A Body Shop classic
A few months back the Body Shop was selling its skincare products at half price so along with rather a few other products, I decided to pick up this toner, which is considered one of the Body Shop classics. I certainly remember using it many years ago, and it was well overdue a re-visit.
A 250ml bottle of the toner costs £4 at full price - obviously I got it for £2.
Simple packaging
This is one of those BS products that has been around forever so it may be familiar to those of you that have shopped there for a while. It comes in a green tinted bottle with very simple labelling - it certainly has a classic appearance and is recognisably a Body Shop product. Inside you can see that the toner has the consistency of water - luckily the black flip-top cap stops you tipping out loads at once so you should be safe from spills! The toner promises to:
- Remove the last traces of make-up
- Cool the skin
- Refresh the skin
One of the key ingredient of this toner is community fair trade organic aloe vera from Guatemala - the Body Shop is a fair trade supporter and using this ingredient helps support farmers and schoolchildren in the region.
Where is the cucumber?
I am a big fan of the Boots Cucumber Face Wipes - as well as being great make-up removers I love the fresh cucumbery scent - and I expected this toner to smell much the same. However on opening the bottle and having a sniff, the first thing I noticed was that this doesn't have the same obviously cucumber aroma - in fact it smells a little more perfumey to me and I am not convinced that I can detect cucumber at all. Perhaps this is just me of course, but it did come as a bit of a surprise and disappointment. Although having said this the actual smell isn't at all unpleasant and it actually has a very light and fresh scent. I apply a good squirt of this onto a blob of cotton wool after cleansing my face.
Applying it feels really refreshing - it has a lovely cooling sensation and it really feels like you are giving your skin a little extra clean - indeed I do sometimes find traces of make-up on the cotton wool even after cleansing my face. It is really nice to use and, unlike with other toners I've used in the past, I have actually used this most days since buying it - usually with toners I tend to get bored of using them as I can't quite see the point! I really do like the way it gives the skin a lovely fresh feeling and this definitely encourages me to use it.
The other thing I really like is that this doesn't leave skin feeling at all tight - something I have definitely found with other toners. Although I always finish off with a moisturiser, this leaves skin feeling smooth, clear and refreshed and definitely not at all dried out.
A lovely toner
While I won't say this works miracles or dramatically changes the appearance of my skin, I really enjoy using this product. It leaves my skin feeling refreshed, and I like the fact that it offers a nice cleansing boost too!
Overall I really like this product and, at half price, it was an absolute bargain - in fact at £4 for 250ml I would say it is still good value.
I am going to be picky and knock off a star though as it didn't have the fresh cucumber fragrance that I had expected!
Review summary ...
I really like using this lovely, refreshing toner and will be buying it again when my current bottle runs out. Let's hope it's on special offer again!
Other info ...
Also in the range...
The Body Shop also sells a Cucumber Cleansing Milk which would be great alongside the toner.
Ingredients
Aqua (Solvent/Diluent), Rosa Centifolia Flower Water (Natural Additive), Polysorbate 20 (Emulsifier), Sodium PCA (Humectant), Alcohol Denat. (Solvent/Diluent), Potassium Sorbate (Preservative), Cucumis Sativus Juice (Natural Additive), Benzyl Alcohol (Preservative), Parfum (Fragrance), Hexyl Cinnamal (Fragrance Ingredient), Glycerin (Humectant), Citric Acid (pH Adjuster), Hamamelis Virginiana Extract (Natural Additive), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Skin-Conditioning Agent), Geraniol (Fragrance Ingredient), Methylparaben (Preservative), Butylphenyl Methylpropional (Fragrance Ingredient), Butylparaben (Preservative), Ethylparaben (Preservative), Isobutylparaben (Preservative), Propylparaben (Preservative).
Cool as a cucumber 
