Review: Isntree – Green Tea Fresh Toner

Where to purchase: From Yesstyle HERE

You can use my discount code: CVQFZA to receive % off!

Price: £ 14.86

Volume: 200ml

Made in: South Korea

What is it?: A lightweight toner containing Green tea and sebum-reducing ingredients

Brand Description: This toner, aimed at those with combination/oily skin types contains a blend of plant extracts and Anti-Sebum P(HD) to control excess oil. This also contains 80% Jeju Green Tea Extract. This toner aims to balance the skin’s sebum levels and also contains Hyaluronic acid and Centella Asiatica to hydrate and soothe the skin. Blueberry Fruit Extract is also used to soothe.

NOTE: A lot more info about the products and the ingredients and how they work is in the Youtube video below.

Supposedly Good for: Combination / Oily Skin

What I think: I agree – I do think those with less oily skins can use this and perhaps focus this product only on the T-zone i.e. areas that are oily. Or use this every other day just to keep one’s oiliness in check without over drying the skin.

Vegan?: Yes

pH: ~5.8

Cruelty Free?: Yes

Packaging: Plastic Bottle with a screw-top lid. It has a little mechanism on top to prevent over-pouring product.

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Directions: After cleansing, applying the product and pat it into skin to aid absorption.

How I use it: I apply this in the AM and PM – I saturate a cotton pad with this and then swipe my face ( to remove any excess dirt from cleansing). I do think because I don’t have very oily skin, I may have over-done the use of this and perhaps should have used this only in the PM (to control the T-Zone) or every other day.

Key Ingredients: 80% of Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (green tea) – antioxidant + soothing. Willow bark extract is also for sebum control (can be drying). Hyaluronic Acid is included to hydrate the skin as well as Beta-Glucan to soothe the skin. This product contains Tannins which help with excess sebum production.

Full Ingredients: Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Water, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract, Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract, Pueraria Lobata Root Extract, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid,Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Allantoin, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Beta-Glucan, Disodium EDT, Hydroxyacetophenone – (MY YOUTUBE VIDEO DISCUSSES THE INGREDIENTS MORE IN DEPTH)

NOTE: The Incidecoder have a full ingredient breakdown HERE

Texture: This is watery! It totally runs down my hand and does not hold its shape. It does have ‘bits’ (see the picture below) in it, but these are probably the extracts/fermented green tea and you don’t feel them as they’re so tiny. A lightweight texture that doesn’t really linger onto the skin and pretty much absorbs / disappears. Hence why I don’t think this would suit dry skins as it may feel like it dries out the skin even more. Oily skins would appreciate the light-weightiness of this. However, of course dry skins could use this and layer up with a moisturising serum/ cream as well But I do feel like also judging from the ingredients that this is aimed towards those with oily skins.

As you can see this is brown in colour (not a colourant) and is threatening to immediately run down my hand (which it did) so it shows you that this is practically water. It’s not viscous. Think of it like when you put a tea bag in hot water – using that water as the base of this toner, is sort of what it’s like. Getting all the phenols and polyphenols from green tea (Green tea also contains Tannins which help reduce sebum hence why this is directed more toward oily skins).

You can see it just runs down the hand! Very easy and quick to absorb. Just tap in or use a saturated cotton pad to swipe one’s face and you’re done!

This really takes no time to absorb. But that’s why I would say some may find this drying because it’s so lightweight and sort of disappears so quickly.

You can see here that there are ‘bits’ in the product (it’s not dirt) – it’s just from the fermented/extracted ingredients.

YOUTUBE VIDEO – Watch me Discuss the Ingredients, Share my First Impressions AND Swatch the Green Tea Fresh Toner!

Fragrance?: No added Fragrance or Essential Oil – BUT This definitely has a very potent Fermented, Dark Green Tea Smell – so if you don’t like a bitter-type, herbal smell, then you may not enjoy this!

Good Under Makeup?: Yes, so lightweight that it’s fine.

How long have I been using this?: Over a month

The Effect?: This definitely keeps the oiliness of one’s skin in check! I wouldn’t call this hydrating. But it didn’t irritate or aggrevate my skin – but it does dry it out (great for those who want something to balance their sebum levels). BUT I would like to mention that when applying, I would sometimes accidently swipe this over the top of my top lip AND now I’ve noticed that I have a very dry upper lip now (so now I have to double down on using a lip balm on my upper lip especially, and make sure when I swipe my toner, I really avoid my lip). So it shows you that this does help with oiliness however if someone has dry or dehydrated skin, I fear that this’ll just dry out someone’s skin further when they don’t need any more drying out. I do think that this has helped my T-zone be less oily, so I suggest combo skins stick to applying this more to the oily areas of the face and focus less on the dry areas of the face to avoid drying out.

What I like:

• Lightweight
• Nice Ingredients added (i.e. not only Green tea in here)
• Helps with Sebum regulation (as I did accidentally dry out my lip with this product)
• I can swipe my face with a cotton pad using this (difficult to do with thicker toners) so I can remove excess dirt too
• Fine under makeup
• No added fragrance / EO
• Didn’t seem to irritate my face

What I don’t like:

• Not particularly hydrating or moisturising
• Strong smell of Green Tea
• I find that I need quite a bit to fully saturate the face
• Definitely not aimed at dehydrated / dry skins (and I would recommend focusing this product on the oilier areas of the face than lingering on the dry areas)

Overall Rating and Conclusion: 4/5 – Not a bad toner! I think oily skins would eat this up, and oily-sensitive skins. It’s lightweight, it spreads far and absorbs quick so one can move on with their routine. Not it’s not overly hydrating or moisturising, but one can simply put a hydrating serum / moisturiser afterwards. I think those in hot and humid climates would enjoy this as well. Just watch out for the smell of this as I think you’ve got to like the smell of strong green tea to enjoy this!

Would I purchase?: Yes I would – but I don’t think I would use this everyday or every AM / PM to avoid drying out my skin (my skin isn’t intensely oily), but I would use this just to keep that T-zone in check!

Dupe?: I have yet to use another toner that is exclusively a green tea toner APART from the Amore Pacific Green Tea Ferment Essence which is extortionate BUT felt nice and lightweight! (But it has been a while since I tried it so I can’t remember if it was thicker or thinner than this toner, I think perhaps it was the same).

My Skin Type: I am acne prone and have slightly dehydrated combo skin. My skin is usually tight where the cheeks and eye area is and the outer parts of my face. My T zone is oily. My skin isn’t a fan of thick/heavy formulas so I opt for lightweight formulas to prevent it from clogging up. My skin doesn’t like essential oils either and I try to avoid fragrance when I can.

Disclaimer: I am a skincare enthusiast and not a skin expert. I am not qualified to give out dermatological advice. This type of advice should only be given by a medical practitioner. Upon trying / using any of the reviewed products on the blog, please follow the manufacturer’s instructions and warnings and please seek medical advice if needed.