Valen’s Vanity Square

H20+ Marine Toner (Alcohol-free) - 237 ml

• A purifying toner that helps strip away impurities; Instantly boosts moisture absorption; Strengthens skin while hydrating
• Contains: Sea Mineral Complex (hydrating marine extracts and vitamins), Provitamin B, wakame, sea fennel, sea lettuce

Remember the Marine Toner from H20+ that I bought online from Acmamall.com?

I bought it at a very discounted price for RM65, while it is sold at over RM90 at the H20+ retail kiosk in 1 Utama! Saw it last weekend, and am surely glad that I saved almost RM30, hehehe.

If you want to get a bottle of H20+ Marine Toner and save yourself some bucks, you can still get it at a discounted price at Acmamall.com. I think it’s around RM70 now. Sorry, but the very good discount opportunity that I managed to ’seize’ is no longer valid. Still, you save around RM20, not bad actually.

I have started using the toner and I quite like it. Firstly, it really hydrates the skin well. Secondly, it does remove residual impurities that aren’t cleaned when washing the face. I’m very particular about this part - I make sure I apply toner not only on my face, but also behind my ears, under my chin, front and back of my neck, my shoulders… hahaha! I just want to make sure these areas are clean, okay?

While the face tends to feel a little sticky after applying the toner, it is not much of a problem coz I will apply my night moisturizer anyway. The toner has a mild oceanic fragrant, I find it rather soothing. It reminds me of the shower gel I used in a 5-Star resort in Langkawi…the smell of sea … hmmm.

Whatever. Although they come in different terms, one thing for sure, you will need to apply it before putting on your moisturizer.

There are generally 8 types of toner/lotion/water with different functions to suit different skin needs. That’s what I read from a beauty magazine this morning.

Let’s see what the 8 types of toner are for:

1. Whitening (e.g. Lancome Blanc Expert Neurowhite Ultimate Whitening Beauty Lotion, Clarins White Plus Hydrating Aqua-Milk)

2. Revitalizing (e.g. Givenchy Power Youth Lotion, Shu Uemura ACE beta-G Reinforcing Gel Water)

3. Oil-control (e.g. L’Oreal Paris Hydrafresh Instant Freshness Toning Water, The Body Shop Seaweed Clarifying Toner)

4. Anti-aging (e.g. Kiehl’s Yerba Mate Tea Toner, Shu Uemura Phyto-Black Lift Radiance Boosting Lotion)

5. Clarifying (e.g. Biotherm Hydra-Detoxifying Balancing Lotion, Clinique Clarifying Lotion 2)

6. Exfoliating (e.g. SKI-II Facial Treatment Clear Lotion, Biotherm Line Peel Pre-Peeling Renewing Lotion)

7. Super-hydrating (e.g. Sonia Rykiel Moisturizing Treatment Lotion, Isa Knox Multi Moist)

8. Soothing (e.g. Clarins Extra Comfort Toning Lotion, Bobbi Brown Soothing Face Tonic)

Jeez, how many bottles of toner on earth do we need? Man, can’t we just have an 8-in-1 toner or something? My skin needs all of those!

For all the times before I moved to Penang, I was using moisturizer without any sun block protection on. That means, during my working days, I actually walked under the hot sun to banks, to lunch, to bus stops, not knowing that my skin was being damaged by harmful rays.

Funny enough, after I moved to Penang and literally need not leave the house except during weekends, I started using Kose’s Sekkisei Day Essence with SPF25. Then only I realized the power of SPF - it really helps lighten up my skin tone and slows down the aging signs on the skin.

Now, as long as the sun has not gone down the horizon, I won’t let my face go unprotected - I make sure I apply a moisturizer with at least a SPF 15.

Currently I’m on Garnier Light - Milky Lightening Dew and Whiten and Protect Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 15. I absolutely love them!

The Milky Lightening Dew is considered as a toner with hydrating power, and is able to lighten and smooth the skin. I use it only in the morning. While the instruction says to use a cotton pad to apply, I prefer to pour it straight to my hand and massage it over my face. It’s easily absorbed to the skin, and immediately leaves my skin soft and supple. I also love its light fragrance of lemon, very refreshing.

The Whiten and Protect Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 15 also contains lemon essence, which gives it the refreshing and pleasant smell. On top of that, it’s said to fight brown spots because it contains the anti-pigmenting Long Dan extract. The consistency of the lotion is rather light, doesn’t give that ‘heavy’ feeling upon applying to the skin. It’s easy to smooth across the face, so I don’t need to use much. I can feel that my skin is well moistened and my face exudes a healthy glow right after application.

This moisturizer really goes well with my skin. I would say it’s one of the best day-use moisturizers you can find on open shelves. Best of all, I can afford it!

This post is a recap of “Skin toner is absolutely necessary” and “Kose Sekkisei - as white as snow“ in my previous beauty blog Valen’s Beauty Parlour.

If you ask me if applying skin toner after cleansing is neccesary, I would say, “100% positively, absolutely yes!”

Why? Because toner:

• Complements the cleansing process to completely remove any residual dirt, oil and dead skin cells.
• Helps to restore the natural pH balance of your skin.
• Tones up and preps your skin for the next step (eg, essence, moisturiser).

My favourite toner is Sekkisei lotion from Kose.

In fact, I love Sekkisei’s products,but Sekkisei lotion is my favourite. It is known to be whitening and hydrating. I could immediately see my face brighten up after wiping it over my face with a cotton pad.

After some time, I noticed improvements in my skin condition - a slightly dry cheek and with obvious pores changed into a more supple and fairer complexion. Of course, Sekkisei’s Day Essence and Night Emulsion helped, too.

Currently I’m using toners purchased from open shelves in pharmacies. As expected, my face has lost its ‘translucence’ and the skin’s moisture-oil balance has gone hay-wired again. So, this tells me that I should very well get back to my Sekkisei lotion once more!

So, always remember to use a toner that is suitable for your skin!