A lovely rose toner (The Sanctuary Instant Hydrating Toner)

Member Name: pink_glitter

Product:	The Sanctuary Instant Hydrating Toner
Date:	27/09/08 (134 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Smells beautiful, tones well

Disadvantages: bottle dribbles everywhere!

I don't really know what was going through my mind when I bought this product. I had a Boots skincare voucher which entitled me to £5 off The Sanctuary skincare range, but did not particularly need any new products. Still, I found myself browsing the range of products, nothing unusual in this, I suppose, except that months ago I had used The Sanctuary's facial wash, and it left my skin so awful and dried out, I swore never again. So, I don't know how I found myself purchasing a bottle of their 'Instant Hydrating Toner' but I did.

The toner comes in a white bottle with blue and silver writing. It's fairly plain, but quite nice packaging. The main problem for me, comes with the dispenser. When you remove the frosted plastic lid, you will see that this to dispense the toner, there is a rather unusual contraption. It's quite hard to describe, but the top of the neck of the bottle is split into two. When you push one side down, the other side pops up, revealing a little slot on the side from which the toner comes out. It might look quite clever, but I have found it to be a nightmare! Obviously you need to apply the liquid to cotton wool, but even if you cover the slot with a pad of cotton wool, it tends to dribble out and I've ended up with more of this on the carpet than on my face!

Once you do manage to get the toner onto the cotton wool, you simply wipe over your face. The toner contains rosewater, and therefore has a lovely sweet, gentle, rose scent to it. It feels quite cooling on the skin, and thankfully did not make my skin feel dry or tight after use.

The main reason I wanted to use a toner in the first place, was that I have fairly enlarged pores around my nose, and I wanted to minimize them. I have now been using this product for around three weeks, and I have seen some improvement there, which I must admit, I am fairly surprised about. They have not shrunk completely, but there is definitely a difference, which I'm pleased about.

It also gets rid of any leftover cleanser or make-up as well as leaving my skin feeling soft and refreshed.

The toner costs £5.95 from Boots.

Overall, I have been quite impressed with this. Given my previous experiences with The Sanctuary;'s cleanser, I wasn't expecting much from this, so I'm pleased to say that I have noticed a difference to enlarged pores and my skin is feeling a little softer than usual. If I get another £5 off coupon, I will definitely consider buying this again.

Summary: A much better offering from The Sanctuary