This is actually a photo of all the free samples that came along with my order. I ordered the whole Benton Snail Bee High Content line from GMarket (the skin toner, essence, lotion, steam cream and mask pack). As you can see, I got two free samples of each product from their line, three masks, and also small jars of each product from the Snail Bee High Content line. Today I'll be reviewing the Aloe BHA Skin Toner.
Description (from roseroseshop.com):
- Aloe BHA Skin Toner is for all types of skin including sensitive and troubled ones
- Instead of purified water, the product uses Aloe BHA leaf water with natural cosmetic ingredients such as BHA and snail secretion filtrate to help prevent skin damages from skin irritants and stress
- 8-Free system: no paraben/mineral oil/alcohol/benzophenone/chemical preservatives/steroid/artificial fragrance/artificial coloring
- Alcohol free: completely free of alcohol
- Water free: less water, and more Aloe Vera Leaf juice for the best results
- After washing, pray directly on your face, spray on your palm and spread it on your face, or spray on a cosmetic cotton and spread the content with the cotton
For those who are unfamiliar with Benton, it is a Korean skincare brand that specializes in creating products that maximizes on pure, active ingredients. They do not have celebrity endorsers so local Koreans actually do not know much about it. In fact, you wouldn't be able to buy this at a store in Korea, you'd still have to get it online. They only have two lines with a total of 7 products: the Snail Bee High Content line which contains the skin toner, essence, lotion, steam cream, and mask pack; and the Aloe line, which contains the BHA skin toner and soothing gel.
My usual toner that I use for both my Morning Skincare Routine and Night Skincare Routine is the Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner toner. I replaced this with the Aloe BHA Skin toner for both morning and night and followed the recommended routine above. Since these were samples, I basically just put it on my palm, spread it on my face, and patted for absorption. It had no fragrance, smelled and felt just like water. One sample was enough for 3-4 uses.
Long story short, I got an allergic reaction to this. At first I got little red bumps on the left and right side between my nose and mouth. But I decided to give it a longer try since some people say you get some red bumps when you first try a new skincare product. But the more I was using it, the fiercer the red bumps were in terms of severity, how long they stayed, and the amount of red bumps. Finally, on my 5th time, my face started getting itchy a few minutes after I applied it. To me, itchy is almost always allergy. So I threw away the rest of my second sample.
I didn't get a break out in that these red bumps did not become pimples. I would (ironically) credit this to the Benton Aloe Soothing Gel (will give this a proper review after I'm done with the last sample). Basically my red bumps would appear after using the BHA Skin toner, get worse after applying the Snail Bee High Content Essence, but then the Benton Aloe Soothing Gel would literally soothe those red bumps (not completely but there is instant evidence improvement), and the Snail Bee High Content Steam Cream also helps a bit. By next morning, these red bumps went away...which was probably why I persisted on using this toner 5 times before finally realizing what was going on!
Reading some blogs it looks like many people also got allergic reactions or complete breakouts from this product. It might be the Althaea Rosea Flower Extract that is in the toner. I already consider myself to have moderately low sensitive skin, since I always try random skincare samples and I don't break out too often *knock on wood* So in summary, better get some samples first before you buy this!
Summary:
Got an allergic reaction :(
No fragrance, texture very similar to water
$16 for 200ml on w2beauty.com
Quality: 0/5 because it gave me an allergic reaction
Value: 0/5 because it gave me an allergic reaction!
Repurchase? Of course not!
Are you sure you aren't also experiencing an infection from the Benton toner? Numerous girls have been infected by the Benton toner which we assume is also related to the contaminated essence issue that recently came to light. Benton admitted that their processing plant failed to mix additives into their batch(es) and thus caused bacteria growing in the products.
ReplyDeleteI am still using two antibiotics to get rid of the infectious "acne" caused by the toner on my face, and a dermatologist/doctor told me that my skin, as well as other girls who I showed him from the Benton posts, are not having allergic reactions--these look like infections.
I am in the process of gathering multiple bottles of the toner from other girls to culture in the lab myself, and I will be culturing my own skin if I can get a good sample from an infected blemish.
Thank you for your in depth reply into this! I'm not 100% sure of course, since I've only used it 5 times and it was from a sample so I don't have the lot number or anything. But I also get an allergic rash from alcohol, and I thought the red bumps I got as a result from the toner was a lot like the rash I get from alcohol. It seemed less likely to be infectious because the red bumps were 1mm in height and diameter, were not inflammatory, did not develop into pustules or papules, and because they were itchy. I stopped using the toner 2 days ago and my face is back to normal now. Those red bumps have not persisted.
DeleteBut this whole bacterial contamination thing does sound pretty serious if you're using two antibiotics to get rid of the acne! I hope your skin gets better asap!!! :(
It seems like the people who've tried this either love it due to amazing results or hate it because of the terrible effects - I fortunately had very positive results. It really reduced whatever acne I had and gave my skin a much smoother texture! Just wanted to share my experience.
ReplyDeleteAhh lucky! I've actually had a few pimples recently..not sure if it's because I was in Asia where it was all humid and sweaty along with my sunscreen. But unfortunately I wasn't one of those who benefited. Good thing I didn't buy the whole bottle. Phew!
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