You Little Beauty - Optimum PhytoHydrate Micellar Tonic - £5 for 200ml

If you are a regular reader of my posts, then you will know how much I love (a) cruelty-free and/or vegan products, (b) Superdrug's own brand of skincare for effectiveness and price-point, and (c) using a toner in my cleansing routine.  Oh, and red wine, I LOVE red wine but you guys already know this.

Sadly, the last two toners I'd recently bought had left my skin very dry and uncomfortable (they went straight into the bin) and I didn't want to succumb to forking out £40 for my favourite one; Shiseido's WrinkleResist24 - money that I don't have at the moment so it meant a bit of investigative work online.  What was I going to buy?

As a regular purchaser of Superdrug's Optimum range, first of all, I was drawn to the colour of this Micellar Water - it is a lovely sage green and it said on the bottle 'anti-dehydration'.  Upon reading the blurb, it said that it contained pure raw sap from Nordic Silver Birch Trees (which are sustainably harvested) which is supposed to be super-hydrating for the skin and full of minerals, nutrients and antioxidants.  Also, the formulation is based on micellar technology which is oil and water combined particles (known as micelles) so when the micelles come into contact with the skin, the oil traps the dirt into the water.  

That evening in my bathroom, I cleaned my skin with Neal's Yard Calendula Cleanser, removed that with WaterWipes and then reached for the Micellar Tonic.  As I unscrewed the cap, I was immediately taken back to my childhood due to the scent of it - it smells of Love Heart Sweets!  Now, I don't like skin and body care products that smell of food so it took me a while to get used to the scent.  Also, be careful as to who much you use - you only need a smidge, as it appeared to have a foaming texture. How odd.  I checked the ingredient list for sodium laureth sulfates (the foaming agents that are used in shampoos, for example, which can be drying) but it didn't contain them.  Hmm, it had to be something so I checked the ingredient list with my Cosmetic Ingredient Dictionary and found that it contains cocamidopropl hydroxysultaine which is a foaming booster....ah, that would explain that then.  

So I was a bit concerned that this new Micellar Water would dry my skin out like the others had but it hasn't at all.  It's lovely to use, so long as you don't drown your cotton wool pad in it.  A little does go a long way so the 200ml bottle will last me ages.  I've been using it a month now, twice a day and I'm not even half way through it.  It fully cleans my skin after my cleanser and feels very comfortable indeed.

While researching birch water for this blog, I have found out that different countries use it for different ailments or conditions and apparently, some Eastern European countries use it 'against freckles' so I wonder if mine will diminish over time?  

Also, the benefits of drinking birch water is surpassing those of hydrating coconut water - although please don't drink this!  Oh and one more little nugget of information, you can make wine from birch water too!

So, it looks like this Sap is a winner and I will be purchasing this cleansing and refreshing little beauty again.  It is endorsed by the cruelty-free bunny logo so it's not (nor the ingredients in it) been tested on animals and the bottle and the cap are recyclable too.

For more information on toners, you can read my blog written 24/04/15 entitled "Cleanse, WHAT and moisturise?  The Elusive 2nd Skincare Step!" 

www.superdrug.com