I fucking love honey.

Honey on my food, honey in a jar, honey in my mouth… I’ll do it all.

Add kitschy packaging and put that honey on my skin, you’re going to need to hold me back from buying out the whole damn supply. When it came to the TonyMoly Red Appletox Honey Cream, I didn’t stand a chance. One look and the irrational need for this product took over. I wanted it on my face, and I wanted to smell it, and I wanted to sleep with it cradled in my arms like a baby while my boyfriend looked at me like I was a lunatic. I am. I love honey that much.

More seriously, there are tons of reviews out there for this product, because it’s gimmicky and adorable, and who can resist that apple container? I know once I clean out the product and get this empty, I’m going to repurpose that apple for something. Maybe hairpins? Or the hundreds of little spatulas I have so I don’t end up losing them immediately.

The container itself is quite big and fits well in the hand, and it’s made of hard plastic, so if you drop it (as I do with all things), you will not break it. There’s a lot of product in there! I’ve heard of fakes circulating around, so you might want to be careful of what you purchase — the true version has a faint yellow-to-red gradient on the top circling around the stem, as shown. Apparently the fakes lack this gradient (as does the hand cream, which comes in a much smaller container). I did have some trouble with screwing the top on and off once it was in use, but that had more to do with the slimy-sticky texture of the gel product than bad packaging. However, I would have probably appreciated a pump container more — more hygienic and friendly for usage, albeit probably not as cute.

At least it came with ANOTHER SPATULA TO REPLACE THE THIRTY OTHERS I HAVE LOST.

Thankfully, I did not have to type up the ingredient list for this: it’s already up thanks to a fellow blogger.

INGREDIENTS: Water, glycerin, butylene glycol, ethanol, cyclomethicone, sodium polyacrylate, cyclopentasiloxane, apple, sodium hyaluronate, sunflower oil, propolis extract, honey, royal jelly extract, soluble collagen, gingko biloba leaf extract, allantoin, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Palmitic Acid, Sorbitol, Malic Acid, Penoxyethanol, Trideceth-6, Methylparaben, PEG/PPG-18/18-dimethicone, carbomer, triethanol, amine, fragrance, propylparaben, disodium EDTA, HC yellow no. 4 *, HC yellow no. 5*, C12-16 alcohol. It’s also on CosDNA. There are a few irritants and red-zone ingredients in there, so be sure to check it out and make sure you don’t blow up your face in the name of beauty. Also worth noting: propolis, honey, and royal jelly?! Be still my beating heart!!!!

According to the product,



Tonymoly Red Apple Tox Honey Cream contains Manuka Honey extract from the wild trees of New Zealand that provide an immunity and anti-bacterial effect. Royal Jelly extract cools down skin troubles, making it good for sensitive skin. Black honey is rich in minerals and amino-acid, which nourishes and moisturizes skin. Apple acid ingredients smoothes skin while Propolis provides anti-oxidants. Sticky texture relaxes the muscle membrane to give elasticity.

There are also claims for this being an AHA, but as The Beauty Barre points out, the pH level isn’t low enough for this to function as an active. So I’ve been using it as the second-to-last or last step in my routine, in the morning as my final moisturizer or right before my sleeping pack at night.

The texture of the product is more gel-like than cream, and there’s a definite stickiness that can be difficult to deal with and makes touching things immediately afterwards a nightmare. Patting helps tone it down a bit, but really, I just have to wait the 15-20 minutes it takes for the stickiness to die down in the morning when I use it as a final step. When I put my sleeping pack over it, that definitely helps get rid of the residual stickiness and I don’t have to be worried about my hair and pillow sticking to my face as I toss and turn in bed. An additional occlusive definitely helps, so I recommend using a thin layer of a sleeping pack or, in a pinch, vaseline to help deal with the stickiness. It seemed a lot of reviewers had complaints about this in particular but using those tips definitely helped in my situation. I like the gel texture for summer, because it feels light and refreshing as opposed to the heaviness that creams tend towards. It feels cool to the touch.

The smell is AMAZING. Fruity and sweet. I guess I was expecting more of a heavy honey hit, but this is definitely more emphasis on the fruit. Not necessarily just like fresh-cut apples, but really, really good. I would stick my nose in that tub and snort it up if that didn’t mean I’d be choking myself out via beauty product. I have problems with self-control, as you can see.

A little does go a long way. I use a small swipe of the spatula and gently pat the product all over my face, rubbing it in with small circles. For me, I get little to no irritation at all, which is fantastic since my skin can be occasionally persnickety with alcohol and a wee bit of stinging is pretty typical for me when first introducing a new product. But even after repeated uses and semi-regular chemical exfoliation in my routine, my skin isn’t screaming at me in agony. Nope, not even a whisper. The stinging has left the building.

The finish leaves my skin a little shiny and sticky but that eventually soaks up, leaving my skin glowing. Despite the fact it really can’t function as an AHA, there was a definite brightening aspect for me in addition to the moisture, which is always great, since my dry skin tends towards dullness more often than not. I felt myself reaching for this moisturizer over my others or being especially patient with it, since the results were so readily apparent. After a couple of weeks of repeated usage, people actually started commenting on how much brighter and softer my skin looked, and I ended up recommending this moisturizer to a few of them, cautioning them that it may not work the same way but it’s definitely worth a try. Besides, I heard it makes an awesome foot cream if you don’t like it on your face.

Honestly, YMMV is a true thing — some people don’t like this product at all or find it mediocre, or, like me, fall in love with it because it does justice to our skin. The problem is that it’s not an active, and it’s not going to do an instant miracle on your face. And that’s fine: the beauty of the multi-step skincare routine is that it’s a customizable beast that can attack your problems from multiple angles. Recognizing that few products are going to be multi-purpose is part of it. So while you can’t replace your actives with this moisturizer and eliminate some steps for yourself, you can use this light gel as the product it is: a great summertime moisturizer.

FINAL VERDICT: Personally, I LOVED this product and plan on repurchasing it again next summer. The light gel texture feels great in the hot, dry desert heat, and my skin feels supple and moisturized with regular usage. The fact I’ve been reaching for it again, and again, and again, and again has pretty much sealed it as my HG summer moisturizer this year. Maybe it doesn’t do much for others, but for me, I’d pick this apple off any tree (or store shelf).

What moisturizers have you been using this summer? Do you find yourself leaning towards a certain kind of texture or scent? Let me know what’s going on with you and your summer routine in the comments!