I love Benton products, as evidenced by all of the reviews I have written about their skincare products and I was really excited when I saw Benton do a call out for reviewers on their latest additions to the Cacao Moist and Mild line. I wasn’t a fan of the Cacao Moist & Mild Cream, but after reading the descriptions for the Toner and Serum, I wanted to try those out. I was lucky to get both of the products from Benton for review purposes.
Skin Type/Concerns: Oily, blemish prone, aging concerns with fine lines/wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation
I received these products complementary to review and was not paid. All reviews are my own honest opinion and I never have been asked to write copy for a brand. This blog post might contain promo codes, affiliate and referral links, which using my links will help generate a small commission that helps support my blog at no extra cost to you.
Just Fun Info: Ever wonder how Benton came up with their name? Well, according to their webside, it came from a movie
The name and definition of Benton took its motives from the movie ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (also known as ‘Benjamin Button goes backwards in time’ in Korea) which had a warm touch on many people’s heart. In the movie, Benjamin is born as an old man and he becomes younger and younger as time goes by and ultimately dies as a new born baby. Benjamin happens to deeply fall in love with a woman named Daisy. However, as time goes by and as Benjamin becomes younger he has no choice but to leave Daisy. What if Daisy could have also turned back time on her physical appearance, wouldn’t she be happier? It may just be a fictional movie, but wouldn’t most people have the same desire to be young again? Benton’s desire is to turn back the time of your skin. Unlike the instant temporary effect created by the chemical ingredients, we hoped to improve skin care by using the natural ingredients in our products which will help regain your skin to its original healthy condition. (source bentoncosmetics.com)
What is it?
image from bentoncosmetics
The Moist & Mild line is made with cacao (cocoa) extracts that will help provide hydration, while restoring your moisture/oil balance and creating a moisture barrier on your skin, so that moisture is not lost to the natural evaporation process.
image from bentoncosmetics
Star Ingredients
image from bentoncosmetics
As I just mentioned, the star ingredient is cacao extract. This is a fatty oil and the use of cocoa butter goes back to Central American tribes ~ the Mayas and Aztecs in particular. It is rich in fatty acids, such as oleic, palmitic and stearic acids and will help combat free radicals and limiting the damaging effects on your skin, while softening and smoothing your skin. Cocoa butter is used to keep your skin soft and supple
This also contains a favorite ingredient of mine ~ madecassoside, which is derived from centella asiatica. Centella asiatica is a plant that is rich in saponins and is an anti-inflammatory, calming your skin and aid in wound healing ~ madecassoisise helps soothe, reduce redness and inflammation and helps heal your skin.
image from bentoncosmetics
Benton Cacao Moist & Mild Toner Anyone who follows me knows I love my toners ~ This was described by Benton as:
Benton’s Cacao Moist and Mild Toner is a lightweight and hydrating toner. With Cacao Extracts and Hyaluronic Acid, this toner replenishes moisture to skin. Various botanical extracts in the toner further help to keep skin smooth.
This toner is supposed to help with the oil-water balance in your skin, for oily skin people who need a lightweight toner, nourish dull skin, clear up skin while providing mild hydration, sensitive skin types, dehydrated and tight skin.
Let’s just get to the verdict first! This toner is a winner! I was worried about the cocoa extract as the first ingredient, as it could be too rich, but this toner is light weight and very watery. It comes in a tall 150 mL plastic bottle with the pretty pink label, designed with cacao pods. The applicator is a pin hole one and you can either use a cotton pad to apply or use your hands to gently pat on to your skin. I like the latter method for this toner, as I don’t like to waste this product. This has a pH level of around a 7, which differs from the 6 that Benton claims. At any rate, I can use this without any issues, several times a day. 
image from bentoncosmetics
Not only does it contain three different types of cacao: cacao extract, cacao seed extract and cacao flower extract ~ to help soften your skin while keeping it supple, it contains soothing and calming anti-inflammatory care with centella derived madecassoside, to help relieve redness and swelling. What makes this toner very attractive to oily skin types is the inclusion of willow bark, a natural source of anti-inflammatory salicin, which is not the same as salicylic acid, as I had previously believed. In fact, willow bark is a soothing, anti-inflammatory ingredient, but it isn’t really a BHA. Willow bark CAN be converted to salicylic acid, but only thru digestive means and enzymes, which isn’t what we do with our skincare. However, it does have antimicrobial benefits, so it is good for oily, blemish prone skin and does reduce redness and swelling. Hydrating humectant sodium hyaluronate will help attract moisture to your skin, while keeping it locked into your skin as well
As mentioned, this is a very watery toner with no fragrance and it is like applying water to my hand. This toner is quite refreshing and can easily be used in the seven-layer method of applying toners to the skin for the ultimate experience in hydration ~ I usually just do 3 to 4 layers, as 7 layers takes a long time to dry! This toner didn’t cause any blemish break outs and in fact, kept my skin feeling hydrated and soft without any irritation. It increased both my moisture and oil levels around 12 to 13%, but it did normalize my skin water-oil balance from oily to normal. 
