|REVIEW| COSRX AHA BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner Review

Remember my Hermo.my review? I've mentioned to you the COSRX sample I received as a surprise from Hermo.my. This time, it's not just a sample because I bought myself almost the whole skincare line from COSRX! Let me show you what I actually bought...

Read this review of Mizon AHA & BHA Daily Clean Toner and compare.

I posted a square version of this on Instagram and COSRX itself commented because they thought I was a seller. HAHA! Note: I'm not.

Heh, enough with the showing off. Today, I want to share with you the COSRX AHA BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner! Oh yes, my first COSRX review and it is on this amazing toner. I got this toner while it was on a buy-three-free-one sale on Hermo.my during Christmas. It was my craziest purchase because for the first time I spent close to RM200 on Hermo.my! My first RM200 given to COSRX and I don't regret it. 

COSRX AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner (RM49 for 150ML)

Since this is my first post on COSRX, I will do a short introduction. 

A LITTLE ON COSRX

If you are having trouble pronouncing the name, COSRX is pronounced as Cos + R + X. The Cos stands for cosmetics whereas Rx is a common medical abbreviation that could either mean 'prescription' or 'treatment'. It is the sister brand of C20 (the vitamin C serum!) and Ciracle. All COSRX products have this minimalist look and that is their signature. On their website, they even went on to claim that their products are "not tempting and good-looking cosmetics"! A main focus of COSRX is on creating products with little to no harmful ingredients while containing tonnes of good components. COSRX also prices itself much lower than its competitors! This is good news to all of us who want to try out some AHA or BHA products but don't want to break the bank for Paula's Choice!

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I'm going to do a whole series of reviews on COSRX in view of its 1st birthday! So, follow me on Bloglovin' using the black button on your left (that's ← side, you need to scroll up a little) to keep yourself posted on all upcoming COSRX reviews! 

WHAT IS AHA/BHA?

AHA stands for alpha hydroxy acid and guess what BHA is? Yes! It is beta hydroxy acid i.e. the infamous salicylic acid. AHA is a common skincare product ingredient and it is commonly used in chemical peels. You may have recognised salicylic acid if you are a fan of acne fighting products! You are right! It is almost always the featured ingredient because it has the ability to dry out acne and shrink it down! AHA mainly exfoliates the surface skin tissue as opposed to BHA, which penetrates more deeply down the skin. Both AHA and BHA are frequently used to make anti-aging products because they have the ability to erase fine lines (which we all despise!). 

AHA/BHA IN TONING STEP??!

It may sound a little 'aggressive' to some of you to use AHA or BHA in the toner step. But do you recall my review on the AHA Cleansing Wash by Cleansing Research? I already have AHA in my cleansing routine and I'm not afraid to go a mile further! Although this would depend on your skin type and how sensitive your skin is. You may need to do patch tests before you proceed to apply it on your whole face. I strongly encourage you to do so with every new product that you are planning to use!

This time I want to show you the ingredient list before I say more.

Ingredient:

(Skincarisma)

Mineral Water, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Water (BHA), Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Water (AHA), Butylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Sodium Lactate, Glycolic Acid, Water, Betaine Salicylate, Allantoin, Panthenol, Ethyl Hexanediol

Because, this is by far the shortest ingredient list I've ever read! Featuring only 12 products, 10 if you leave out mineral water and water, I think COSRX truly stands by its words. Although if you have seen an even shorter ingredient list, go ahead and post it in the comment section below to wow us! 

IS IT GOOD? IS IT GOOD?

Patient, pretty. Packaging first.

The toner comes in the simplest design you can think of. With a spraying nozzle, I would give it a 10/10 because it is hygienic but, there's always a but. When it comes to the last few days of its life, the solution will usually get stuck at the bottom. At this time it needs to be opened up if you don't want to just dispose of it. Who would do that anyway! This can however easily lead to overusing the product (and speeding up its death!) but nothing is perfect right? The nozzle actually sprays out very fine mist (picture above) and it is absolutely amazing! I could feel the tiny particles being absorbed into my skin much more effectively compared to my old toner. This is essential because the next product I put on (usually a CosRx product too!) is often quite heavy and I need something that does not add on to the 'weight'. Always a challenge to do my 10-step properly under Malaysia's weather, you need the right products! 10-step believers, you get what I mean.

