This week I give you TWO product reviews! Well, 2 products squished into one blog post anyway.
Skinsider has kindly gifted me a couple of travel/tester size of these Dr G products for me to try out and review. If you haven't visited Skinsider before, you should definitely check them out now as they are constantly looking for new brands to add on to the site, making it available for the UK! They are great people and I really enjoy watching their current Korea travel stories!
First up is the Moisture Toner
- Texture: Thin, water-like
- Ingredients: mainly water, with buckwheat seed extract, leaf water, glycerin, castor oil, Fragrance (!), Kiwi fruit extract, tomato fruit/leaf/stem extract, Alba flower extract.
Although this has fragrance, this hasn't particularly irritated my skin, neither is the scent very strong, which is great as strong scents are not what I prefer (most of the time) - Claims: soothing, promotes circulation, purifies, easily absorbed
- Efficacy: This toner brings me back to the days where I wasn't using thick toners; honestly, I do prefer my thick toners even in the summer, but this is a great option for summer skincare as it's a lot easier to absorb, layer and you won't end up with a sticky residue like some toners can give you. I used this for travelling and my skin has been stressed because of the travel, pollution and long days. This was definitely great relief to my skin after cleansing, combining with the 7 skin method, my skin was rehydrated from a tough day.
- Verdict: 5/5
I absolutely loved this toner! This is so lovely, hydrating and soothing at the same time. Although I no longer use toners of this consistency (my dehydrated skin loves the thicker toners), I would gladly use this again, especially during the summer where thinner products work just as well - my skin feels less heavy with a thinner toner too.
Next is the Water Soothing Gel Cream
- Texture: Gel-like, but kind of cream like!
- Ingredients: very similar to the toner, but extracts are further down the ingredients list. Also contains dimethicone and denatured alcohol so if your skin is intolerant for these two, I would stay away from this.
- Claims: easily absorbed, deep hydration, cooling effect for heated and tired skin, soothes redness
- Efficacy: Honestly I was put off by the ingredients, but when I've given it a go, it really wasn't so bad. If your skin is highly sensitive to the 2 ingredients highlighted above though, you may want to be a little more careful. This product has an interesting texture - most gel "moisturisers" I've used previously have just been absorbed and my skin feels dry again, so I have historically not used gel products as my skin needs something thicker to keep the moisture in. This is kind of like cream as well in a way where it does get absorbed quickly, but I never had the feeling of tightness quickly afterwards like I have done with some other gel products. However, I wouldn't say that this is sufficient on its own to hydrate and lock in and would recommend to use this product with toner and follow up with either another cream based, but light, moisturiser (like steam cream) and/or sleeping mask.
- Verdict: 4/5
It took me a while to come to like this product and in all honestly this works best when you are also using other products from the same line. I definitely pair this with the toner and as a pair they work great. I particularly like the soothing aspect of this product and my skin really does feel relieved, especially after long days of commute and work. For hydration, I still have questions as to whether it truly hydrates, however it could just be due to the type of product it is. I think this product would be great for those with dry skin or stressed skin. Although it has alcohol and silicone, this product did not irritate my skin - it really is down to formulation and not just ingredients!
So there you have it, both Dr G products reviewed and I would recommend to use them as a duo! If you are low on budget, then I'd say go for the toner! Both are available on Skinsider's site - check them out and check out some other products!