Who out there in the skincare world isn't in search of a miracle product to give them a lit from within glow? I know I am. Is Fresh Beauty's Rose Deep Hydration facial toner the secret to unlocking your skin's hidden glow potential? Keep reading to find out if my search for glow was successful.
In today’s review, I wanted to discuss the beautifully packaged, Instagram worthy, dare I say too good to be true – Rose Deep Hydration Toner from Fresh Beauty. In theory, there are many things to love about this facial toner, not the least of which is its claim to increase your skin’s hydration level by 46% for 6 hours. Besides its claims to fame, the toner contains powerful ingredients to soften and tone the surface of your skin. Per the experts at Sephora, these skin-loving ingredients include:
Rose Fruit Extract: Known for its toning properties
Rosewater: Helps to soothe and rose flower oil helps to nourish
Angelica Leaf Extract: Helps retain moisture
With real rose petals floating around inside the Fresh Beauty Rose Deep Hydration toner sets you up for a luxurious experience. For those who don’t mind fragrance, this toner packs a sensorial experience to perfectly complement its visual one. The tricky part here is, rose is one of those skincare ingredients that can be controversial. Some claim it has antiaging, hydrating, and skin-softening benefits which can, over time, help strengthen the skin’s barrier. Others argue that rose byproducts can be hard to regulate, making them a volatile risk potentially irritating the skin more than helping it. Ultimately fragrance, natural or otherwise, can be a potential irritant to the skin.
Think of L-Ascorbic Acid. When discussing controversial, hard to regulate, skincare ingredients I like to use Vitamin C as an example. I know, I know, Vitamin C and rose are different but just go with me here. Sure, in theory, this scientifically studied form of vitamin C is a great anti-aging antioxidant ingredient but, in practice, it is very difficult to perfect. Rose byproducts, much like Vitamin C, can affect each skin differently and be difficult to balance. Should you be interested in either side of the argument on rose uses in skincare check these articles:
To see Fresh Beauty's ingredient promise click here.
For insights into Rose compounds in skincare see Paula’s Choice Ingredient Dictionary here.
This HuffPost article, The Beauty Benefits of Rose includes links to clinical studies. Please be aware, most of these studies are not human studies.
Don't worry, I won’t be going in-depth about the potential benefits, or hazards, of Rose in skincare. Instead, I will be sharing my experience using Fresh Beauty's highly praised Rose Deep Hydration Toner. Maybe my experience will help you decide if you should try this highly sought after, and quite expensive, beauty product.
Potential Biases
In the interest of honesty, I will share my personal preferences for skincare. Specifically my preferences on the topic of ingredients – in this case, fragrance and plant extract oils. I tend to shy away from any added synthetic fragrance, mostly because I deem it to be unnecessary. Much like added dyes, there is not a proven benefit to the skin and it is one more thing to potentially cause a negative reaction. With that said, essential oils tend to be a bigger culprit of negative (allergic or not) reactions to beauty products than synthetic fragrances. So, as a general rule of thumb, I steer clear of both synthetic and natural fragrances whenever possible.
For those who are scrolling through Instagram noting that some of the products I use have added fragrance – like say the Thank You Farmer Sun Protect sunscreen, I am using at the time of this posting – as I said it’s a general rule. If a product has added fragrance, synthetic or natural, but works amazingly for my skin then I will continue to use it. Well, that is until I find a fragrance-free replacement or break out in a horrible rash - whichever comes first.
The Positive Side
To start on a positive note, I will share what I did like or enjoy about the Fresh Beauty Rose Toner. Despite its deceptively small packaging, I tested the mini size at 3.3oz, a little goes a long way. When I originally started using this toner, purchased in a pinch to replace my previous travel size toner, my intention had been for it to only last the month. Back in April I had quite a few trips and needed a hydrating toner to save my skin from the perils of frequent air travel. Much to my surprise, it lasted me closer to 2 months.
