Dr Roebuck's Tone Toner

A proper cleansing routine contains a toner, or so I am told. But because I’m a bit lazy, I generally don’t tone my skin; I just wash it, apply a serum, an anti-blemish product if needed and then moisturize.

But I’m not against using a toner and when I received Dr Roebuck's Tone Toner in my April Topbox, I soon incorporated it into my routine. Well, most of the time. Ideally you would use this product every morning and before but sometimes I forgot too.

Is that maybe why this product didn’t wow me? Maybe. Or maybe it’s just a so-so product.

It claims are anything but so-so. According to Dr Roebuck's, this product is, “A unique formula that not only brightens, tightens and soothes the skin, but has been formulated for the most sensitive of skin.” It does this through a “combination of Aloe Vera, Grapefruit and Peppermint Oil“ that tone “the skin and neutralises free radicals, whilst working in harmony to tighten and brighten the skin.”

For the majority of the four weeks that I used this product, I didn’t notice any real change in my skin. Okay, I was going through a really good skin period and there was minimal room for improvement but still, I thought maybe the toner was what I needed to take things to the next level. But it wasn’t.

Then, near the end of those four weeks, my skin start to get a bit “zitty” in a few spots. As this product is “Suitable for acne prone and oily skin,” I was hoping that it would fight the blemishes and make them quickly go away. But they didn’t.

I don’t think this toner played any role in making the blemishes appear; I place the blame for them squarely on the increased humidity, which led to clogged pores. But I do blame this toner for not having what it takes to clear out those pores and minimize the congestion.

Prior to receiving this product, I’d never heard of Dr Roebuck’s. It’s an Australian company that is all about products that contain “minimal but effective ingredients” that are free of “additives and fillers that do not provide any benefit and can be harmful to the skin.” That all sounds lovely, as does the fact that this product is BPA, fragrance and paraben free.

Not so lovely is the fact that while Sephora carries this brand in the US, we Canadians have to order it from Australia at $30 Australian a bottle, plus shipping. Yeah, it’s not cheap so it’s for the best that I wasn’t impressive by it.

Would I buy this product: Nope, not even if I could find it in a Canadian store.

Should you buy this product: Only if you have a thing for fairly natural Australian products.