Olay Refreshing Toner (And a Bit About Toners in General)

I don't expect too much from a toner because for one, it seems as though a toner is not a TOTALLY necessary step in skin care; it's more of a way to top off your skincare routine. I've found that toners do more to make me feel like I've done something extra and special for my skin than actually really doing a whole lot to improve it. Maybe I'm using the wrong toners...

What are toners for anyway?

I've read lots of mixed ideas about what toners are for and whether or not you actually need one. Most of the time it seems to be a personal preference thing. Toners are good for removing any left-over residue from your cleanser and attempting to help even out your skin. On the other hand, others believe that toners do a lot of heavy work and are absolutely necessary.

Ideally speaking, a good toner can provide hydration, a deep cleaning, balance to your skin and can also assist in getting the most out of your other skin care products.

So does Olay's Refreshing Toner live up to these claims?

I'm going to start out with the packaging on this one... Olay never has appealing packaging (at least I don't see it as such) and this toner is no different. Not that packaging is of huge importance--some may entirely disagree with me on that--but this bottle of toner is boring looking. It's a plastic bottle. It says Olay. It says Toner. That's about it. The toner itself is blue and that's the most exciting part of this semi-transparent bottle.

But I'll try not to judge a toner by its bottle.

Onto the actual product...

It smells nice! Not in perfumey or floraly or fruity way but in a clean, refreshing way. Not too chemically  and nothing too fake and heavy to mask the ingrediants. Nice. I have the bottle right here by me and I keep removing the cap to get a little whiff.

The ingredient list! Water, sd alcohol 40, hamamelis (witch hazel), aloe leaf juice, peg-40 hydrogenated castor oil, allantoin, menthyl lactate.

It feels good! It feels like you're doing something good for your skin. It leaves you feeling clean, dry and none too oily. That's my favorite part about this is the feeling you get after you use it. For a while, it lets me feel the way I wish my skin felt if I wasn't an oily mess. But it doesn't over dry either, you don't end up with that ULTRA tight dry face. Which is good.

Benefits? Aside from it feeling good on my skin, I couldn't see any difference in what my skin LOOKS like or really any difference between using this and not using it. So no visual changes for me.

Also no longer-term changes. This product really only provided me with a great feeling face before I either applied night time products or before my makeup. 

Is this toner necessary? I'd say no.

Rating: 2.5/5

Do you use a toner? Do you find it necessary?

This toner goes for around $3.49 (a good deal for what it does I think) and is available from drug stores, superstores and Amazon.com.