I’ve not experienced since I was a child. After reading up on the best way to maximise the effectiveness of Suki products, I switched to mixing it with the Velvet Facial Creme as mentioned above.

I never imagined I could put an oily serum on my oily face and remain oil-free throughout the day. It doesn’t encourage acne breakouts either and I have no more blemishes. The Velvet Creme balances it out nicely, I think it might be slightly too oily if used on it’s own during the day.

Review Conclusion: I love this even more than the Velvet Creme. Together they work in wonderful harmony and I can’t see how any other products could possibly work better for me. My skin feels the youngest and healthiest it has ever been as an adult.

As always, I’d love to hear any reader opinions/experiences on these products. Also if I can answer any questions about the ones reviewed here I’ll be happy to do so. Just pop your message in the comment box below. :)

Source: Online Goddess

Review: Suki Pure Skincare Range

They have quite a range and, even better, their prices are cheaper than retail! I was getting low on toner and shampoo I decided to order them too and, as I’d spent over £15, was entitled to a free bottle of Sparkling Mineral Water Complexion Mist. If I spent just over a pound more, I would qualify for free delivery too, so I topped up my order with a bottle of Aloe Vera.

I ordered on Saturday, the goods were sent out promptly on Monday and arrived early Tuesday. There were several samples included, a natural ingredients guide, a product guide and even a tote bag. All very well packaged in a cardboard box with lots of brown paper wrapping. I was expecting the products to perhaps be close to Use By date given the cheap prices, but none of them expire until 2009.

I really like the Complexion Mist too, so I may be ordering some more of that in future. I’ll give my mum the Rose Mosqueta samples and she’ll probably love those. :D

The store changes offers periodically, currently they’re giving away a soap bar when you spend £30 or more. I don’t think they’re doing free delivery at the moment, but I’m sure they’ll do it again at some point.

Source: Online Goddess

New Aubrey Organics Store

Ingredients: Organic witch hazel, infused with organic calendula petals, organic elder flowers, organic burdock root with organic rose geranium & organic neroli essential oils.

I purchased this along with the matching moisturiser (see my other review for today). I’ve always been impressed with how witch hazel takes care of my skin and with the addition of the other beautiful ingredients, I thought I’d give myself a nice treat.

Initial Impressions: Like its companion moisturiser, the product is presented extremely well in a lovely glass bottle. I absolutely love the smell, the witch hazel is prominent, but not overpowering, and the ingredients really work well together. This may seem unimportant, but I like how the bottle neck is thin. so that not too much of the product comes out at once. There really is no need to have a cotton ball soaked in toner.

Application & Results: Now, I was (and still am) a little confused about how to use this product. The label says to apply it, then wipe it off, but I’ve been using it like a toner – it goes on and then my moisturiser follows immediately after. I don’t see any reason to wipe it off and it’s always felt very nice to put my cream on top of.
Results-wise, I feel it does an excellent job of toning my skin and I feel very fresh afterwards. Following up with the matching moisturiser is lovely, but it works just as good with my Rose Cream too.

Review Conclusion: I like this product very much, and I would love to keep using it as my primary toner. My only concern (and hence the four hearts, not five) is that it is quite expensive and as I like to tone three times a day, I’m not sure I can really afford it. It’s three times the price and half the size of my Aubrey Organics toner, which makes it difficult to justify the cost. I’ve been alternating with my White Rose Toner to make it last longer, but perhaps I’ll go all out and see how quickly my full routine depletes it. :D 

Source: Online Goddess

Review: Mother Earth Orange Flower Balancing Skin Tonic/Toner