A good toner can be hard to find. Often, they have irritating ingredients like alcohol or fragrant plant extracts. I have to admit, I don't usually bother to use toner, partly because of these problems, and partly because I don't feel like I really need one all of the time. However, in the winter when my skin starts to get dehydrated, I like to add in a hydrating toner as an extra step to provide a little more moisture to my skin, which is how I found Clinique's Moisture Surge Face Spray.
This is a good, fragrance-free, oil-free, alcohol-free, hydrating spray-on toner. It has ingredients like aloe, chamomile, glycerin, and vitamin E to hydrate and soothe the skin, along with caffeine to reduce redness.
Clinique says:
Water your skin. Take along a refreshing face spray for showers of thirsty skin relief. Bursting with moisture and active aloe. But not a drop of oil. Rapidly replenishes skin's moisture level, restoring balance. Softens and soothes in a flash.
You can use this after cleansing (and go so far as to spray it on a cottonball or pad to use it, if you like that kind of thing), and/or you can spray it directly on the face throughout the day. Any skin type can use and benefit from this toner, especially in the drier months of the year.
It feels somewhat cooling when sprayed directly on the skin, but immediately warms up to skin temperature. It has no scent and feels soothing when applied, and it seems to reduce redness quite effectively. This can also be used after makeup or powder application to make the skin look more dewy and less powdery. The spray produces a fine mist and doesn't spray too much on the skin and make you wet (so long as you hold it far away enough!). It doesn't feel sticky once it dries, and it relieves tightness and discomfort. I like that it provides a boost of hydration during the day as I need it. I think this does help with making my skin feel less dehydrated. I figure the more humectants (ingredients that pull moisture from the air) and anti-irritants layered on the skin (in light layers in different types of products), the more they work together to protect the skin's natural moisture barrier. Unfortunately, because I don't have dry skin (dehydrated is different than dry), I can't speak to how well this works for truly dry skin. The ingredients certainly are beneficial for any skin type.
Ingredients: Water, Dipropylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Water, Centella Asiatica (Hydrocotyl) Extract, Saccharomyces Lysate Extract, Yeast Extract\Faex\Extrait De Levure, Caffeine, Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile), Trehalose, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sucrose, Sorbitol, Disodium EDTA, Potassium Sorbate, Chlorphenesin, Phenoxyethanol
I'm impressed by the Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray. It is a great toner to have with you throughout the day (you can put it in a wee spray bottle to carry with you, although the bottle itself isn't too huge or heavy) as skin begins to feel tight or uncomfortable, or to use twice a day after cleansing to add a little extra hydration to your skincare regimen. Recommended for everyone!
Clinique Moisture Surge Face Spray is $22 USD for 4.2 oz. (125 ml).
