I side-stepped that blessed second skincare step for a year. For the whole of 2014 for some reason I'd lost my love for toning in my skincare routine, I just went for the bare minimum at one point, cleansing and moisturizing and I think I had the odd very rare day of exfoliation. My skin was breaking out in the last quarter and was reeling from neglect especially from the months of September to November last year. I was loitering about Central Square mall the day before Valentine's and I really didn't believe I'd find anything I needed in L'Occitane. not meaning to snub them but I always saw it as the brand I'd give to other people but never really purchase for myself because nothing interested me other than their Almond Shower oil back then...until I sprayed this lovely liquid over the back of my hand which smelt tenderly of a romantic, sleepy summer. First word that came to mind when I smelt L'Occitane's Fresh Gentle Toner was "beach".
L'Occitane Fresh Gentle Toner, Php1050.00 "The two-in-one Shea Butter Gentle Toner removes make up as it tones and refreshes. The Gentle Toner is a gentle alcohol-free toner that respects all skin types. Enriched with shea extract and floral waters (orange blossom , cornflowers), it completes make-up removal and tones skin. Your skin will be soft and your complexion will feel fresh."
I found that this for me is like a slightly more emollient, comforting version of Bioderma crealine. It hydrates with glycerin and floral extracts of orange blossom and cornflower. This toner-slash-makeup-remover-slash-moisture-kick is also supposed to be used as a refreshing mist to top up your skin (body can be, too) in the middle of the day, but unlike Caudalie's best-selling face mist this at least won't hurt the eyes. It can be confusing because they also have a L'Occitane "Fresh Face Water" in the US and this one I have is listed as the "Fresh Gentle Toner" on the L'Occitane Australia website. The key of mine is in the two French words following Tonique Douceur on the bottle I have, Nettoie & Demaquille "cleans and removes makeup"...so I guess that's the difference of this from just the Gentle Toner Tonique Douceur without "Nettoie & Demaquille" on the bottle. Can one product really do this much? Cleanse, remove makeup, and tone? I was just so happy about how the back of my hand felt after spraying this from that tester of theirs, really hydrated and soft, and the dried foundation splotches on the back of my hand were gone. Click to read the full post, LOL yea I know what a brochure of an intro. I never cease to amaze.
Note: Salesladies said and reiterated that this one I got from them is different from the Gentle Toner in the slim, tall bottle which is just a toner. At first I didn't believe them and thought it was just a matter of new packaging turnover. However, I realized they must be right. The key is in the two French words on the bottle I have, Nettoie & Demaquille. The one in the tall slim bottle didn't have those two additional words to Tonique Douceur.
I found that the L'Occitane (Fresh) Gentle Toner did the job of removing light to moderate makeup, didn't sting my eyes, and at the same time toned my skin and left it feeling plump, hydrated, and fresh without feeling stripped like it left something good behind. In one line it's kind of like a micellar water but with the softening or lightly emollient after-effect of a cleansing oil. I know C. Hirons discourages the use of products with shea for some sensitive people who easily break out but she's more referring to its presence in richer heavier formulations or creams. She makes a verbal exception for shea butter extract in her mumseyeview channel ASDA exclusive YouTubevideo where she says it's fine as long as it has been formulated just as part of a liquid. You'll notice the presence of shea in the milky white film which coats the bubbles that form on my hand. It doesn't feel sticky once it dries on the face. My way with this is I still properly cleanse after using it to remove makeup and then I'd use this again after my real cleanse before putting on my moisturizer. I've been using this for about three or four days and my skin has just leveled up. Evidence of there being no major nasties in this is the shelf-life...it indicates at the back that it's good for just 3 months from opening. I have the whole of summer to use this up good.
I had a bit of an "Aha" moment with this just to show you how meticulous I can be with products. For about a minute or two I couldn't understand why the front sticker had bumps or little "zits" I was obsessively rubbing it, half-bothered. I then pleasantly realized that the labels of some L'Occitane products have been set in braille for the blind so they can read them. The only one minor thing that bothers me about this lovely toner is that the size at 200ml isn't going to fly literally travel-wise, you can easily decanter to some other bottle, but here's an indulgent answer to that problem.
L'Occitane is also steadily known as one of the brand kings of beautiful gifts with purchase offers. Currently for a minimum of PHp5000 while supplies last you can get either of these pouches with these mini sets. I'm quite taken with the team on the left in a sparkly grey, which has their new 5% Shea cleansing oil and their Gentle Shea Enriched toner in 30 ml sizes (you can decanter into the toner bottle once that's used up). That set also has their new 5% shea butter Comfort Cream lite which I stopped myself from getting because it's such a lovely moisturizer being the lite sister of their ultra rich shea cream. However in terms of real moisturizer I think I'd prefer the option of L'Occitane Australia's oil-free Ultra Gentle Moisturizer which comes in a bottle with a pump rather than a jar.
