So last week’s post I said that I did end up finding a toner that I liked as much if not more than the Kiehl’s calendula toner, and no this toner does not have calendula extract in it. This was also an impulse buy, I was at a drugstore (in Taiwan of course) browsing around waiting for the time my train would depart, and I saw this and thought, well that’s interesting. I was looking for a toner to add to those compressed paper masks to use as a sheet mask, and when I saw this I was just really happy with the volume and price of it. The masks soak up quite a bit of liquid, so I didn’t want to buy anything expensive. In the directions it also basically say the toner is basically for masking. If I recall correctly this was purchased for $500NT (about $20 CND) for 500ml.
I really like the fact that the ingredient list is literally 11 items, that means there’s not much fillers in there. And yes I see the paraben, but after reading research on it and listening to some Pod Casts (the Beauty Brain to be particular), I am pretty convinced this whole “paraben free” bandwagon is not as great as it sounds. Paraben is a preservative, it helps to keep your skincare/makeup safe for use for a longer period of time. Preservatives are essential, otherwise things (esp if they label it all natural) will just go bad in a very short amount of time, and do you want to put that stuff on your face?? I didn’t think so. So if it’s not paraben it’ll be another preservative, and guess what? that probably has some cancer causing abilities too, we just don’t know it yet. So I’ll stick with the more well researched paraben. Sorry I went on a bit of a rant there…LOL
The product was manufactured in June 2016, and can be kept for 5 years without opening (probably thanks to paraben!). The name of the product literally translates into “Moisturizing Sake” and claims to improve skin dryness, large pores, and other problems caused by dehydration of the skin. It specifically says due to the large volume of this product, you can use it with dry/compressed sheet masks and use as a mask for 10 to 20 mins.
The texture of this is literally just water, cloudy water. Originally I was going to use this after my Naruko one finished, but when I got into the whole acidic skin care thing I took a look at the ingredient list of this toner and realized there’s citric acid in this (an AHA), and decided it needs to be opened, and basically ditched my Naruko one that wasn’t doing much to begin with. I started off using it as instructed with compressed sheet masks, and immediately felt the change of texture on my skin. My skin felt smooth and hydrated, with that dewy glow. Within a few weeks I also saw the difference in the eveness of my skin (colour wise), where I use to have dark patches seemed to have lightened significantly, and I was in love with my skin. Mind you at the same time I also started using other things that might have aided in that process, but I did feel the toner did what it claimed.
Recently though, I’ve switched to using the 7 skin method (layering 7 layers of “skin” or toner) with this toner. It uses up the toner soooo fast, I don’t know if I should continue with it, because I feel the masking method does the same, but the 7 skin method is a lot quicker, and less waste. Maybe I’ll do a mixture depending on how much time I have. For the 7 skin method, I personally don’t like using cotton pads for anything (it’s a waste and I feel like it tugs on the skin), so I dumped this toner into a spray bottle and just spray and pat 7 times. So far I am half way done the toner…
I also wanted to mention this toner was made in Japan and also the all important pH level. It came to about a 5, which is around where healthy skin pH should be (4.5~5)
Will I be repurchasing? you bet! I have seen something similar to this at Asian beauty stores in Richmond, but I am not sure if it’s the same brand because the packaging looks the same but the lettering is a bit different. When I was buying this, I saw other ones that had other claims, my main concern was hydration so I got this one, but I’d like to try the other ones too. Next time I go back to Asia I’ll be looking for these.
Until next time!
Wata for Lyfe 