Ingredients: Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Aqua (Water), Butylene Glycol, Pentylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Sodium Hyaluronate, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract, Madecassoside, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Flower Extract, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Betaine, Xanthan Gum cosDNA analysis
Benton Cacao Moist & Mild Serum Serums are more forgiving on my skin so I did have high hopes for this product … and it was answered! This is a hydrating, moisturizing serum, that will help rejuvenate dull skin, provide water-oil balance, while calming your skin and it is formulated for sensitive skin and is a lightweight serum.
It contains over 80% of cacao ingredients ~ there are three different types of cacao: cacao extract, cacao seed extract and cacao flower extract. Cacao (cocoa) is rich in fatty acids (oleic, palmitic, stearic) and has a rich texture that helps soften, smooth and fill in fine lines and wrinkles. It combats free radicals and limits the damaging effects on skin, while keeping your skin soft and supple. For soothing and calming anti-inflammatory care, this not only has centella derived madecassoside, but centella ~ rich in sapoins, helping to reduce redness, inflammation while healing your skin.
This also contains a couple of popular humectants that will attract moisture to your skin and keeps moisture locked into your skin: glycerin and sodium hyaluronate. They will help bind water to your skin while maintaining water balance.
image from bentoncosmetics
Other moisturizing hydrators include allantoin, betaine and panthenol. This product also has a patented compound (10-0812596) called MultiEx Bsasm Plus, which is a combination of seven botanical extracts ~ green tea, centella, licorice, rosemary, chamomile, scutelaria baicalensis and polygonum cuspidatum root ~ that are anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, soothing and healing ingredients, making this serum ideal for even those with dry or sensitive skin.
image from bentoncosmetics
I love the peach-pink packaging and the band around the eye drop applicator ~ this helps keep the serum from leaking out and making a mess. This is a colorless, scentless thicker than water serum that easily melts into a watery puddle on my skin and is easily absorbed, with no sticky or tacky residue.
In fact, I could easily apply a couple of layers of this serum as it really absorbs that well! My skin does feel hydrated and smooth and although I didn’t notice any reduction of redness, I did notice that my skin did not experience any adverse reactions to this product ~ so my skin did stay calm and clear. It increased my moisture levels by 18% while reducing my oil levels by a whopping 44%! .
I included several swatches. The ones in color are my normal texture photos, whereas the ones in black and white are my feeble attempts at getting a closeup of my hand, which is quite dry. I do notice that the lines on my hands are softened and plumped up after this serum has been absorbed into my skin.
My hands are REALLY dry (everything from the neck up is oily, everything from the neck down is DRY) and if this improved the skin texture on my hands, my face also benefited from this. I have two complaints ~ the applicator doesn’t “suck” up as much serum as I would like and I think I will USE all of this serum in record time as my dehydrated oily skin just drinks it up!!
Ingredients: Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Extract, Butylene Glycol, Aqua (Water), Dipropylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Centella Asiatica Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Extract, Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Extract, Salix Nigra (Willow) Bark Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Flower Extract, Madecassoside, Allantoin, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, Betaine, Panthenol, Carbomer, Arginine cosDNA analysis
Final Thoughts
I have to say that after the disastrous Moist & Mild Cream, Benton did a fantastic job with the toner and serum in this line. They both work well with oily skin and hydrate nicely. If you are looking for products that are designed for oily or sensitive skin, I do recommend these two products ~ they both provide hydration and soothing care without any added fragrances and no sticky or tacky residue. Have you tried the new Benton Cacao Moist & Mild line? What did you think of it?
Where to Purchase
You can purchase the Benton Cacao Moist & Mild Toner and Serum on Benton’s eBay Store (click here) for $13.50 and $12.75 USD respectively. They also give out free samples with every purchase and have free shipping worldwide.
Style Korean sells the Serum for $17.00 USD (click here to purchase) The Serum was released first, so there isn’t a lot of sites that carry the Toner just yet. This was just released, so right now, I only found it on a few sites. Benton is very popular, however, so it is a matter of time before it will be more wildly available.
[ disclaimer: product received for review purposes. all opinions are my own ]
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