Review: One Thing Propolis + Honey Extract toner

Indeed, the name, “One Thing”, gives a good indication of the concept of this skincare brand made in Korea.

All One Thing products focus on one key ingredient, with formulas that are accordingly very minimalist, and with affordable product price tags.

When Deciem launched The Ordinary with a similar concept, over 6 years ago now, it was quite revolutionary and in a few years, the brand has become a must-have! (I wrote about it on my blog in 2017 by the way 😉 ).

And inevitably, their phenomenal success has created vocations all over the world!

“One Thing” is not really the first brand to be inspired by the trend of “single-ingredient” products but unlike other brands that just came with “The Ordinary lookalike” products, the approach is more original here.

Today, I would like to tell you more about the brand One Thing and give you my thoughts about their Propolis + Honey Extract toner/ essence!

Ingredients Focus on: Honey and Propolis Skin products rich in hive ingredients such as honey and propolis have always been popular, especially amongst sensitive skins. The use of these ingredients in cosmetic is definitely not new, but skincare products made in Korea put a spotlight again on these very powerful and effective natural ingredients. Read more

One Thing Propolis + Honey Extract toner, product presentation:

What’s really nice about One Thing is that the brand is very Korean in its “single-ingredient” product approach.

Indeed, the key ingredients on which the products are based are pretty representative of those you see in a lot of Korean cosmetic products (and for the botanical extracts, they’re actually from Korea as well). So are the product categories.

The brand launched with essences (very K-Beauty, isn’t it? 😉), and recently completed its range with some serums and moisturizers.

But initially, One Thing became known mostly thanks to their large bottles of single-ingredient based plant extracts, and if you look closely at these ingredients, you’ll soon realize that they’re very typical of K-Beauty: green tea, Centella Asiatica, Artemisia, Honey and Propolis, Houttyunia Cordata, Galactomyces… If you’re a fan of Korean skincare products, all of this is probably familiar! 🙂

Admittedly, they didn’t invent the concept, and several brands already offer “plant extracts in bottles” this way (I’ve actually talked about some of them here, including this Amorepacific product or this one from I’m From).

But with the brand One Thing, the prices are also very affordable. They are generally between $18 and $23, and they offer large size bottles (300ml). I preferred to grab a few different small ones (150ml) to try several of them, but if you’re a fan of a particular ingredient, it’s nice to have a big bottle readily available 😉

As I said above, the formulas of these essences are very minimalist; usually around 3-4 ingredients tops. There is the star ingredient and a few other additional ingredients to support the first one (it can be preservative ingredients, or a diluent, or even a second active ingredient).

The brand also promotes the “purity” of its formulas and mentions the EWG as a reference. As you know, this type of “Clean Beauty” marketing isn’t my cup of tea, so I don’t really pay attention to it.

The first essence I wanted to try was unsurprisingly the honey and propolis one. I’ve talked about my love for these two ingredients many times before, so my choice won’t surprise the attentive readers of BTY ALY 😉

So the One Thing Propolis + Honey Extract is a honey and propolis based toner/essence with skin brightening, antioxidant, purifying, moisturizing and soothing properties.

It helps to nourish and calm the skin. It also hydrates it thanks to the hyaluronic acid it contains.

It also features butylene glycol, a diluent that helps the product to absorb faster and deeper into the skin.

Depending on the size (150 or 300ml), this essence retails for between $18 and $23.

One Thing Propolis + Honey Extract toner, my experience:

I started the One Thing Propolis + Honey Extract essence in October, and I’m 2/3 of the way through my bottle. It was very nice this Fall because it feels comfortable without being rich, but I also really like it this time of year (Winter), for its “bouncy” texture and soothing effect!

I only use it in the morning, but you can definitely use it in the evening too without any issues.

Its texture is liquid, but it has a body (that’s what I mean when I describe it as “bouncy”!). I apply it by pressing it directly with my hands, as I do with all my essences.

It’s very moisturizing and I also find that it gives me a glow, which is always appreciated.

It’s not necessarily the most complete of my essences, but it does the job pretty well! And I find it very pleasant to use, and sometimes that’s all I ask for in an essence 😉

Best of all, it’s quite affordable, and it’s going to last me for a few more months (probably 6 months of use in total).

In conclusion:

In short, I find it to be a very nice essence to use; it comforts my skin. It’s also quite soothing, and it has that glow-boosting effect, which is always a good thing, especially in the heart of winter!

I actually repurchased a second bottle, as you can see 🙂

The One Thing Propolis + Honey Extract toner retails for $18 to $23 depending on the retailers, for 150 to 300ml.