Pixi Tonics – Which one is best?

Toners or tonics can be a very useful addon to your skincare, if chosen strategically. A toner, with ingredients that the rest of your skincare is low on or missing all together, could enhance the effectiveness of your entire regime. Sadly though, most toners and tonics out there are just glorified cleansers and they very rarely contain enough (or any) nourishing ingredients to be skincare worthy.

In 5 previous posts, I went through every single Pixi Tonic and analysed the products individually. A lot of them were similar but there was 1 that stood out. Here’s a summary of how the products fared, for more detail individual reviews and ingredient analyses check out:

Pixi Toners Part E: Pixi Milky Tonic – In-Depth Review and Ingredient Analysis

Pixi Toners Part D: Pixi Vitamin C Tonic – In-Depth Review and Ingredient Analysis

Pixi Toners Part C: Pixi Rose Tonic – In-Depth Review and Ingredient Analysis

Pixi Toners Part B: Pixi Glow Tonic – In-Depth Review and Ingredient Analysis

Pixi Toners Part A: Pixi Retinol Tonic – In-Depth Review and Ingredient Analysis

Here’s a quick, visual summary: green background = positive, red = negative, grey = equal/neutral. For all the details keep reading, jump to the category you are interested in or check out the individual product posts.

Note that the table contains some information from different categories together in one, in order to keep it short. For detailed information on each see each category section below.

 

Packaging

There wasn’t really a difference in the packaging really other than the two newest Pixi Tonics (Vitamin C and Milky) coming with a cap that also had Pixi written on it at the top. Minor visual changes but yet quite cute nice looking.

All tonics come in different coloured but clear plastic bottles with a green lid and Pixi brand label. The design is minimal and yet they all look elegant and beautiful. They are colour coded, so you can separate each toner immediately. In this and other posts I refer to them by colour as:

Pixi Retinol Tonic = purple

Pixi Glow Tonic = orange

Pixi Rose Tonic = pink

Pixi Vitamin C Tonic = yellow

Pixi Milky Tonic = white

The Pixi toners don’t come with outer packaging but they come wrapped up in plastic. The bottles have a small hole opening which allows the liquid to flow out slowly.

Winner: Equal.

Purple 0 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 0 vs Yellow 0 vs White 0

 

Price

All Pixi Tonics retail the same, with one 250mL bottle costing £18.

Winner: Equal.

Purple 0 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 0 vs Yellow 0 vs White 0

 

Texture and Colour

This is a category where some of the tonics differ.

The Retinol, Rose, Vitamin C and Milky Tonics are a clear, watery liquid. There is no colour in them, their hue is coming from the coloured plastic of their bottle.

The Glow Tonic on the other hand, is slightly coloured but the bottle is also orange coloured. It contains a red dye though which is its downfall. Dyes do not offer any skincare benefit, in fact some of them can increase sensitivity to some. But even if you don’t have sensitive skin, it’s an extra ingredient that you don’t need on you.

Winner: The Retinol, Rose, Vitamin C and Milky Tonics are superior.

Purple 1 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 1 vs Yellow 1 vs White 1

 

Smell

All tonics have a smell, some from naturally scented ingredients and other from other added fragrances.

The Retinol Tonic (purple) has a strong jasmine and lavender scent which is natural from the ingredients contained and pleasant.

The Glow Tonic (orange) has a strong scent of floral meets oil, which comes from the added fragrance.

The Rose Tonic (pink) has a strong scent of rose which comes from the added rose water and extract.

The Vitamin C Tonic (yellow) has a strong scent of sweet lemon (or generally sweet citrus) which comes from some of the ingredients such as the various citrus extracts.

The Milky Tonic (white) has a subtle floral scent, a bit like jasmine, which comes from some of the ingredients.

The Glow tonic again is the one with the biggest downfall as it contains the ambiguous fragrance term which refers to anything up to 3000 molecules.

Winner: The Retinol, Rose, Vitamin C and Milky Tonics are superior.

Purple 2 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 2 vs Yellow 2 vs White 2

 

Skin Compatibility

All tonics are suitable for all skin types. However, the Retinol (purple) and Rose (pink) are also said to sooth sensitive skin.

However, these tonics could be a nightmare for sensitive skin as they contain so many potential irritants and sensitisers that you might not be able to easily identify which ingredient is the problem. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that they will definitely cause you a problem, just try a little at the back of your hand first.

Avoid contact with eyes and never use cosmetics on broken skin.

Winner: Equal.

Purple 2 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 2 vs Yellow 2 vs White 2

 

Other

All tonics lasts for the same amount of time, 12M.

