Hot Seat Reviews: Venus and Mars Happy Pores Toners

After a long day of walking at the SM Mall of Asia, I finally got to do my review! :) 

While doing my night skin care routine, I suddenly thought of doing my toner first since I think this one will be an easy review as I have very small time left tonight. I need to wake up early to process my recommendation letter at school, probably around 10am (I am bummed here at home so staying late at night like until 5 or 6am and waking up in the morning is very very hard!) and I will also meet B for a date *love is in the air.. :). So anyway what I have here is Venus and Mars Happy Pores Toner in Cucumber which is good for any skin type and Witch Hazel Toner which is highly recommended for oily and acne prone skin type.

What are toners by the way? Toners are used to improve the look or the feel of our skin, especially of the face, clearing all the dirt left from facial wash. It can be in the form of lotion or astringent. Well most of them are in astringent form just like the VNM toners. 

Each bottle are labeled differently. I don't think that they did this purposely since most of my products coming from VNM have different kind of paper or label used for them. Some were labeled using a printed paper, and some were labeled using a plastic one, just like the cucumber toner. I also noticed that they changed their bottles. The green colored bottle of cucumber toner is already my 2nd bottle and my first cucumber toner was in a clear bottle taped with a printed paper as a label. What's with the packaging inconsistency?  Anyway, Let me share to you what I think about these two. :)

Left: Happy Pores Toner in Witch Hazel Right: Happy Pores Toner in Cucumber

Left: Cucuber Toner has a vague whitish mixture while the Witch Hazel toner on the right has a very clear mixture which makes me think it's just a water.

According to Venus and Mars website ...

"Happy Pores Alcohol-Free Cucumber Toner: To relieve tired skin, improve large and open pores. Give your skin a natural glow. Recommended for all skin types."

"Facts about Cucumber:

1. The cucumber and the skin share the same level of hydrogen.
Thus it becomes easier for cucumber to mask ALL the problem areas.
2. Cucumber provides the skin with a special cooling effect.
The cleansing property of cucumber intensely soothes and softens the skin.
3. The cucumber's fruit acid attack the surface layers of dead skin and remove the dead cells and stale oil.
It helps the skin to retain its moisture.
4. Cucumber has the ability to MAKE LARGE PORES SHRINK in size.
And the outcome is a face that is less oily and smoother!
5. It keeps oil at bay and at the same time, does not dry out skin.
6. It PREVENTS ACNE. "

The kiss and the kick accdg. to moi! :)

The Kisses:

• Has a presentable packaging.
• The cap is sturdy enough. I'm sure enough that it will not spill if I put it in my bag upside-down.
• It's ALCOHOL-FREE!
• Has a cucumber smell which is a plus to me. Some may find it a con, but for me, I just like the pleasant smell. It has this sweet&sour smell that is too strong but in a good way. (what the heck. having a hard time describing the smell. lols)
•  It works! I already used my human nature make-up remover + cetaphil cleanser  + Pond Facial Wash to clean my face, and when I use this product, I can still see some dirt being taken away from my face! I even took a picture of the cotton balls I used to show how much dirt was removed in spite of using 1 make-up remover and 2-cleansers
• Gives a refreshing/cooling effect on my face.
• Minimizes my pores
• Dries my zits. I had some zits on my temple and mandible area (panga in tagalog) and I think it's getting better.
  

The Kicks:

• They only have 1 size for this toner which is 50 ml worth 160 php.
• I think it will be better if this is much cheaper since this 50 ml toner worth 160 php lasts only for a month and I only use this once most of the time or twice everyday.
• A little bit drying at first but it's okay after a few seconds.
• I can still feel my face getting oily, but maybe because of the moisturizer I used afterward.

After using cucumber toner, TADDAAHH!! eeewwwweee. :)) I really don't know why I have this so many dirt on my face. 3 cleansers were used already. Hello! :|

cotton ball#2: yeeeyyy. :) a feeling that my face is getting cleaner. :D

From VNM:

"Happy Pores Witch Hazel Toner:To relieve tired skin, improve large and open pores. Give your skin a natural glow. Recommended for OILY/OILY ACNE PRONE/COMBINATION SKIN."

"Facts about Witch Hazel:
Using witch hazel for skin problems is a tradition that goes back centuries. This herb is a naturally soothing ingredient in many skin care products. When you use witch hazel, natural healing of many of the harshest skin problems is easy. It can soothe many of the issues that plague our skin and can even treat the most stubborn skin conditions.
1. Witch Hazel is well-known for its soothing powers on the skin.
2. Using Witch Hazel for skin cleansing is a way to take advantage of this natural astringent.
If you have a skin care product with witch hazel you won't have any need for those stinging alcohol astringents.
3. Witch Hazel has the ability to make LARGE PORES shrink in size.
And the outcome is a face that is less oily and smoother!
5. Witch Hazel has the ability to fight fine lines and wrinkles.
This is a definite plus for a toner!
6. Witch Hazel prevents acne and acts as an anti-bacterial agent."

From moi

The Kisses:

• Cap is sturdy enough.
• Presentable packaging.
• Has a bland/insipid smell which is a yehey point to some users who want their products to be unscented. For me, scented or not, as long as it has a nice smell, I don't mind using it. :)
• It does the work just like ordinary toners.

The Kicks:

• It doesn't clean as much as cucumber toner does to my face. In fact, I feel that it doesn't clean at all.
• Still getting the oily-face feeling.
• Not worth the 160 pesos for 50 ml bottle of witch hazel toner on my part.

I'm actually disappointed with the Witch Hazel Toner! This is the first time I got disappointed from Venus and Mars. I always have this trust with VNM because all of their products are so promising. Everytime I use their products, I always get to see the worth of my money that I spent just like the cleopatra rub lotion, bare it all emu cream etc. I really think that it's just water and the only thing that stops me from thinking that is the smell which really smells like witch hazel. So I don't know if it's just me, but I couldn't tell the difference before and after I use this on my face that's why I put a minimal comment on the kisses and the kicks. Overall, Happy Pores Toner in Cucumber is still the best astringent I use! Together with Clearasil Toner, my zit (rare condition) dries faster! For those who loves organic products and can't afford the super expensive branded toners out there, better try this. I am not being paid or being asked to do make a review about this. I actually spent my money worth 2000 pesos on all their products before (overall spending expenditures since the day I bought until my 3rd purchase) and even if they are not as cheap as Human Nature, I know that they are worth it and you can have high expectation on them without getting disappointed (well except with the hazel toner!). I hope they can produce a bigger size for this instead of buying 2 bottles of 50 ml toner. I need to finish the witch hazel toner first to buy 3 bottles of cucumber toner! :D

Have you experienced the same thing with witch hazel toner? Let me know! :) If you have any recommendation on toners that is better than my cucumber toner and keeps the oil at bay without drying my face, leave your comments here. :)

xoxo,

Christine :)