Skin & Tonics : Skincare Guides & Product Reviews

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Yesterday I reviewed the TonyMoly Appletox Peeling Cream, which came in a cute, green apple container. Today I’ll be reviewing its counterpart, the TonyMoly Red Appletox Honey Cream moisturizer, which comes in an even cuter red apple shaped container. In yesterday’s review I mentioned that although I love the cutsey containers for these, it also makes me wary of the product’s efficacy. The Peeling Cream ended up being a great performer for me – I could only hope the Honey Cream would also live up to my high skincare standards.

Left: TonyMoly Appletox Peeling Cream
Right: TonyMoly Red Appletox Honey Cream

What is it?
TonyMoly Red Appletox Honey Cream is an AHA moisturizer. It has a very rich, gel-like texture designed to moisturize and exfoliate your skin. Much like the TonyMoly Appletox Peeling Cream, I was unable to locate a full ingredients list for this product. It’s frustrating to say the least – not having access to this information means I have no idea whether or not the product contains an ingredient that I’m sensitive to, and it also means that if I do have a reaction, I have no way of figuring out which ingredient caused the reaction. Additionally, products often contain more beneficial ingredients than just the star ingredients, and I’d like to know what those are. I really wish the Appletox products came with more informative packaging!

The star ingredients for this product are pretty stellar though – Red Appletox Honey Cream features:
– Apple (Malic) acid (this is the AHA) – A chemical exfoliator that promotes the shedding of dead skin cells. It also possesses sebum controlling properties.
– Black honey – Antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant, black honey is moisturizing and contains Vitamin C as well as some amino acids.
– Manuka Honey – This honey is from New Zealand. It’s famous for its antibacterial properties and is often used in holistic medicine to treat wound infections. It also possesses anti-flammitory and moisturizing properties. Vitamin B6, thiamin, niacin, some amino acids, and several minerals are all present in Manuka Honey.
– Royal Jelly – This is a product derived from male worker bee secretions that contains Vitamin C, folic acid, amino acids, and a spectrum of B vitamins. It has strong antibacterial properties as well. It helps to improve skin tone, provide moisture, and reduce the appearance of fine lines. On its own, it has a short shelf life, but combining it with honey extends its shelf life considerably.
– Propolis – Antibacterial, antifungal, antinflammatory, and antioxidant. Often used to treat minor wounds and infections.

Claims
TonyMoly Red Appletox Honey Cream promises to enhances skin elasticity, increase moisture, soothe skin problems and boosts metabolism.

Performance
Much like the Appletox Peeling Cream, the Red Appletox Honey Cream smells just like fresh cut apples. The texture of this cream is really interesting. It begins as a sticky gel, but once I spread it over my face it’s absorbed fairly quickly. There is a bit of a shine afterward, but it’s not sticky once it’s been absorbed. It’s very moisturizing, but there is nothing greasy about it thanks to the gel-like consistency. My skin is dry, but I think someone with oily skin could also use this product without experiencing any issues. In fact, Red Appletox Honey Cream actually has some oil controlling properties.

The recommended usage for this product differs depending on who you ask – some folks like to use this daily, but in several places I read that it should only be used a few times a week. Unfortunately, the packaging does not come with instructions, so I went trial and error on this one. My skin is sensitive and dry. When I use this cream every day, at day 3 I start getting some mild irritation toward the end of the day, and some flaky skin under my foundation. I cut down my usage to once every couple of days, which turned out to be my sweet spot with this product.

A lot of people like to use Red Appletox Honey Cream as an overnight cream, and I do think it would be a great sleeping pack. However, I opted to use it during the day because I use Retin-A at night, and my skin gets irritated if I try to layer on an AHA with my retinoid. As a daytime moisturizer, it actually worked beautifully under my makeup. It kept my skin moisturized throughout the day, and my skin looked bright at the end of the day after washing it off. As long as I didn’t use the Honey Cream more than two days in a row, I didn’t experience any irritation. Those of you who do not have sensitive skin could wear this daily with no problems.

After using this cream 3 times a week for 5 weeks, I noticed that my skin does appear to have an additional subtle glow about it. I believe this cream has some scar lightening properties as well, as I did see a minor reduction in some of my more stubborn acne marks that were still visible after a few months of using the Missha Aqua Cell Renew Snail skincare line. That skincare line actually helped a lot of my acne marks disappear, and I might have seen a bigger difference with this Honey Cream if the marks had still been there. However, I’m very thankful that they weren’t!

Overall, I’m pleased. It’s difficult for me to find AHA moisturizers that don’t irritate my sensitive skin, but I had fairly good luck with this one. I would purchase this again.

Where to Buy:
Sasa, Pretty & Cute, and YesStyle all carry this product, which ranges from $12 to $20 depending on where you buy it. Pretty & Cute actually ships from the US (they have a brick & mortar store in Portland, OR), so that would actually be my top pick from those options. However, there are a few Amazon sellers that carry this product as well for around $12, including shipping.

Skin & Tonics Rating:

Performance: 4/5 – This product does a good job moisturizing and brightening my face, and irritates my skin less than most AHA moisturizers have in the past.

Quality: 3/5 – Though the packaging is exciting, it’s extremely uninformative. I have no idea what’s in this stuff, so I can’t give it anything higher than a 3.

Value: 5/5 – At around $12 for just under 3 oz. (80 mL), this is a steal. Since it’s only used 1-2 times a week, that 3 oz. should last 2 or 3 months.

Overall: 4/5

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