Facial Mists and a rant

Hi Everyone! Todays post was supposed to be about Facial Mists - and it is - but it's also a bit of a rant.  I always have at least one facial mist in my bathroom/fridge. Mists range from very inexpensive - think rosewater - to the ludicrously expensive - think Ozmorovicza Queen of Hungary Mist (which I really want).  At the moment I have two - Botanics Rosewater Spray (Boots, 6 Euros) and Pur Cosmetics Hydrate and Set (BeautyBay, 16 Euros).  Honestly the Pur Cosmetics is my favourite, but I would also repurchase the Botanics as it is a great budget spray. I use facial sprays all the time. In between skincare steps I spray, and also throughout the day to stay hydrated, give a bit of a glow, keep make-up from looking cakey and to stay cool in the hot months.   Botanics Rosewater Toning Spritz * 100% organic * Contains - Water, Alcohol Denat (they note that this contains natural ingredients. It's common in    skincare items, but people who are extremely dry may want to avoid)   *150 ml * Paraben Free * It's not the finest spray I've ever used,   one spritz will wet your face quite a lot. I generally use it    during my skincare routines, in between steps, rather than when wearing make-up for this     reason, or when I'm make-up free. * Not tested on animals  * No negatives about it other than I wish it was bigger, because I'm a glutton when it comes to mists    - the bigger the better! Pur Cosmetics Hydrate and Set * 236 ml * Claims to moisturize and set make-up * Contains over 70 essential vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids - according to the Pur     Cosmetics website it contains no alcohol. * Ingredients include  - Water, Fulvic Acid*, Citrus Nobilis, Peel Oil, Orange Oil, Tangerine Peel Oil,    Citrus Limon Peel Oil, Litsea Bubeba Fruit Oil, Limonene, Citral, Linalool * This could potentially be irritating for anyone allergic to these types of oils * Sprays finer than the Botanics Rosewater, more suited to use over make-up. * Smells like lemons, unsurprising given the amount of citrus oils - personally I like the smell * I wouldn't go so far as to say that it 'sets' make-up, you're never going to replace your UD All    Nighter or MAC with this but if you are looking for something big, refreshing and citrusy then this    is for you. Like the Botanics, I use it in between skincare steps, but I prefer this over make-up as    the spray is finer and it gives a nice glow. * Not tested on animals   * I have been keeping this on my bedside table and spritzing it all over myself on these hot nights    (28 degrees at 1am in Paris). It's refreshing and has the added extra of keeping mosquitos    at bay as it contains citronellol and other citrus oils, which they don't like.Win win.  * I've seen people on line saying that this product has been discontinued but can still be found on BeautyBay.com (16.40 euros) and PurCosmetics.com (18 dollars).    When I added this to my cart on BeautyBay I had never heard of it before but I was drawn to the size and the ingredients. Before ordering I went online to see what other people thought and found that it has a 4.8/5 rating on MakeupAlley. After reading mostly glowing reviews, I clicked onto Beautypedia (Expert Rating 1/5, Community rating 4.5/5). Now. Beautypedia is one of the first make-up/skincare review sites I used to rely on, long before Paula's Choice (Beautypedia and PC have the same owner) became easily available in Europe (Cloud10Beauty). But I stopped reading it because it bashed pretty much every product I love in some way (I haven't been able to find a review on Alpha H Liquid Gold, have messaged them to ask but as of yet no answer. Maybe they can't find anything negative to say about it...?) I've used 3 products from PC, a BHA toner which I liked but seeing as it's more for oily and acne-prone skin I gave it away, the Balancing Pore cleanser which is brilliant (I use it a couple of times a month - I mix it with a clay mask and it really cleans out my pores) and the Antioxidant Serum with Retinol, which I didn't like and gave away - mainly due to the heavy silicone feel (I talked about this on my post on Retinol/Retinoids). My beef with their site is that they seem to only hold their own products in high regard, constantly giving them the highest ratings and giving other products mainly snide, catty reviews - except in the few cases when they review something they can't dislike such as Soleil de Tan Chanel (the only negative catswipe they could make was about the way Chanel say to apply it). They despise (and clearly misunderstand) Tata Harper products, especially my favourite Resurfacing Mask - the best face mask I have ever used actually, in terms of instant results - calling it 'unexciting'. If 'unexciting' means instantly smooth and glowing skin, I'll take it. I actually laughed out loud when reading their review on the Pur Cosmetics mist - 'This is a terrible spray-on toner for all skin types because it contains several irritating citrus oils.' I mean...OK. Essential oils are not ideal for everyone but that does not make them terrible for all skin types.,.there is no evidence for this apart from a few dated research papers. A lot of skincare products contain essential oils etc and most people are fine with that. Also, Pur Cosmetics don't market this as a toner, but as a mist. Not once on their site do they use the word 'toner' in relation to this product, and I wouldn't recommend you use it as one. 