Heme Pore Perfect Purifying Gel

I am obsessed with pore care products. The moment I saw this in Sasa Taipei, I just get to grab it...

Heme is Taiwanese brand offering various skin care products. From peel of masks to... Pore Purifying Gel! This product is supposed to conceal pores, enhance firmness and elasticity of skin making skin appear smooth and dewy. Oh... since it contains Witch Hazel-it is also supposed to help with your acne! Sounds heavenly...It is supposed to be applied after cleansing, followed by your regular skincare regime and make up.

first of all, I have to talk about the adorable tub! It is made of clear plastic and has this cute design on top of it. The whole design, color and translucent design makes me feel so calm. I do hope it calms my pores as much as it calms my eyes.

The gel is totally refreshing. it has light minty fragrance and feels immediately cooling after application. I just love using this as light moisturizer on hot days.

But... I dont see it helping my acne or clearing/purifying my pores or whatever... just fun cooling gel. So, unless you dont expect anything else from your gel, this one is perfect for you. If you are like me, expecting some pore cleansing/shrinking action... as far as I'm concerned, I dont see much/any of it.

Nature Republic Fruits Mousse Therapy Pore Tightening Orange Mousse Pack

Nature republic is Korean brand that loves it's fruits. I have a few of their fruits themed products! This one included.

The idea of this stuff is pretty cool...mousse textured mask (or pack, as the Koreans like to call it). This mousse is said to contain orange and made with water from alps Matterhorn glacier water. Nature republic really love to mention wher does their water comes from. I am not sure if the souce of the water really matters as much....but, let's see when i tried this one on!

Of course, as the name suggests, this also contains vitamins and nutrients extracted from fresh fruits. This mousse is supposed to revitalize oily and combination skin. They also throw cooling and sebum regulation too. Sounds like exactly what need.

You use this just like regular mousse- shake the bottle, dispense the white soft bouncy orange fragrances mousse and poly on your face. Don't forget to massage! Leave it on for 10 minutes or so, and then wash with warm water.

It is certainly cooling and fun to use. Makes my skin feel soft and fresh after application. Sebum regulation... Not so much.... My skin gets oily again as usual...

Bottomline....
This is a fun mask to use to refresh yournskin mid week. However dont expect much of sebum regulating action here. Don't think it is worth it if you have to pay so much to it shipped to your country,if your country dosnt have nature republic around.

Tony Moly Eggpore Tightening Pack

I’ve seen many egg shaped and themed things directed to eradicate blackheads and pores! This one from Tony Moly is no exception. The Korean brand has various creams, soaps and masks to kick blackheads ass! Lets try this one.

Eggpore is a release consisting of 3 product: the blackhead oil gel, tightening pack and pore concealer. This time I got myself the tightening pack, which contains egg and clay. As usual, the promise is refined pores.

Despite the big egg shaped packaging, it only contain 30ml of product. The product has sourish smell-but it doesn’t bother me much. It is a thick cream in egg shell color. you should directly apply it on your pore problem area, then let it sit and dry for 10-15 minutes. Wash afterwards. 

During the drying process, nose area skin does feel a little tightened. Unfortunately this feeling is gone after I wash the dried up mask (or as Koreans like to say it, Pack). 

So far, I didn’t see any improvement in my pore size after using this. Just like any other pore shrinking stuff this is just gimmick… but hey… it sells! I always picked pore stuff when I see one! Haha!

Formula 10.0.6 Down To the Pore

The box of this one looks serious… so I hope this Down to the Pore will give me some serious result too. It promises to clear my pore with kaolin and tea tree. Count me surprised to see Australian brand to come up with pore banishing products like these… I am expecting Formula 10.0.6 to be brand coming from Asian countries. Formula 10.0.6 is famous for its cleanser, claiming to originate from 1933. 

Just like asian pore strips, these are easy to use. Just take one pouch and dampen your nose area. Dry your hand (important, else the strip will get stuck to your hands instead), then peel off the strip/tape – stick to your nose. Wait until you feel the water has evaporated and the strip feels stiff. Then peel fast…I know it will hurt a little, but peeling it slowly wont help taking off the blackheads!

I was hoping this will be more effective compared to my regular Biore strips. Apparently it is pretty much the same. I feel more blackheads are out with peel off type pore mask instead. Considering this is harder to find, and Biore is pretty reasonably priced too… I wont repurchase this.

SANA Pore Vacuumer Hot Gommage

Sana...sana... sana... you never fail to bring some unique, fun borderline gimmicky product from Japan...

