If you had asked me a year ago what I thought about toner, I would probably have said it was either a harsh, stingy step from old school routines or a totally unnecessary extra bottle taking up space on my shelf. My skin is combination and a bit moody, with small breakouts that like to camp out on my chin and around my mouth, and anything too perfumed or too thick tends to set things off. I picked up Etude House SoonJung pH 5.5 Relief Toner mostly because I liked the idea of something simple and unscented that would not yell at my face. I was not expecting it to become the one product I reach for without thinking every single day, but that is where we ended up.

The first thing that stood out was how plain it feels in the best possible way. The liquid is completely clear, very thin and runs through my fingers just like water. When I pour some into my palms there is no fancy texture, no slip that feels like silicone, nothing that screams active treatment. I press it into my skin and it disappears quickly, but it leaves behind this soft, comfortable feeling instead of a sticky layer. My cheeks and around my mouth stop feeling tight after cleansing, and my T zone does not get that heavy film that always turns into shine later. There is also no scent. No floral note, no citrus, no herbal cloud. For my slightly reactive skin and picky nose, that quietness is a huge relief.

Most mornings it is the first thing I put on after washing my face. I usually stumble into the bathroom half awake, splash my face clean, and then my skin feels a little dry and confused for a minute. A handful of this toner takes that edge off right away. It makes my skin feel like itself again, not squeaky and stripped. Some days I go straight in with a vitamin C serum afterward, other days I keep it very minimal with just moisturizer and sunscreen, but the toner makes that first layer feel calm and even so I do not dread putting anything else on.

At night it has a slightly different job. After double cleansing and taking off sunscreen and makeup, my face can feel a bit overworked even if the cleansers are gentle. I pour the toner into my hands, pat it over my face and neck, and it feels like a reset button after all that rubbing and rinsing. It is not heavy enough to count as a treatment on its own, but it definitely sets the tone for the rest of the routine. Serums glide on more smoothly, my skin absorbs them better, and I do not feel like they are being dumped on top of dryness.

What surprised me most is how much it helped with my low level acne without ever pretending to be an acne product. I still get the usual little spots on my chin and around my mouth, and I still get the occasional flare up when life gets stressful or I experiment with something new, but my skin overall looks less angry. The redness around small pimples is not as dramatic, and new breakouts seem to calm down faster. Because this toner is so light and gentle, I do not get extra irritation piled on top of whatever my skin is already doing. That alone makes it feel more useful than a lot of toners that shout about pore care and then leave my face feeling raw.

I almost always apply it with my hands instead of cotton pads. I hate watching a nice formula soak into a pad and then go into the bin, so I just pour a small pool into my palms, rub them together and press it on. On days when my cheeks feel dry or the weather has been weird, I go back in for a second or third round. Even with multiple layers it never feels heavy or sticky. It just keeps adding a bit more water and comfort each time. My T zone does not freak out, my cheeks feel less papery and makeup sits better afterward.

Where this toner really earns its place is how it behaves around stronger products. On nights when I use an exfoliating acid or a retinoid, my skin can get touchy. If I go straight from cleanse to active, I sometimes wake up with that tight, overdone feeling. When I start with SoonJung pH 5.5 Relief Toner instead, the whole routine feels softer. The toner gives me a thin layer of hydration so the active does not hit completely bare skin, and it seems to help my barrier cope with everything that comes after. I still get the benefits of my acids and treatments, but there is less visible irritation and fewer days where I feel like I need to skip everything because my face is mad at me.

I would not call this a miracle in a bottle. It is not the kind of product that suddenly erases texture or makes my skin glassy overnight. If you want a toner that feels like a thick essence or acts like a strong exfoliant, this one will probably feel a bit too quiet. For me though, that quietness is exactly why it works. It gives me a stable starting point twice a day. My combination skin feels balanced instead of confused, my breakouts have a calmer background to heal in, and my more intense products have a gentler surface to land on.

These days I notice its value the most when I stop using it. If I travel and forget to pack it, my routine feels a little more chaotic. Cleansing feels harsher, serums do not go on as smoothly, and my skin looks a bit more blotchy in the morning. When the bottle is back on my sink, everything feels more grounded again. It is not loud, it is not dramatic, and it does not try to be the star. It is just that one unscented watery step that quietly keeps the rest of my skincare from getting out of hand, and for my mid twenties combination skin, that has turned out to be exactly what I needed.