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8 best toners for an extra hit of hydration in your skincare routine

From skin-soothing benefits to texture-smoothing properties, these are the toners to know

Louise Whitbread
Freelance beauty editor
Thursday 04 July 2024 09:48 EDT
Over a few weeks, we put a selection of toners to the test, incorporating them into our morning and evening skincare routines
Over a few weeks, we put a selection of toners to the test, incorporating them into our morning and evening skincare routines (The Independent)
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Toners have had a resurgence in skincare in recent years, as formulas have been developed by brands that focus on hydration, brightening and skin-smoothing properties.

Early edition exfoliating toners in the Nineties and early Noughties were often full of stripping ingredients – aka a one-stop shop for causing or exacerbating inflammation. By the mid-2000s toners had, by and large, fallen out of popularity altogether. The new generation of toners, however, has a wider range of purposes, with many containing no exfoliants at all. Typically, the best toners provide a base layer of hydration after cleansing, improve texture and soothe inflammation.

Toners are especially good news if you’re dehydrated or have dry skin, as they’ll give your skin a much-needed boost of humectants and soothing ingredients such as squalane, antioxidants, hyaluronic acid and fatty acids. 

If you have oily or combination skin, some tones are so hydrating they can take the place of your typical moisturiser, providing lighter alternatives as part of your summer skincare routine. In fact, toners can help ensure your face never feels greasy when you’re in the midday sun – they’re arguably summer skincare staples. 

With hundreds of variations on the market, across all price points, we were keen to see which offers the best value for money. We put a selection of milky toners and non-exfoliating formulas to the test – some are cult favourites among beauty buffs, and others are underrated gems that deserve a spot in your skincare routine.

How we tested

We assessed the short- and long-term results
We assessed the short- and long-term results (Louise Whitbread)

Over a few weeks, we put a selection of toners to the test, incorporating them into our morning and evening skincare routines. We applied the toners to cleansed skin before (or sometimes instead of) moisturiser and SPF, to discover the products that are worthy of a spot on your bathroom shelf. We were keen to evaluate how fast each formula was absorbed, along with texture, scent, and any short- and long-term results.

The best toners for 2024 are:

  • Best toner overall – Ilia Beauty the base face milk: £58, Spacenk.com
  • Best budget buy – Byoma hydrating milky toner: £11.87, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best for anti-ageing – Curél plumping hydrating gel essence: £19.50, Amazon.co.uk
  • Best for boosting radiance – Tatcha the essence: £102, Spacenk.com
  • Best luxury toner – Pat McGrath Labs the essence lotion: £81, Sephora.co.uk

Ilia Beauty the base face milk

Ilia best milky toners indybest
  • Best: Toner overall
  • Size: 100ml
  • Key ingredients: Hyaluronic acid and barrier-renewal complex
  • Why we love it
    • Fast-absorbing
    • Instantly smoothing
    • Feels luxurious
  • Take note
    • Expensive
    • Heavy bottle not suitable for travel

This is one of the most luxurious and efficacious toners we’ve tried, thanks, in part, to the weighted, frosted glass bottle. The formula inside is a blend of hydrating hyaluronic acid, smoothing prickly pear, antioxidant-rich microalgae and a renewal complex that strengthens the skin barrier. We found it to be fast-absorbing and we loved how well it smoothed texture, especially before applying make-up. It moisturised both dry and oilier parts of our skin, too, leaving behind no stickiness, greasiness or tacky finish.

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Byoma hydrating milky toner

Byoma best milky toners indybest
  • Best: Budget buy
  • Size: 150ml
  • Key ingredients: Polyglutamic acid, proprietary barrier lipid complex and cica
  • Why we love it
    • Generous bottle size
    • Affordable
    • Efficient packaging
    • Hydrating
  • Take note
    • Isn’t hydrating enough for very dry skin types

If you’re keen to try out a toner in your skincare routine, Byoma is a reliable one-stop shop. For less than £15, it does a decent job at hydrating and smoothing. The large bottle details each ingredient and its purpose, where and how to apply it, any products to use with it, and what skin types it works for (everybody).

The stopper also means you don’t have to be too cautious when pouring it onto your hand before application, which means less mess and less wasted product. It adds a subtle radiance, is instantly hydrating and leaves skin silky soft – a great all-rounder for a reasonable price.

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Curél plumping hydrating gel essence

Curel best milky toners indybest
  • Best: For anti-ageing
  • Size: 140ml
  • Key ingredients: Ceramides and eucalyptus extract
  • Why we love it
    • Thicker consistency than some but very lightweight
    • Good for sensitive skin
  • Take note
    • Has a tackier finish because of the gel formula

If you’re looking for a more robust toner that doesn’t have a typical watery texture, you’ll love this gel-based formula. The ceramide-rich essence is distributed via a pump component, it’s a hybrid product of a moisturiser and lightweight non-exfoliating toner that adds a hit of hydration and plumping effect to mature skin. It’s free from common irritants such as fragrance and colourants, making it ideal for sensitive skin types keen to try out a toner. If you have combination skin, we’d recommend skipping your usual moisturiser afterwards, as this product is plenty hydrating enough.