I should also probably mention, I use the 7 skin method. In my daily skincare routine, I typically do 2 ‘skins’ of toner followed by 1to 3 ‘skins’ of an essence. For those of you wondering - what the heck is the '7 skin method' click here for a great article for Byrdie. Back to my toner usage...the amounts vary depending on what my skin needs at the time. My first pass includes wiping my face clean with a cotton pad saturated in facial toner. I believe it helps assure there is no make-up or cleanser residue left behind. Even with a double cleanse at night, cleanser residue left behind can irritate your skin so why not be sure to wipe it away? Considering how much facial toner I use daily, getting 2 months of usage from 3.3 ounces is pretty impressive.
Next up, the sensorial and visual luxury of this toner. As I mentioned before, for those who love, or don’t mind, fragrance and are looking to have a luxury experience – Fresh delivers. Little details like the rose gold pink colored cap, filtered spout, and stunning imagery that is the bottle all work to give users an elite spa-like feel.
The Negatives List
Now for the final positive and first negative, it is hydrating but not deeply so. Given the hype, I was anticipating my skin to feel dewy and moisturized with just one application. After all, isn’t it supposed to boost me 46%? To be fair a toner, with a pH level of 5.5, your skin should feel – well like skin. Your skin shouldn’t feel worse like it had been stripped of all its moisture, and it also shouldn’t feel like you’ve just been caught in a rainstorm with beads of water waiting to seep into your skin.
Still, given the marketing claims, I expected to be able to forego my standard 7 skin method. I anticipated that with its promised 46% hydration boost I would be able to get away with just one application. Simply put - this was not the case. It didn’t help restore my skin's hydration level, instead, my skin felt neither better nor worse after using it. Much like the many other hydrating toners, most at a more affordable price point, I found myself needing more than 1 application. My skin is frequently dehydrated and I expected Fresh’s Rose Deep Hydrating Toner to be my holy grail, the hydration hero my skin cries out for. I will say, for some normal to oily skins it may be enough hydration, but as a normal to combination skin, it was not enough.
Side note, if I’m being honest – I did not measure the hydration levels of my skin using a skin hydration monitor device. Truthfully, I am not too convinced of the efficacy of such devices but that is another conversation for another day. Back to the review.
The second and final negative, perhaps the biggest downside for me – added fragrance. Right about now you may be counting and realizing the negatives list is shorter than the positives so why the overall low glow rating? As I mentioned before, the added fragrance is something I find unnecessary. Even my dermatologist recommends against artificial, or natural, fragrance. Both types of fragrance can cause allergic or sensitivity reactions. Considering the toner is touted as having real rose oil and extracts to help hydrate your skin there is no need to add perfume.
The Consensus
So, with a negatives list longer than the positive, the question is - does this toner live up to the hype? And most importantly is it worth the price tag? Simply put - no. A quick investigation using any cosmetic ingredient checker, like CosDNA or SkinCarisma, and you will realize the first 5 ingredients are a mix of solvents and skin softeners. It's easy to see the main ingredients in this picturesque beauty hardly warrant its steep price point.
It is a commonly accepted principle that the top five ingredients listed contain the highest concentration in the product. Typically ingredients are listed from highest to lowest concentrations. For more information on deciphering your skincare's ingredient list check out Byrdie's article here or Well+Good's summary here. Okay, back to the topic at hand.
With the top five rules in mind, Fresh's top five are as follows: Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Rosa Centifolia Flower, and Rosa Damascena Flower Water. Ingredients six through eight are rose extracts and oils. The three ingredients touted as being star ingredients on Sephora and Fresh's website are ingredients five through seven. Personally, this does not bode confidence in the rose concentration of this toner being very high. So, if I'm not paying for high-quality rose extracts and derivatives what am I paying for. My guess, besides some high-quality water and glycerin, is the picturesque packaging.
One final note. Regardless of my personal opinion, I think it is important to note how vital a step toner is in your skincare routine. Therefore, if this toner is the one you love, don't let me stop you from using it. Toning with Fresh's toner is better than not toning at all. Or worse, using a facial toner latent with drying alcohols or astringents.
If you have any further questions or comments feel free to reach out. Find me on Instagram @insearchofglow.
*To clarify this is not a sponsored blog post. The products were not gifted to me and all opinions and images are my own unless stated otherwise in the caption*