Unboxing Innisfree Green Tea Balancing Line Set!

        A few months ago I had received a free trial sized "solutions kit" from participating in an Innisfree website event. The samples lasted for a week and I absolutely loved it. Plus I really like green tea, so this was a no-brainer. And based on many reviews I read prior to buying it, the consensus is very favorable. Innisfree has a green tea line for dry, normal, and oily skin, and I bought the balancing one (labeled for normal/combo skin). I purchased this with my own money from eBay for $34. 

--------------------------------------------------------

The Products

The volume of the box from the side

The box is really sturdy and fancy, it's so nice and calming to look at *u*

Also, the price, I find, is pretty darn reasonable for the mLs of products inside. 

Contents:

1. Innisfree Balancing Skin 200ml (or as they say toner)
2. Innisfree Balancing Lotion 160ml 
3. Travel sized Balancing Skin 15ml
4. Travel sized Balancing Lotion 15ml
5. Travel sized Balancing Cream 10ml

In the box all snug!

Is it just me? It's so satisfying when you see objects fit together so well!

/Sobs they look like a family!

I unscrewed the caps to show the openings.
--------------------------------------------------------

 Green Tea Balancing Skin & Lotion Review

The tops could be better.

       One definite gripe of mine would be the packaging. The openings are really annoying for dispensing product. I wish it was a bit more like Hada Labo's packaging with a flip top cap and a tiny hole at the top. For the light toner it's fine, you can just shake a few drops out easily. But the lotion has a heavier viscosity and basically I have to turn it upside down at a slope, wait for the goo to slide out, and with dexterity flip it back up at the right time to catch yourself from wasting product. It's really easy to pour too much of the lotion into your hand, see example below :( 

"AHHHHH TOO MUCH PRODUCT CRAP CRAP CRAP" This is why I hate the tops. Maybe I'm just not dexterous enough.

        The lotion is actually suspended within the toner, which is almost invisible here. I had wanted to take a picture of the toner and lotion side by side, but they were so slippery that they combined. 

Ahh it's dripping off!!

      Texture-wise, they are pretty watery, and thus really hydrating. As you can see the toner looks like water! It's colorless. It's also way less slippery and sticky than the Hada Labo Gokujyun. I don't think anything can top the Hada Labo Gokujyun toner in terms of hydration, but I think this toner would be a really good boost to add right after it in a routine. Currently I don't have it in my stash, so now I usually like 2-4 drops of the Innisfree toner, and then a tiny pea sized dollop of the lotion (wayyyy less than in the photo here).

      The smell is heavenly in my opinion. I know many other people have said that the fragrance is really off putting to them, so if you are someone who is sensitive to smell this may not be for you. I personally love how the fresh scent lingers a little even after application. Also, it's definitely a very artificial green tea smell, nothing like the earthiness of real green tea.     

--------------------------------------------------------

Green Tea Balancing Cream

Rubbed in. The tiny containers so cute!

Absorbed! The little redness is actually from leftover lip tint lol.

       The green tea cream is actually my favorite out of the three. It delivers an equal amount of hydration as the toner and lotion combined, so if I had a choice I'd just buy this cream for simplicity's sake. It's not oily, it's just the right amount of emollient and watery-ness. Also, since my skin is *extremely* comedone prone, so usually I avoid creams. I was so ready for disappointments. But I was so surprised! The fact that it was a cream which didn't break me out in bumps made it a definite winner. Currently, I use it as an eye cream right now, and it really plumps up my undereyes. I love putting a small amount on my undereyes prior to concealer, I find that it helps to avoid the dry, creasy/cakey look.

--------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY

            There's no product in this box that I don't like. It's very suitable for my sensitive normal skin. However, I don't think this would have any real active acne fighting abilities, so you if you have problematic skin then look somewhere else. Green tea is indeed anti-inflammatory, but I don't know with these products. They simply deliver hydration to me. The percentages of the extracts could be exaggerated as well: 87% of jeju green tea may just mean that the liquid is made of 87% of a green tea solution (made up of more water than actual extract). Marketing!

              All in all, I would still definitely recommend this to people who are just looking for something light yet moisturizing. But maybe just get one product, since the toner and lotion are very similar. Now, since I also have the Innisfree Green Tea Seed Serum and the Scinic Honey All in One (Stay tuned!), the extra toner and lotion became kind of redundant.

I still like it, though I might try to get my anti-moisturizing boyfriend to use it haha.