ONTO THE PRODUCT (FINALLY!)

The solution is watery. Very watery. I feel like I'm just putting water on my face. It makes sense because the number one ingredient on that list above is Mineral Water. Just how much of it is Mineral Water? No idea. It has no smell, no taste (heh, I 'accidentally' licked it. How? You don't want to know.) and no.. oh wait that's it. It has a pH of 3.9 according to Wishtrend which is surprisingly not that strong on my skin. Didn't know our skin can tolerate such low pH (our skin pH is about 5.5)! 

Don't use cotton pad to apply this CosRx AHA/BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner. I figured that would waste more product than just spraying it on my face after doing trials for the first few days. And I forgot to mention, I've used the product for five months now to be confident enough to share my two cents with you. I just want to give the best to you! :D

I include this in my AM routine because I'm always in a rush in the morning. It is quick to use, just spray-pat-spray-pat-spray, and I don't need to stop to look at the yellow stain on the cotton pad (OCD woo, hands up if this is you). And like I said, it absorbs quick enough for me to layer on a second product without having to wait too long. At night, I'll stick to my COSRX One Step Pimple Clear Pad to keep myself happy that my skin is 100% clean. 

I feel that this COSRX AHA BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner doesn't do much to my skin on its own, whiteheads stay white and blackheads stay black. But it complements the products I use afterwards. I can't explain how but it really helps with the absorption of the products I put on later. I do feel that on days when I skip this toner, my skin reacts less favourably to my acids products (poorer/slower absorption). Am I being self-conscious? Or is it my beauty conscience blaming me for not following my routine? I do not know (I know now, read the UPDATE below). But I highly recommend this toner if you plan on adding acids or any vitamin products to your routine. It assists absorption and is not heavy at all on your skin.

UPDATE:
The reason my skin absorbs better is because this toner lowers my skin pH sufficiently to keep the acids/actives in their uncharged, free acid form that allows them to pass through the oily layer (stratum corneum) of our skin more easily. OMG, all the chemistry and biology knowledge that I've long dumped away! I don't want to go too deep here because I can keep on typing for another day and I won't even be done. So if you're interested, you can read more here.

Another important point I almost missed out: I have not broken out once from using the toner. :3

Read this review of Mizon AHA & BHA Daily Clean Toner and compare.

This post contains affiliate links.

Where to get the COSRX AHA BHA Clarifying Treatment Toner:

Malaysia only

Hermo - RM51.94
*WM: RM6.80 / Buy two free shipping
*EM: RM12 / Min. purchase of RM150 for free shipping

You can use Shopback to save some money (save 2% for every purchase) when buying from Hermo. Just sign up using my link: https://www.shopback.my/hermo?raf=OxeI66, and you'll be rewarded with RM5 immediately, followed by RM5 when you make your first purchase on Hermo through Shopback. That's RM10 in total. It works in the form of cash back which you can cash out to your bank account. You'll can learn more on their website here.

International

Amazon - USD11.04 (approx. RM44)
*Free shipping

Wishtrend - USD16 (approx. RM63)

*Free Shipping with purchases over USD60 (ships worldwide)

Keep in mind their referral program! You can get a 10% off your first purchase by inputting this Wishtrend discount code 2FD84A38 when you check out. What better way to save money? Remember to share this awesome deal with your friends too because sharing is caring!

If you are still on the fence, don't be shy and shoot me questions below. I like questions and comments (and subscribers)! Tell me if you would buy it!

Thank you for reading, see you in the next post!

I post new contents on skincare every Tuesday and Friday. Follow me on Bloglovin' so you won't miss it when my next review is up!

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For the affiliate links: If you use my link, I can earn some commission and it won't cost you any extra money. You don't have to use my link, but if you do, it would really help my blog!

The review is 100% my personal opinion of the product after personally trying it out. Please make sure you consult whoever is selling you the product and ask for samples if you can! Read my disclaimer here.

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