'The main ingredient in this toner is fulvic acid, which deserves some explanation. Fulvic acid is a natural organic polymer extracted from the portion of soil known as humus. Humus is composed of decomposed plant and animal substances, which Pürminerals doesn’t explain, probably because who would want to put rotting plants and random animal substances on their face? Fulvic acid also can be extracted from water or sediment environments, but certainly isn’t what anyone could legitimately call a pure ingredient' This is just laughably unecessary. Yes, fulvic acid does come from the part of soil that is home to vegetation sediment (I love they way they've called it 'rotting plants and random animal sunstances...!) but Fulvic Acid has been proven to provide a host of benefits for the skin. I also had a thought about bog bodies that are remarkably well preserved in bogs that are made up of 'rotting plants and animal sediments'. Hell, I'd put it on my face if t preserved me that well...! Beautypedia later goes on to quote some research that tested FA on eczema sufferers, who found that using fulvic acid improved their eczema. So, basically they contradict themselves by saying that FA is gross and who would want it on their face, but it works! It sounds like whoever wrote this review hasn't used the product - Oh, hold on - they probably haven't, as that's the case with a lot of products they 'review'. In their eyes it's enough to look at the packaging and the ingredients list, and I am completely at odds with them on that. No one would read a regular blogger if they just reviewed products that they hadn't actually used. Unless the whole team at Beautypedia suffer en masse from rosecea/eczema/highly sensitive skin/allergies to essential oil and fragrances I honestly can't fathom why they say everything is rubbish. Fulvic acid is used by other skincare companies. Take Omorovicza, a high-end luxury Hungarian brand loved by, among others, A Model Recommends. Here's what they say 'Fulvic acid skincare is known for its powerful antioxidant ability, ensuring that the collagen and elastin cells within the deepest layers of your skin are protected from free radical damage. As these cells are the building blocks to your skin and responsible for the elasticity and strength of your complexion, protecting them is key to maintaining a plumper, more youthful complexion.' They list its benefits as including the promotion of water and oxygen retention, helping your skin to defend itself against free radicals, and protecting collagen levels. Omorovicza opened their first family-owned spa in Hungary in the 1800s and have been making skincare with thermal water and other gorgeous skin-loving ingredients since 2005. Despite being expensive they are one of the brands on my to-buy list (noteably the balm cleanser and Queen of Hungary mist). All in all, I'm going with their take on fulvic acid. * A facial mist may not be the best way to get fulvic into your skin, a mask/serum/cream would be    better, but I still love this mist. Sorry. This was meant to be a short and sweet post on the benefits of adding a mist to your routine but turned into a rant. I suppose my point is that we need to be discerning when we choose our sources for skincare information - #fakenews is not, unfortunately, reserved for the traditional media. I'm pretty disappointed with Beautypedia, I read their reviews for years and took them as Bible. These days they're more light entertainment. I'm against the notion  of pretending to give an in-depth review of a product that you haven't used. While I absolutely advocate for reading ingredients lists and being aware of what your skin does/doesn't like, some of the time it's the formula and amounts of ingredients that make the product work in the way it does, and not the individual ingredients. This is the case for acid toners, which in many cases people tend to overanalyze when it comes to the PH levels, not taking the overall formula into account. Be wary, but not scared - you might find something that you thought you'd hate but changes your skin for the better. Hope you enjoyed this post, please follow me at https://www.instagram.com/doyouevencleanse/ and https://www.facebook.com/doyouevencleanse! A x