Thayer’s Witch Hazel With Aloe Vera Cucumber (355mL)

This budget friendly toner from Thayer retails for about $22CDN on Amazon and is alcohol-free. Its main purpose is to soothe and refresh the skin, as well as hydrate. While it doesn’t come with a mister, I usually pour it into one that I saved from a previous misting toner. Thayer’s leaves a cool, fine mist of light cucumber-scented freshness on the skin. The witch hazel in it is great for tightening pores and clearing away oil, while the aloe soothes. I do have to admit a slight bias here, because I love all things aloe.

I don’t find this toner hydrating enough for the fall/winter months, but it’s perfect for the summer when I’m looking for something to cool my skin without adding to my oil production. More than the price point, I love how fresh my skin feels after a few spritzes. At 355mL, you also get way more product than the more expensive Peter Thomas Roth Essence at 100mL.

The Thayer’s line also has a peach toner and rose petal toner that I’d like to try out next. Repurchase? Most definitely.

Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Essence Mist (100mL)

I added this mist to my last Sephora order. It usually retails for $35CDN but it was on sale for $18 so I added it to my cart in order to get free shipping. This alcohol-free essence mist is supposed to detoxify, refresh and hydrate skin. It also claims to be great for misting over your makeup for a dewy finish. I had read the reviews on this mist online and many of them complained that the mister on this high-priced toner sprayed like a power washer. The reviews were right; it sprays fat droplets of the PTR essence everywhere! Luckily I had a small mister from a previous toner that worked really well, so I decanted the PTR mist into it. It sprayed a bit better, but still a lot heavier than I would like for something labelled a “mist.” More like heavy rain. Not sure how this passed quality assurance at Peter Thomas Roth.

While the PTR essence includes hyaluronic acid to moisturize skin and chamomile to soothe, I really didn’t feel the effects of these ingredients. Instead, my face just feels wet after using it. I might as well spray plain water onto my face, because that’s how it feels. I’d hate to think what I’d look like if I sprayed this stuff over my makeup! Even more disappointing, this mist doesn’t even smell like cucumbers or have any real scent at all.

What did I like about this mist? It looks nice…that’s about it. I would definitely not repurchase the Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Essence Mist. Ever.

What’s your favourite summer facial mist?

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