(Review) Benton Honest TT Mist

If I were being held down, gun to my head, and asked to choose my favorite type of skincare product, there’s not question what my answer would be: toner. I love the stuff. I own and use multiple at a time within one nighty routine. I feel like hydrating toners have made more difference for my skin than any other product, and I have tried A LOT of products (my crying bank account can vouch). Once I figured out that my skin was not just oily but incredibly dehydrated, I began incorporating light and hydrating toners and essences into my routine and my skin drank that shit up. My skin went from an oil slick that over-produced sebum on the daily to more or less normal within just a few weeks. I cannot sing their praises enough. 

One of my favorite toners that I own is the Benton Honest TT Mist. It’s not particularly hydrating, but it’s very special nonetheless. It’s special because it is so incredibly soothing to my skin whenever I am breaking out, which seems to be always. 

Let’s take a look at the ingredients to start this off. 

Ingredients (from Sokoglam): 

Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Water, Water, Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Glycerin, Pentylene Glycol, Sodium Hyaluronate, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Althaea Rosea Root Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Beta-Glucan, Polyglutamic Acid, Aspalathus Linearis Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract

The soothing and reparative ingredients in this mist are amazing and it begins with the very first ingredient: Tea Tree Leaf Water. Rather than including regular old water, Benton stepped up the simple hydrator by infusing it with Tea Tree, which is known for it’s acne and antibacterial fighting strength. Along with this water, it also contains Tea Tree extract along with Aloe leaf juice, which is hydrating and soothing. I have found that this toner is one of the only products that I own that effectively and quickly treats my acne. When I first picked up this product, I was experiencing a particularly awful breakout; I had angry bumps all over my face, from my chin to my forehead, where I normally do not break out. Immediately after misting myself with this toner, my acne looked and felt much less inflamed. I would go back every couple of hours and re-mist my face. Within two days, my acne spots were almost completely gone. After this experience, I knew I couldn’t be without this mist ever again. 

With the amount of Tea Tree present in the product, I was expecting the smell to be quite pungent and medicinal. But, honestly, I cannot smell much of anything when I spray this on my face. I will get a tiny whiff of something kind of earthy and medicinal with the first couple of sprays, but it dissipates almost immediately. The spray feels like water and is very lightly hydrating, which is a nice change of pace from acne treating products I have used in the past that completely dry out my face. It is not something that I would use by itself for hydration, however; I would need to pair this with a more viscous hydrating toner or essence to quench my skin’s thirst. 

This mist comes in a squeeze-type tube that has a spray nozzle on the end. The mist has a bit of a learning curve to it; it isn’t a particularly fine mist so you have to hold the nozzle about 10 inches or more away from your face to not look like you just got sprayed in the face with a water hose. Once you find the sweet spot of distance from your face, however, it is a nice layer of toner that sinks in to my skin within just a few seconds when I begin to pat it into my face with my hands. 

My biggest complaint with the product is how damn small it is. The tube only holds a measly 40 ml of toner, which is just not enough to me. Thankfully, it isn't that expensive to buy; I typically buy a 3 pack of this toner from Amazon because I use it so much and the price is typically around $20, marking each tube of toner only just under $7. Because of the small size, it typically takes me only 2 months to go through one tube if I am using it consistently (every day to every other day). 

In summation: 

Pros - 

Soothing 

Calms my active acne

Great ingredients

Lightly hydrating and does not dry out face like typical acne-fighting products

Inexpensive

Cons -  

Mist is a bit too strong

Very small size

Not hydrating enough for me to use on it’s own 

(Review) Son & Park Beauty Water

To begin my blogging experience, I thought I would give my two cents on a product that has been widely reviewed and well-loved in the Korean beauty universe—Son & Park Beauty Water. If you have spent any amount of time looking into K-beauty products, you have at least heard of this guy. It is an all-in-one sort of toner and cleansing water that claims to balance the pH of, mildly exfoliate, cleanse, and prep the skin. 

