HBC Illuminous Plus Facial Toner

I've been a Pond's user for years. But 3 weeks ago I just roamed around the town to look for some beauty shops to buy a hair treatment and I remember a friend of mine who did hair rebonding all by herself. She mentioned she got the hair rebonding product from HBC. I've found the product but had a second thought of buying it because I might just mess up (I need more of my me-time to do it) so I decided to browse other products.

I wanted to try some products for the first time so I bought the following: San San Pressed Powder, San San Concealer and San San Matte Finish Liquid Foundation. Click here for my review.

While looking at the nail polish counter, the sales girl approached me and asked if I would like to try their facial toner. The packaging is nice and neat, and it costs P100. I wanted to give it a try so I purchased the Hortaleza, M.D. Illuminous Plus Facial Toner.

This product claims to lighten dark spots and blemishes while removing traces of dirt and make-up for skin that is clear and healthy-looking. 

It is formulated with Glutathione and Arbutin. 

Glutathione as a skin whitener

Most of us are familiar with this. Skin whitening is the side effect of glutathione. Glutathione was first and foremost utilized as an antioxidant. As a skin whitener, it prevents dark pigmentation on the skin. Other claims are related to anti-skin aging , and skin rejuvenation.

What is Arbutin?

It is a glycosylated hydroquinone extracted from the bearberry plant. It prevents the formation of melanin.
Thus, it is used as a skin-lightening agent. It evens out skin tone. It is also proven to be faster and more effective than kojic acid, and much safer to use. Other beauty products have it as Alpha Arbutin or Beta Arbutin but it is not indicated in this product.  

I didn't buy the product to achieve a whiter skin tone because I'm not fond of using whitening products but I need something that makes my skin radiant and clean. I also noticed that as I get older my skin becomes more sensitive.

I've been using the Illuminous Plus Facial Toner for almost 3 weeks now. I use it in the morning and before bed time. Well, there were few nights that I skipped it because I already wanted to jump into my bed. What I like in this product is, it doesn't irritate and dry my skin. And, unlike other products, after a few minutes of applying it, my face doesn't get oily. It doesn't cause my skin to breakout. The pores on my face looks a little tighter. I feel so clean and refreshed! Believe it or not, I feel like I look younger than my age. :)