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Laneige cream skin cerapeptide toner and moisturiser

Laneige best milky toners indybest
  • Best: For dry skin
  • Size: 170ml
  • Key ingredient: Ceramides, peptides and white leaf extract
  • Why we love it
    • Fluid and lightweight
    • Perfect as a hybrid toner and moisturiser
    • Isn’t sticky
  • Take note
    • Takes a while to pat into skin

This was our beauty tester’s first foray into the world of milky toners, and it’s left a good impression. It’s especially good for combination and oilier skin types in the summer when we are keen to avoid exacerbating excess oil production by using lighter products. We opted to pour three to four drops onto our palms before rubbing the formula onto the face. It does take longer to absorb than some of the other products we tested but, once it’s rubbed in, skin is left soft and smooth with no stickiness. This formula features Laneige’s cerapeptide complex, green tea extract, camellia japonica flower extract and fatty acids, which, combined, are rich in antioxidants and can help reduce inflammation and redness, while simultaneously moisturising.

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Antipodes ananda antioxidant-rich gentle toner

Antipodes best milky toners indybest
  • Best: Toner mist
  • Size: 100ml
  • Key ingredients: Raspberry-seed oil, mamaku black fern and Waiwera mineral water
  • Why we love it
    • Easy to apply
    • Doesn’t require rubbing in
    • Refreshing pick-me-up
  • Take note
    • Fragrance may irritate very sensitive skin

If you’re feeling a bit lazy, or are also on the hunt for a refreshing face mist when the weather warms up, look no further. New Zealand-based beauty brand Antipodes has created this toner as part of its hydrating line-up of products, and we’re big fans. You can use this as you typically would on cleansed skin in your skincare regime and throughout the day when your skin is feeling parched. Made with a blend of botanical extracts, raspberry-seed oil and aloe vera, it’s instantly soothing and helped to calm the rosacea on our cheeks and chin. The bottle, despite being 100ml, is quite compact and fits easily in a tote or an over-the-shoulder bag, so, you can take it with you on the go, too.

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Lashify pre-cleanse cleansing water

Lashify best milky toners indybest
  • Best: For fast-absorption
  • Size: 80ml
  • Key ingredients: Butylene glycol and pentylene glycol
  • Why we love it
    • Instantly absorbs
    • Feels like water
    • Convenient for travel
  • Take note
    • Expensive for a small, 80ml bottle

While Lashify is an innovative DIY lash-extension system, this watery toner is an underrated gem well worth trying. It is ideal if you’re a bit of a lazy skincare lover and don’t want to spend ages applying multiple products first thing in the morning or before bed. This product looks and feels as fluid and lightweight as water, and absorbs instantly. You can use it as a pre-cleanse step to prep your lashes for any kind of mascara or falsies, or apply it all over your face, by adding a few drops onto a cotton pad and sweeping across the skin – it absorbs excess oil and very gently exfoliates.

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Pat McGrath Labs the essence lotion

Pat McGrath best milky toners indybest
  • Best: Luxury toner
  • Size: 100ml
  • Key ingredients: Rose-biotic complex
  • Why we love it
    • Feels luxurious
    • Beautiful packaging
    • Great for make-up prep
  • Take note
    • Very expensive

Nobody does luxury quite like Pat McGrath Labs. This rose essence is a bi-phase formula that you need to shake to mix before applying. It has a subtle rose scent, which isn’t off-putting or overpowering and leaves skin with a lovely soft glow that enhances the luminosity of any make-up applied on top. In fact, we found this worked best as a preparation step for make-up, rather than strictly a skincare product. It’s certainly not cheap, nor is it essential, but if you have the budget and are looking for a fuss-free toner that feels luxurious, we think you’ll love using this day and night.

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Tatcha the essence

Tatcha best milky toners indybest
  • Best: For boosting radiance
  • Size: 150ml
  • Key ingredients: Rice, algae and green tea
  • Why we love it
    • Softening and smoothing
  • Take note
    • Very expensive

Tatcha’s the essence is a bit of a cult product among beauty lovers, and it’s not hard to see why, just from the packaging alone. It’s another weighted bottle with a frosted exterior and a spout for pouring the watery toner onto a cotton pad or your hands. It’s packed with amino acids, rice, algae and green tea, which hydrate, soothe irritation and add radiance. It’s a beautifully lightweight, silky texture that doesn’t leave behind any stickiness. Nor did it irritate any active acne or rosacea flare-ups we experienced.

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The verdict: Toners

The standout star for us was Ilia Beauty’s the base face milk, with its luxury price tag matching the beautiful formula that left skin softer with less texture. Not only did it add luminosity for make-up, it was a lovely extra step in our skincare routine. Only a few drops of product is necessary, so it will last ages, too. However, if you’re on a budget, you cannot go wrong with the Byoma brightening toner, which does a very similar job for a fraction of the price.

For more skincare heroes, check out our round-up of the best tried and tested facial cleansers

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