As far as my experience with Beauty Water goes, I have to say that I absolutely love it. I use it as a third step in my night-time cleansing routine after oil-cleansing and using a water-based cleanser. I have found that this really gets my face extremely clean without feeling tight or striped and also helps prep my skin for the other hydrating steps of my routine. I will douse a cotton round with a bit of the product, swipe it all over my face, and then follow with my hydrating toners. I also use it in the morning as a cleansing water as I have found that using a water-based cleanser in the morning tends to dry out my skin. Using this toner after wiping my face down with a damp washcloth leaves my skin feeling clean but not tight and dried out. I also use this as a makeup remover occasionally if I get home and just want to get my eyeshadow off of my face. I have found that, since incorporating this product into my routine, my skin has felt more clean and my following skincare products absorb into my skin more quickly. 

I have been using this product for roughly 2 years and I constantly keep a backup of it so that I never run out of it. It typically takes me at least six months to go through a 150 ml bottle so that is A+, especially given that I purchase my bottles from Amazon for ~$22. For me, it is well worth the price.

(This pictures are awful, good God. I need to figure out this photo situation). 

Ingredients (taken from Sokoglam): 

Water, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Butylene Glycol,Propanediol, PEG-7 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Pentylene Glycol, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Fruit Extract, Xylitol, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil,Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Citrus Grandis (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Cedrus Atlantica Bark Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Carica Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Water, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Oil, Illicium Verum (Anise) Fruit/Seed Oil, Artemisia Absinthium Extract, Rose Flower Oil, Ferula Galbaniflua (Galbanum) Resin Oil, Thuja Occidentalis Leaf Extract, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Laveder)Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Leaf Extract, Melissa Officinalis Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita(Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Mentha Rotundifolia Leaf Extract, Mentha Spicata Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Origanum Majorana Leaf Extract, OriganumVulgare Leaf Extract, Pelargonium Graveolens Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Thymus Vulgaris (Thyme) Leaf Extract, Glycerin, Decyl Glucoside, 1,2-Hexanediol, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, PPG-26-Buteth-26, Sodium Chloride, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid, Octanediol, Copaifera Officinalis (Balsam Copaiba) Resin, Protease, Alcohol Denat., Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol

I love all of the extracts that are present in this toner. Rose water is one of the first ingredients and it is known for its soothing and anti-inflammatory properties and my skin absolutely loves it. However, one girl’s skin loves are another’s worst nightmare; ingredients like lavender or grapefruit oil can be potentially irritating depending on your skin. As with all skincare products, it is essential to patch test for sensitivity before applying the product to your entire face.  

The texture is ever-so-slightly thicker than water and has a very faint scent that is slightly floral to me. The packaging is a tall, frosted plastic bottle with a screw cap top. The opening that dispenses the product is a hole in the top of the bottle. The only flaw with the product that I have found is that when dispensing product onto a cotton pad, because the formula is so watery it rushes out of the dispenser and can cause you to dispense too much or waste product.

Personally I don’t feel that this product exfoliates my skin at all and this is more than likely due to the fact that the exfoliating ingredient (willowbark extract) is on the lower end of the product’s ingredient list. It is also listed after the preservative phenoxyethanol, which is typically used at a 1% concentration in skincare products, so the extract is present in a minute amount that is not significant enough to properly exfoliate.

My one gripe with the product is from using it as a stand-alone cleanser when I get home after a long day and just want to remove a little grime and dirt off my face without actually going through my whole cleansing routine. I have found that when I use the product to swipe residual dirt off my face and then do not apply anything after it, it leaves a residue on my face. It feels a bit sticky and like there is a thin layer of something hanging out on my skin and I do not care for that at all. It eventually goes away as it sits on my skin but it usually takes about 20 to 30 minutes for the feeling to completely disappear. I have never had this problem using it as a toner or quick cleansing water so long as I follow up with the rest of my skincare routine.

In summation: 

Pros - 

Gentle

Does not dry out skin

Great multitasker

Bottle lasts forever

Cons - 

Can be pricey depending on where you buy 

Leaves a residue when used alone as a cleansing water 

Contains potentially irritating ingredients

Dispenser can waste product