Mizon Pore Tightening 90% Witchhazel Toner

Hello :)
Looking for a miracle for my terrible pores I came across this toner. Something in neat look of the bottle with catching eye huge 90% on label made me wanting it badly and I couldn't find any reviews so... I just simply decided to give it a go and bought it :)

Description: The formula contains 90% Witchhazeln extract, effective for tightening pores. Removes any skin wastes residue in pores and controls excessive sebum. Keeps skin oil free and fresh all day long.

Before buy I made a little research about Witchhazel. It's a strong astringent & antioxidant, has antibacterial & antiinflammatory properties, effective in acne treatments. Toner also contains extracts from:
carrots - helps skin to regenerate, moisturises and refreshes skin
Chinese tea leaves - astringent & antioxidant
papaya fruit - antioxidant & substances helpful in acne treatments
ivy - helps to control sebum, reduces inflammations, strenghtens collagen fibres
licorice - antibacterial and anti allergy properties, controls sebum, moisturise, helps to reduce inflammation
willow bark - contains salicylic acid, anti inflammatory properties

Sounds good, huh?

Product comes in clear plastic bottle, with generous capacity of 210ml. It doesn't have any extra packaging, just comes thermo-wraped in foil. It has Mizon's hologram sticker, which is confirmation that product is genuine. Under plastic cap product is sealed:

As you can see the toner itself is clear, water-like liquid. It has nice, fresh, citrus smell - for me it smells like lemon flavoured mineral water :) What I liked most about this product is that it doesn't dry out my skin - after face wash my skin often feels tight and dry, and some toners are making this feeling worse. This one actually reduces it :)

Now the most important: does it tighten pores? ......................... Yes!

After use skin is nicely refreshed and pores are tighten. It is not some spectacular effect - having huge pores through most of my life I don't suddenly expect one toner to solve the problem - but it is noticeable, especially on my cheeks, close to nose, where they're biggest.

As for acne fighting properties it's hard for me to tell, as I have moderate acne from years and recently I stopped taking antibiotics what made my breakouts worse than ever. Certainly it doesn't solve the problem, but it also doesn't make it worse, which is fair enough, as it doesn't promise anything acne-wise on label.

For the sebum control - I haven't notice any difference. 

Price: £7-12  on e-Bay.

Pros:

+ tighten pores
+ doesn't dry out skin
+ nice, fresh smell
+ large capacity

Cons:
- doesn't control sebum as promised

Overall I recommend this product, it's very nice daily toner. I wish Mizon would create whole Witchhazel line, maybe it could help with my acne...

Ingerdients: Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Water, Aqua, Butylene Glycol, Panthenol, Trehalose, Glycerin, Peg-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylylglycol, Ethylhexyglycerin, Tropolone, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Root Extract, Pinus Densiflora Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Canca Papaya (Papaya) Fruit Extract, Gypsophla Paniculata Root Extract, Propylene Glycol, Hedera Helix (Ivy) Extract, Copper Tripeptide-1, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Cymbopogon Schoenanthus Oil. 


From '90%' range there are also two other toners available: Bulgarian Rose for soft, radiant skin and soothing Chamomile for sensitive skin.

Tony Moly Dear Me Petite Cotton BB Cream

Hi there :)
From time to time when I'm making order on e-Bay I like to add some product spontaneously, without making wide research about it. This time I decided to get BB Cream form Tony Moly, it was cheap enough to take risk.

Description: This BB Cream makes your skin baby-soft as it adheres lightly to your skin and gives your skin flawless finish. It delivers appropriate makeup coverage to your skin, without leaving an oily residue behind. SPF 30 PA++

Cream contains few skin beneficial ingredients:

• Arbutin - an active ingredient brightening up skin, used to treat hyperpigmentation caused by acne, allergies, infections, scars etc. It's also a natural filter against UV radiation (types A, B, C).
• Silica - skin mattifying
• Portulaca Oleracea Extract (also known as wild portulaca or pigweed) - has many benefits on skin: soothing effect, accelerating healing process, improving skin's elasticity. As a natural source of vitamins A, C and E and the co-enzyme Q10, is an excellent antioxidant, fighting premature ageing and protecting skin from environmental damage
• Witch hazel extract - a strong astringent & antioxidant, has antibacterial & anti-inflammatory properties, effective in acne treatments
• Adenosine - helps prevent wrinkles, reduces UVB sun damage, increases the production of elastin and collagen reducing skin sogginess and improving tone
• Hyaluronic Acid - is a powerful anti ageing ingredient in skin care. It is naturally occurring in the skin, but as we get older it's level decrease causing our skin to age and sag. It has ability to absorb water up to 1000 times its weight, what makes it one of the best moisturising substances known.
• Centella Asiatica (also known as Gotu Kola) - an effective anti-photo ageing agent, mainly due to enhancement of collagen, which amount in skin decreases with age. Listed in Indian Ayurvedic medicine to combat excessively dry skin. Has anti-inflammatory properties, suitable for sensitive skin.

 Altought most of this good ingredients is at the end of the ingredients list, which means it doesn't contain much of them.

 
Full list of ingredients: Water, Cyclotetrasilxane, Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Titanium Dioxide, Butylene Glycol, Cyclomethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Zinc Oxide, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1Dimethicone, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Arbutin, Hexyl Laurate, Polymethyl Methylmethacrylate, Polygryceryl-2 Triisostearate, Bees Wax, Dimethiconecopolypol, Sodium Chloride, Cl 77492, Magnesium Aluminium Silicate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Silica, Aluminium Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Bark/Leaf/Twig Extract, Adenosine, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Sodium Hialuronate, Centella Asiatica Extract.

 

The product comes up in soft squeezy type tube with 30g capacity. It has only one shade: #1 Cotton Beige, what worried me a little bit on the beginning - fortunately colour matched my skin perfectly. 

This cream have great consistency - not too rare and not too thick, it's easy to apply in every way - I tried with my fingers, foundation brush & make up sponge, and they all worked same good. What surprised me most is that it doesn't smudge during application, like some BB creams do - you don't have to pat it into skin, you can just spread it on you face, same way you would spread moisturiser. Thanks to that application can be done really quickly, so I always use it when I am in hurry. It gives medium coverage, evens skin tone, reduces redness and subtly covers scars, managing to look natural & fresh at the same time. It doesn't roll up in wrinkles and doesn't makes dry patches very visible, what is a huge advantage for me (my skin is often dry and flaky in some places because of medical cream I use for my acne). It gives you typical for BB Creams glow effect, I'm mattyfing it gently with powder. My face becomes oily after 2-3 hours, which is a standard time for me. It's basically unscented.

Price: £4-6 on e-Bay.

Pros:
+ perfect consistency; not too rare, not too thick
+ doesn't smudge during application
+ doesn't roll up in wrinkles
+ colour matched my complexion well
+ covers good enough and still loos natural
+ cheap

Cons:
None so far :)

At the moment it's my favourite BB Cream :) However I am not using it every day (daily I am checking out different samples) because it's so good I am saving it for moments when I am in hurry and/or I want to be sure that my skin looks good. I strongly recommend this product and even if you won't like it, you won't loose much - you just simply can't go wrong with four pound ;)