Saturday, 3 September 2011

Product review: Burt’s Bees Radiance Toner

As I have previously mentioned, I was invited by Burt's Bees to trial the entire Radiance range of products for their Facebook page trial team. The next in line in my review series is the Radiance Toner.

From the company: A gentle plant-based clarifying toner featuring Royal Jelly, one of nature’s most nourishing substances, packed with 134 nutrients like amino acides and multiple vitamins. This natural toner removes lingering traces of cleanser and any residual dirt, oil and make-up. Toners also improve the absorption of moisturisers. Leaves skin feeling fresh and nourished! 

Ingredients: aqua (water, eau), lavandula intermedia flower/leaf/stem extract, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) water, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) oil, royal jelly, prunus serotina (wild cherry) bark extract, arctium lappa root extract, betula alba bark extract, chamomilla recutita (matricaria) flower extract, citrus medica limonum (lemon) peel extract, cucumis sativus (cucumber) fruit extract, equisetum hiemale extract, euphrasia officinalis extract, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) leaf extract, humulus lupulus (hops) extract, mentha viridis (spearmint) extract, pinus strobus cone extract, pollen extract, rosa canina fruit extract, rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) leaf extract, salvia officinalis (sage) leaf extract, urtica dioica (nettle) extract, aloe barbadensis leaf extract, sodium benzoate, alcohol denat., glycerin, glycolic acid, benzoic acid, phenoxyethanol, limonene, linalool.

My review: I am usually not much of a toner user – I don’t really see the point in them, so I was not expecting much from this toner. I must say that I was very pleasantly surprised. Actually, I lie....I LOVE this toner!

I used it each morning and evening after the cleanser to remove any remanents. As with the cleanser, this was not at all drying. Whilst my skin was still damp from the toner, I’d apply the serum and I found this helped the serum spread and rub in really well. One night, I was too lazy to cleanse so I just popped some of this onto a cotton pad and wiped it over my face. I wasn’t wearing makeup at the time so didn’t need a thorough cleanse and I found this did a brilliant job as a quick cleanser. It whisked quite a lot of dirt from my face. I even wiped it across my eyes to freshen them up and remove some oiliness from my lids and I found that it did not sting them at all. I have quite sensitive eyes from years of wearing contacts so I was very impressed by this.
The smell of this toner is amazing - a very delicate floral. Since I am not usually much of a toner user, I think if this didn’t smell nice I would have been reluctant to bother using it. However, because this smelt so lovely, I actually looked forward to using it. I found the smell of the cleanser lingered slightly after I used it and this wiped the last traces of that scent away.
It comes in a 175ml bottle with a pop up lid, which is very convenient – it makes it so much easier to pop up the lid whilst you are holding the cotton pad in your other hand.
I can say, without a doubt, that I will definitely use this product again. I loved the way it left my skin feeling refreshed and extra clean, but not tight and dry. At $24.95 it is a fairly reasonable price for a toner and I think that this really compliments the range – it makes a lovely transition for your skin from cleanser to serum.

Stockists In Australia, Burt's Bees is available from David Jones, Myer, Priceline, pharmacies and health food stores. Or you can buy the range from Amazon.

If you would like some more detailed information on royal jelly, you may be interested in my blog article- The use of royal jelly in skincare

All opinions stated in this blog are my own. I have no affiliation with any company discussed in this blog and received no remuneration for my comments. These products were provided for consideration by Burt's Bees for their Facebook Trial Team.