Now, seriously... who needs 2 sexy secret agents, complete with killer high heels and what looks like super deadly weapons to clear and make pores smaller?

Oh wait... I do need one! Hahaa...

Introducing agent vacuumer 1, she’ll instantly heat up your pores. And her partner, agent vacuumer 2 who will vacuum out clogged build up. That’s not all... this product also contains Ghassoul mud from Morocco! Sounds like solution to my pesky blackheads.

This gommage comes in aluminium tube, looking just like your toothpaste. With toothpaste consistency...it is white creamy with black dots. The scrubbies are a not too fine, not too grainy either.

Just apply on your clean dry face with dry hands. Then wet your hands a little to activate the heating action. Slowly massage while enjoying the warm sensation on your skin. Wash with water afterwards.

Be careful not to add too much water at once. First, it will goes messy and runny on your face. Second, the heating might be too shocking for those not used with self-heating masks or gommages.  Better start very small then work it up slowly.

Does it work wonders? Hmm... sadly no. It works just like any other scrub I already own and commonly available in your nearest drugstore. I don’t think the heating action helps to clear up my pores. It works as effective as regular scrubs.

Fun to use, unique concept, but not so much different than other products. Bottom-line, you don’t miss much if you skip this one.

Naris Pore Clear Pack eggshell & charcoal

I am obsessed with black heads on my nose. Okay, they are not big, not too visble too... but enough to drive me crazy. And so... I pick everything I find that’s related to blackhead removal or nose pore tightening. This time Mr Humpty Dumpty managed to get himself in my pore fighting regimen...

See the Humpty Dumpty with moustache there? Hehe... This product is from Naris, Japanese drugstore beauty company. It is believed that eggshell and charcoal inside this Pore Clear Pack is going to help me get rid of those blackheads.

This product is actually one of those black colored peel off mask for the nose or other blackhead infested area. Consistency feels similar to regular facial peel off masks. Only black in color and without fragrance.

I slap them around my nose area, wait until it is dry, usually 10-15 minutes to make sure every single part is dried... then I peel it off.

Well, this time, the blackheads won again... I didn’t see any visible reduction whatsoever. Just skin around my nose feels fresher and cleaner after use.

In Summary...
Packaging: plastic tub with 20g of products inside
Collateral Damage : SGD 12.9
Texture: regular consistency, dries in 15 minute-ish if spread evenly
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you like peel of mask, you cant resist products promising less blackheads ( like me)
No if... your skin is thin/sensitive

Heme Pore Clarify T-zone Peeling Mask for Men

Ha! When it goes to pore, oil control and acne related stuff, I don’t hesitate to grab men’s skincare line! My pores are so productive producing oil, softie softie pore cleaner won’t help.

Look at that cute mole rat carrying the white flag...isn’t it cute?
Anyway, this pore peeling mask comes with girls’ version and men’s version. The one I got for myself is the man’s version.

A bit about Heme:
‘Heme International Inc. was established in March 2003. They focus on manufacturing skincare products for young Asian men and women around the age of 20 to 35. The name 'Heme' comes from the combination of the words, He & Me, which means the best skin solution for both young females and males.

In 2008, Heme began collaborating with well-known cosmetic research and development labs and manufacturing companies in Japan and Korea to develop a new product line to cater to market demands for quality skincare products. They hope that with their affordable prices, good quality of products and significant results, they will be able to provide better choices and variety for their consumers. Heme aims to provide reasonably priced imported beauty products with the hope of being among the top skincare brands for young women in Taiwan.’

About the product:
‘Exclusively formulated to cleanse skin, clear up blackheads and refine pores.

How to Use: Apply at night to a clean, dry area of T-Zone, Leave for 15 minutes or until mask has set and peel off. ‘

To the most important part: the product! This must be the thickest peel off mask I have ever tried. It is black in color. Even though the instruction said to leave it to dry for 15 minutes, mine took nearly 30 minutes to dry. But may be because I am used with applying thinner product, and hence applied too thick in this case. I applied it on my nose area.

One thing I am sure this thing is doing is exfoliation. After peeling the dried mask, I can feel my nose area feels smoother. Not surprisingly, those pesky blackheads are still around, may be some of it got lifted away, but not most of them.

I can say I haven’t found pore mask that is really really effective getting rid of my stubborn blackheads. But this product is fun to use nonetheless. I like the fact it my nose feels smooth after use 

In summary...
Packaging: rather cute
Price: SGD 14.9
Texture: thick, dries in 30 minute-ish
Is it worth it?
Yes if... you love peel off mask, you don’t have thin sensitive skin around nose
No if ... you want to see all those blackheads off in single application