Winner: Equal.

Purple 2 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 2 vs Yellow 2 vs White 2

 

Practicality of use – user experience

All Pixi toners are very easy to use. The cap unscrews easily and the product pours out the small hole in a relatively slow and controlled way.

All you have to do is apply the product on a cotton pad and then spread on clean face. No rinsing required.

Winner: Equal.

Purple 2 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 2 vs Yellow 2 vs White 2

 

Results

With the exception of perhaps the Vitamin C tonic (yellow) which could have helped make my skin a little brighter, neither tonic gave me visible results. However, as I said many times before, you really shouldn’t notice much from tonics alone. It’s the rest of your skincare that should do most of the nourishing work. If you notice major skincare changes from small skincare addon products like toners and tonics, it’s time to re-evaluate your skincare regime.

On the plus side, all tonics took off traces of makeup and other dirt, and left the skin feeling clean and soft but not dry. Additionally, all were absorbed quickly by the skin and did not leave any sticky residues behind.

Winner: Equal.

Purple 2 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 2 vs Yellow 2 vs White 2

 

 

Ingredients

Unsurprisingly then, the deciding vote comes from the ingredients they contain. And that’s more than fitting since it’s meant to be a skincare product. If it doesn’t offer you significant skincare benefits, then it’s not worth your time and money.

The Pixi Retinol Tonic contains 28 ingredients of which 24 will offer you some skincare benefit, 1 potential negative and 8 irritants.

The Pixi Glow Tonic contains 29 ingredients of which 21 will offer you some skincare benefit, 3 potential negatives and 12 irritants.

The Pixi Rose Tonic contains 23 ingredients of which 17 will offer you some skincare benefit, 0 potential negatives and 4 irritants.

The Pixi Vitamin C Tonic contains 37 ingredients of which 30 will offer you some skincare benefit, no negatives but many potential irritants.

The Pixi Milky Tonic contains 36 ingredients of which 29 will offer you some skincare benefit, 1 potential negative and 7+ irritants.

For in-depth explanations of the ingredient positives and negatives, please see the individual product posts.

More ingredients or more positives doesn’t necessarily mean better but in this case the Vitamin C and Milky Tonics are superior. Not just because they contain a lot of goodies but more so because of the type of goodies. All tonics are probably similarly dilute and labelled as Tonics instead of Toners or serums because THEY ARE dilute. As a result, the difference here is likely not quantity, but rather quality of ingredients.

The Milky Tonic (white) contains some good ingredients such as the phospholipids and hyaluronic acid. However, the Vitamin C Tonic (yellow) is superior containing more of the skincare must have ingredients such as vitamins C & E, a vitamin A pre-cursor, phospholipids and hyaluronic acid.

This is not to say that the rest of the 3 tonics do not contain anything of skincare value but they are overall not good enough to be worth your time and money over choosing the Vitamin C or Milky one. The most noteworthy ingredients in the remaining 3 tonics are:

The Retinol Tonic (purple) contains vitamin A, hyaluronic acid and peptides.

The Glow Tonic (orange) contains AHA.

The Rose Tonic (pink) contains hyaluronic acid.

It’s worth noting that overall, all tonics are better than a lot of other ones in the market but, with the exception of the Vitamin C and Milky Tonics, they are not as nourishing as a tonic could be.

All tonics have a pH of 5 which is within our skin’s normal pH levels, meaning that it is a good product for maintaining healthy skin function. The only exception is the Glow Tonic (orange) which is at pH 4, but that’s intentional and good as it contains AHA. For the AHA, aka glycolic acid, ingredient to be active, it has to be within pH 3-4 which this product is.

Winner: The Vitamin C is superior but the Milky Tonic is not bad either.

Purple 2 vs Orange 0 vs Pink 2 vs Yellow 3 vs White 3

Verdict

The Pixi Vitamin C Tonic (yellow) is a very good option with the Milky (white) one being a close second. It’s also interesting that these two, are the two new tonics, so perhaps Pixi has learned from the previous ones? One can only speculate but they are, nourishing-wise superior to the other three.

I also thought that it is interesting that the most popular tonic amongst beauty bloggers and enthusiasts is the Glow Tonic (orange) which is actually the worst skincare-wise. It’s a shame really as many focus more on looks and glow rather than actual skincare value.

 

I am not affiliated with any company or brand. These are my views and experiences.
Beauty is a very personal thing, we all have different skin, requirements and biological build which can influence things. What worked for me might not work for you and vice versa. Have you ever tried these products? Did they work for you? Let me know your experiences below!

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