Review: REN Clarifying Toning Lotion

I had never heard of chemical exfoliation until it was mentioned by Caroline Hirons on her skincare bible of a blog. As a person who usually omits toner from her skincare routine, I was sceptical about whether adding that extra step would be worth it. I was using the REN Clarifying Toning Lotion daily when I bought it, but briefly forgot about it and stopped using it. Since starting using it again and slowly nearing the end of the bottle, I thought it was about time to share my thoughts.

The first thing you notice when using the REN Clarifying Toning Lotion is the smell. It has a very natural and fresh, herbal-esque smell, which I really liked. As the product is by REN, you're pretty much guaranteed that the scent of this product is due to the ingredients rather than artificially added perfumes, as they do not add synthetic fragrance to their products. Some people may not like the scent, but do not fear, it disappears shortly after application.

The toner is easy to use, as you just pour a little onto a cotton pad and swipe it all over your skin. I find this toner feels lovely and refreshing on the skin. It was perfect on those hot days we had during the summer and feels amazing on the skin after a hot shower, as it almost has a light cooling effect.

I love using this when my skin is breaking out, as its active ingredients include lactic, citric, tartaric acid and glycolic acid, which help to get rid of dead skin cells quicker and mayblossom extract which helps with oil control.

As an Alpha H liquid gold afficionado and as someone who uses AHAs fairly regularly in my skincare routine, this felt quite mild on my skin, but I liked that I was giving my skin an extra exfoliation kick by using this daily. Unlike many toners, this does not contain alcohol and does not leave my skin feeling tight or dry. Overall, my skin feels like it has less dry patches and I have noticed that my pores look minimised. I also feel my chin and forehead areas have less congestion, which is a miracle as they are my worst bits.

The Clarifying Toning Lotion is part of REN's combination to oily range, but I believe that people with sensitive, dry or normal skin would be able to use this due to how gentle the product is. But don't be fooled, as although the product is gentle but gives great results. It costs £18 for 150ml, which I think is reasonable and would definitely repurchase this again.

What toner do you use?

Joy xx