Product Review: Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner

In search for the perfect toner for my skin, I found this 10-in-1 Wonder Pore Freshner from Etude House.  Check my review to find out whether this Korean toner is indeed the "Wonder Woman for [our] pores"!

I used to be the type who doesn't really keep an elaborate skincare regimen. I was simply okay with washing my face with soap as a stand-alone skincare routine to cleanse my face from dirt and pollution. 

But realizing the importance of cleansing, toning and moisturising in relation to a healthy and glowing skin has gotten me to implement a much fuller skincare regimen that integrates these three. 

To give you a background, I have combination skin that often gets white heads. It's not so much of a problem until they transform into zits when my monthly period comes. So as to complete my regimen,  I needed a well-formulated, non-drying toner that can do its job well in preventing excess sebum, which leads to whiteheads & further breakouts.

Why I chose to buy this product?

I ended up going to Etude House since the Every Month No.1 Deep Moisturizing cleansing foam that I've been happily using for months was from this brand. This, therefore, gave me more incentive to get my toner and try other beauty products from them.

I went on buying the Wonder Pore Freshner over other Etude House toners simply because it was tagged as the store bestseller. Moreover, its 10-in-1 benefits are ultimately promising:

1. Balance skin's pH level
2. Refine skin tones
3. Keep elasticity of pores
4. Remove skin surface's dead skin cells
5. Cleanse pore insides with cooling effect
6. Deep cleanse pores
7. Minimise appearance of pores
8. Control a large amount of sebum
9. Moisturise inside and outside of skin
10. Complete smooth glass-like texture

NOTE: Taking a closer look at the benefits, however, lets you realise that some of its claims are redundantly repeated. For instance, having knowledge of what these benefits really mean would tell you that the claims in nos. 2, 9, & 10 are basically the same thing in effect: smooth & supple skin. Same is true with nos. 5, 6 & 8 (cleansed pores) and nos. 3 & 7 (smaller pores).

What should we expect from the product?

If we trim down all these claimed benefits into a much synthesised version, these are the only things that we could expect from this product:

1. Prevent acne & breakouts (by having deeply cleansed pores & balanced pH level)
2. Smaller pores (by keeping pores elastic & firm through acne prevention)
3. Prevent wrinkles & fine lines (by having a balanced pH level)
4. Smooth & supple skin (by moisturising)
5. Cooling effect ~ which isn't so much of a big deal

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Looking at the ingredients would tell us that this Wonder Pore Freshner does have the potential to become the "Wonder Woman of our pores", as the product claims, upon having all these helpful extracts at hand:

Ingredients:
WATER, ALCOHOL, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, BETAINE, MENTHA ARVENSIS EXTRACT, VACCINIUM MYRTILLUS FRUIT/ LEAF EXTRACT, SACCHARUM OFFICINARUM (SUGAR CANE) EXTRACT, CITRUS MEDICA LIMONUM (LEMON) FRUIT EXTRACT, CITRUS AURANTIUM DULCIS (ORANGE) FRUIT EXTRACT, CHAM- AECYPARIS OBTUSA WATER, GINKGO BILOBA LEAF EXTRACT, ACER SACCHARUM (SUGAR MAPLE) EXTRACT, GENTIANA LU- TEA ROOT EXTRACT, ARTEMISIA ABSINTHIUM EXTRACT, ARNICA MONTANA FLOWER EXTRACT, ACHILLEA MILLEFOLIUM EXTRACT, GLYCERETH-26, GLYCERIN, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, SODIUM HYALURONATE, ACETIC ACID, DISODIUM EDTA, PHENOXYETHANOL

The ingredient list is filled with extracts that have anti-inflammatory & anti-bacterial properties that help treat wounds and prevent acne and blackheads. It also has emulsifiers and antioxidants that condition and increase moisture in skin, fighting against ageing (wrinkles, sagging, age spots) at the same time.

But the presence of alcohol and acetic acid may not make this toner suitable for long-term use, especially for people with dry and sensitive skin. Perhaps the alcohol can do its job well in allowing the Vitamin C extracts to penetrate the skin faster, but it does destroy the skin barrier overtime. Moreover, although the acetic acid serves as a disinfectant, it is, however, a skin irritant that may dry out the skin.

Results

 As I said in the beginning, I was hoping that this Wonder Pore Freshner may help me get rid of white heads & prevent further breakouts. 

But upon discovering that this product wouldn't really work best for people with dry to combination skin (due to its formulation); it's no longer a surprise that this product didn't really do so much in terms of satisfying my skin's needs. It's a sad thing that I only sought to research on its formulation after purchasing it.

Having combination skin, the size of my pores wasn't really much of a concern (unlike those who have oily skin). Therefore, I didn't really benefit from having smaller pores. Moreover, although I don't see my skin drying out excessively through this toner, it does leave my skin feeling itchy after applying it.

I've been using this product day and night for 4 weeks already and I must say that it does its job in removing excess traces of makeup, oil, and dirt after I cleanse. However, it doesn't really solve my issue with white heads and breakouts, probably because the drying effects of the alcohol might have been triggering more dead skin cells that leads to clogged pores.

So to summarize expectations vs. results:

1. Prevent acne & breakouts - [VERY POOR] - well-cleansed pores & pH-balanced skin are not enough to achieve acne-free skin
2. Smaller pores - [NEUTRAL]
3. Prevent wrinkles & fine lines - [CANNOT DETERMINE] - it's too early to see results
4. Smooth & supple skin - [NEUTRAL] - it doesn't moisturize my skin on its own due to the offsetting effects of the alcohol
5. Cooling effect - [NEUTRAL] - I don't think it's a big deal 

So overall, this Wonder Pore Freshner didn't really do wonders to my combination skin. But since I bought it already, I don't really have much of a choice but to lessen its application from twice to once a day, so as to lessen my skin's exposure to the drying effects of alcohol. 

I'm not really considering to discard this completely since I still need it to wipe off leftover makeup, oil, and dirt from cleansing. Then again, I wouldn't consider repurchasing it. At least now I learned my lesson to become more aware and conscious of buying beauty products that are suitable for my skin type.

If you happen to have this product, feel free to let me know how it went for you! Cheers!

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