Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner

I've said it countless times before, that as much as I love and use skincare, I will forever be on the fence in regards to toner - or at least, a little too lazy to use it. Other than Pixi Glow Tonic (which is utterly wonderful), I've never found toner to be all that beneficial, and as such it is one step that I have happily skipped over the years with next to no worry. Well that was until I tried Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner and my non-toner world came crashing down around me.

I can recall the exact day Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner launched, I was in the smaller Sephora in Times Square and there was a dedicated stand to the two latest Sunday Riley launches - one of which was Martian. There was a lot of commotion around the display - one thing I have learnt over the years is that Sunday Riley skincare fanatics are devoted - but as I am no regular user of toner, I left them too it, and most likely bought some nude liquid lipstick that is long forgotten about. I contentiously kick myself about this moment, if I had just given into the hype in that very moment, I would have enjoyed clearer skin a whole lot quicker. Damn.

Fast forward a month or so later, a sample of said toner arrived and I squirrelled it away until May of this year. Double Damn.

Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner

I'll be real, unless you have oily or troublesome skin, this is not the product for you - there are far more affordable options for your needs out there, so save yourself the disappointment and splurge on something else. If you do however have oily, congested and blemish prone skin, this is the product that will bust your world wide open. Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner is not a toning product as we know it, rather it is a skin treatment, non-rise cleanser and toner all wrapped inside one, bold, emerald green bottle.

The idea is that you apply Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner after cleansing to calm redness, settle shine, tighten the pores and of course target blemishes - a dream for any oily skinned guy or gal. You can use this all over the face, or as a target treatment on problem areas, and although technically a skincare product, I find it works wonderful as a makeshift primer to really prepare the skin for foundation and to keep oil at bay throughout the day.

Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner

I'll be honest I didn't read up on the ingredients of the Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner before I began trialling it; I applied it one night, woke up with clearer, less congested skin and was pretty much hooked from there on out. It will however come as little surprise that the ingredient line up is pretty stellar: for excess oil absorption and generally to promote skin clarity, this is a clay based product; there is also marshmallow and cucumber to soothe, witch hazel and green tea to reduce redness, coupled with manuka, black cumin, and magnolia bark for natural antibacterial properties (aka to help speed up the natural healing process).

At £48/130ml Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner doesn't come cheap but I have been using a 50ml bottle for over two months (on an almost twice daily basis) and have plenty of product left. It goes without saying that I have already ordered a full sized bottle and will not be without this anytime soon.

Sunday Riley Martian Mattifying Melting Toner £48/130ml via Space.NK - link.