Following on from my 'August Favourites' post I thought it was about time that I gave this product a full review. I wanted to give it a solid run for a few weeks before offering you my thoughts, as with skincare it can be a bit of a fickle game. A product that you can fall in love with in the first week can break you out the next, hence my delay with this one! However as you probably guessed, I'm a big fan of this toner and it is now an essential step in my daily skincare routine.

What is this then, might you ask? Well, pretty much what it says on the bottle - an exfoliating toner. But not a manual exfoliator with grains, oh no. This is an alpha hydroxy acid exfoliator, meaning that it uses chemical exfoliation rather than physical to prevent a build-up of dead skin cells and encourage skin renewal. It's in a similar vain to Alpha-H's Liquid Gold, but much more gentle and suitable for daily use (The packaging says otherwise, but more on that in a bit). In this particular case, the acids in question are glycolic, salicylic and tartaric and they work brilliantly with the other ingredients, such as glycerin and white nettle extract. The white nettle extract is a mild astringent so works wonders on pores, tightening them and making them appear smaller.


There are a few things to point out about this product. First, alcohol features second on the ingredients list, which usually sets off the alarm bells as it is such a drying ingredient. However, in this case I would say that its presence is not a problem, and I don't find that this toner dries my skin out or leaves it feeling tight at all - and I have very dry patches on my jawline and eyebrows. If anything, this toner improves those areas tenfold! Second, there is a warning on the packaging against sunburn; to limit sun exposure and protect yourself appropriately after using this product. Now, I don't wear an SPF (Gasp, horror, I know) and have experienced no adverse effects at all yet, and I use this daily. Talking of which, it recommends to use 1-2 times a week but even on my sensitive skin, using it daily has been absolutely fine and I would suggest to most people that it be used this often.


As you probably guessed, this is a product that comes highly recommended from Caroline Hirons and can be used as part of her recommended skincare routine. I use this toner straight after my double cleanse in the evening, by using one cotton pad soaked in the solution. Applying this feels like such a treat - for a start, it smells wonderful, sharp and sweet at the same time which I think is down to the white nettle. It also feels cool and refreshing on the skin. My only small gripe with this toner is that no matter how much or little I apply, it always leaves my skin feeling slightly tacky to the touch. However, once I apply moisturiser over the top, that goes away so it isn't a big problem for me. After using this solidly for well over a month now I can confirm that my skin looks brighter, as well as feeling softer and smoother - in short, everything it claims to do! My routine now feels more 'complete' with this in it and my skin has definitely seen immediate improvements in my driest areas. In the long run, I'm sure this will help keep my skin looking fresher and younger for longer too!

Final verdict: A cost-effective exfoliating toner (I still have 3/4 of a bottle left) that is easy to get hold of and should work for every skin type. Try it for a week and you will want to keep using it forever!