Totally toned with Estée Lauder, Origins and Neutrogena!

If I'm going to bother with the extra step of a toner I want it to actually do something useful for my skin and that generally means getting rid of excess oil and keeping my pores nice and clean - here are a few that do a great job of helping to balance skin without overdrying it:

Estée Lauder Perfectly Clean Multi-Action Toning Lotion/Refiner - 200ml - $28 - an exfoliating toner that buffs away surface dirt and impurities as well as facilitate the natural cycle of skin replenishment. With a skin refinishing complex that includes a rice ferment, glucosamine/bamboo blend that helps break the bonds holding dull cells in place and normalizes surface turnover - to leave skin refreshes, balanced and comfortable - the more you use it, the brighter and smoother your skin appears.

It also has a great scent which is unusual for a toner which generally smell like alcohol - instead you can enjoy the scents of pink grapefruit, peach, Turkish rose, jasmine sambac, orange blossom water, Moroccan spearmint, cashmere soft woods, tonka bean and musks.

Available at Estée Lauder counters across Canada and online at www.esteelauder.ca.

Origins Zero Oil Pore Purifying Toner - 150ml - $25 - an invigorating, multitasking toner that uses natural ingredients to delete excess oil without overdrying skin. Formulated with skin-clearing saw palmetto, cooling mint, and pore-minimizing salicylic acid, to instantly reduce shine and remove excess oil to refine pores, reduce shine and refresh skin.

Available at Sephora and select The Bay stores.

Neutrogena Pore Refining Toner - 250ml - $10.99 - visibly reduces the appearance of pores and refines skin with an oil-free alpha and beta hydroxy formula to sweep away dead surface skin without drying out skin and is dermatologist-tested to deliver visible results.

Available at food, drug and mass merchandisers across Canada.

- Lisamarie -