MadameNoire
Source: Courtesy of Yes To / Yes To
In the midst of warm weather, keeping your skin properly cleansed from sweat, the grime of air pollution, and the build-up of oils your skin produces naturally is especially important. With that in mind, Yes To’s Tomatoes Clarifying Skincare Line was designed to help those with “blemish-prone skin” avoid breakouts.
According to the brand’s website, the Tomatoes collection aims to “purge pores and help clear blemish-prone skin” with cleansers, treatments, and moisturizers formulated with tomato extract (which it claims is full of antioxidants to help balance oily skin), salicylic acid, and charcoal. Out of the whole line — which includes almost 30 products — I tried the line’s top five staples.
Featuring 1% salicylic acid, the Detoxifying Daily Cleanser was one of my favorites. It leaves my skin feeling clean without being stripped or particularly dry. Notably, it contains little “biodegradable jojoba spheres” that add a nice exfoliating property to the cleanser. If your skin is sensitive at all, I’d recommend not scrubbing with this product too harshly as that might inflame blemishes already on your skin and/or create micro-tears that will make it easier for bacteria to harbor — eventually leading to more breakouts.
Regarding the Detoxifying Charcoal Mud Mask, while I wouldn’t describe it as particularly thick I do think that it’s the perfect consistency for applying it on the face with either your hands or a tiny skincare spatula. It’s not runny or watery at all — and unlike other mud masks, when it dried down the product didn’t feel uncomfortably tight on my face.
The Daily Blemish Toner with 10% fruit acids, including AHAs and BHAs was my favorite product. Using it on my face in the morning and at night during my skincare routine, I applied it with a cotton pad and rubbed it all over my face. It helped get rid of the tiny bumps on both my forehead and my chin and overall, I feel as though it balanced out the evenness of my complexion. It was definitely a winner for me.
I wasn’t too fond of the Zit Zapping Dots — which I attempted to use several times. The package includes acne patches infused with charcoal and tomatoes respectively and they’re supposed to be placed on the blemishes on your face. Quite honestly, I found the application process of the dots to be pretty finicky since the blemishes on your face would have to be wet with some water on them before picking up the dots and placing them product side down onto the blemishes before the water on them dried off. A lot of the time during my application attempts, the dot on my finger would just get stuck before I could even stick it onto my face. When I could get them onto my blemishes, I didn’t really see notable results from either the charcoal one or the tomato one regarding the sizes of my blemishes being reduced, any redness and inflammation going away, or the amount of time my zits took to go away overall. Those notes in mind, the product would be a pass for me.
Last but not least, the Detoxifying Overnight Moisturizer was probably the most surprising product from the line that I tried. Its consistency is thick but it glides onto the face like a dream. It leaves my skin hydrated without any greasy and/or oiliness and I like the way my face feels after I use it at night and in the morning when I wake up too.
When it comes to the Tomatoes line as a whole, none of the charcoal in the formulas of the products stained my sink or shower — something that’s happened to me in the past when it’s been used as a key ingredient in other products that I’ve tried. Overall, if you’re hoping to switch up your routine with some products to combat acne and help keep your “blemish-prone skin” in check –especially in the summertime — start by trying out the Detoxifying Daily Cleanser, Daily Blemish Toner, and Detoxifying Overnight Moisturizer from Yes To’s Tomatoes Line first.
Find Yes To at Ulta and Target stores nationwide.
