Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner review

Dear Beauty Diary,
I have an amazing toner from Etude House today. Its Etude House's famous and unique Wonder Pore Freshner! Its a toner, not a moisturizer, so you can use your own moisturizer after this toner. The Wonder Pore Freshner is from Etude House's Wonder Pore line, which is targeted at acne skin and skin with large pores. I got it for $18.90 ($14.92 USD), and this toner comes in 250ml, which is a lot for a toner.

This is what the Wonder Pore line, including the Wonder Pore Freshner, does:

- maintain pH 4.5 +-1

- refine the skin tones

- keep the elasticity of pores

- deep cleanse pores

- minimize appearance of pores

- control a large amount of sebum

- moisturize inside and outside of skin

This is the product description of the Wonder Pore Freshner:

This product is total solution for pore care, preventing enlarged pores, less firmer skin and moisturizing by eliminating what hurts skin health from within.

Soak the makeup cotton with the Freshner and wipe your face from the centre of your face to the outside. With gentle patting, let the skin absorb the leftover Freshner. You can carry the Freshner in a mist type container and apply onto your skin when there is too much sebum or you have itchy feeling.

Yep there is a mini mist bottle specially made for the Wonder Pore Freshner, but it is just like any other mist bottle. And it costs $3 ($2.37 USD), which I think is overpriced for a mini mist bottle. You can get any mist bottle if you're interested in carrying the Wonder Pore Freshner around with you, because the Wonder Pore Freshner mist bottle is just like any other mist bottle.

The Wonder Pore Freshner has a super watery consistency. It feels just like water and is as runny as water. So its very hard to control, and I suggest using a cotton pad to soak up the toner before applying to face. Its much better and more hygienic this way. And when patting my face to let it absorb the toner, I feel a very very slight sticky feeling. But as I've said before in my other entries, I prefer the sticky feeling to a greasy feeling. By the way, this is a fresh toner, so oily skin types will benefit most from this toner. Of course dry skin types can also use this, but remember to follow up with a good moisturizer.

Swatch. Its really very watery, it feels like pure water.

Here is a little bit of science. I know some people may not agree, but pores cannot shrink by using skincare, they can only shrink after undergoing surgery. Skincare provides moisture to your skin, and this moisture plumps up your skin and makes it look very hydrated, thus making your pores look less visible and smaller. So I didn't buy this toner due to its pore shrinking ability, I bought it because it can maintain the skin pH of around 4.5.

Skin pH matters a lot! If its much more than 4.5, irritations can occur easily thus causing a swollen face, pimples, redness, bumps, etc. So I was hoping to get healthier skin by using this toner. It works! My skin looks much more hydrated, the skin tone has evened out considerably, and my face feels smoother. My skin also feels sort of bouncy now after using the toner for around 1 and a half weeks. I'm hoping that's a sign of healthy, resilient skin.

I don't know whether this toner can deep cleanse your pores. Try to pick up a good cleanser, and cleansing doesn't become a problem anymore. I mean, I don't see any dirt, grime or oil on my cotton pad after using this toner after cleansing.

This toner does moisturize, but not a lot. The moisture it gives keeps my skin hydrated, as my pores become less visible. But of course, they are still there, just less visible to the eye. Oh yes, this toner absorbs super quickly into your skin. Maybe its because it has a very watery consistency. The toner smells strongly of alcohol, and feels slightly like it. It leaves a cooling sensation behind on your face.

This toner has almost immediate results, as I've only used it for a week and a half and I can already see and feel that my skin is much better. I'm very impressed with this toner, and I find that it is much more suited to my skin than the Hada Labo one. I've been using the Hada Labo one for about half a year, and yes its a nice toner, but I don't see any results to my skin. I just continued to use it as its normal to use toner before moisturizer. Sigh. But still, I'm very glad to have found Etude House's Wonder Pore Freshner! I'm super excited to get the larger version (500ml woohoo), as it comes with a super adorable and unique pump.

I recommend this to everyone, you'll see a great difference to your skin. ^_^