[THE FACE SHOP] BLACK HEAD EX NOSE CLAY MASK *PEEL-OFF TYPE*

To remove bleackheads on my nose I usually use those nose strips from time to time. My favorites are currently the ones from Bioré I purchased during my stay in Taiwan. They work quite good!

But a while ago I also ordered from [THE FACE SHOP] two tubes of the BLACK HEAD EX NOSE CLAY MASK. This line is recommended for people with oily/ combination skin.

From the BLACK HEAD EX line are available:

- CLEAR CLEANSING FOAM

- NOSE CLAY MASK (PEEL-OFF TYPE)

- PORE STRIP

- CHARCOAL PORE STRIP

- SMOOTHING MASSAGE OIL

- BLACK PEELING GOMMAGE

- CLEAN UP KIT (CLEAN UP GEL TONER + QUICK TIGHTENING CREAM)

I can't really find these products at eBay anymore, therefore I think that these might be replaced by the New Zealand Volcanic Clay line.

Description: The Black Head EX Nose Clay Mask is a peel off mask that is designed for deep cleansing and dissolve blackheads. Contains Mulberry, Coix Seed and Black Rice Extracts, which has anti-aging properties, leaving skin shine with healthy glow, youthful and supple. 

The slim but long white tube has a mulberry print on the front, the description on the back (Korean only!) and contains 50g. The twist-of lid is brown!

Some of the ingredients inside the clay mask are White Mud (0,1%), Black Complex (Black Bean, Black Tea, Blackberry, Black Rice), Mulberry Extract, Charcoal Extract, Aloe Extract and more.

The consistency is thick and sticky with the typical peel-off mask scent (can't describe it). The color is whitish-grey!
After washing and toning my skin I apply a thick layer of the clay mask to my nose area. I wait until it completely dried (usually around 20 minutes) and start to peel it off like a nose strip. Then I wash my face again with water to remove the residues.

When I remove the dry clay mask I can see that it removed a lot of the blackheads/ whiteheads but not all. I'm still satisfied with this product! The only thing I don't like is that I have to wait for a long time until it completely dried. When I remove it too early it's not working good coz it's still wet and sticky.

How to use: Apply Nose Clay Mask to your nose with full coverage, wait 10~15 minutes for the mask to dry, peel it off and rinse your nose thoroughly with water.

Price: around 4,- €/ US$6
Bought at: eBay (can't remember sellers name)    

What I love: 

It removes a lot of my blackheads/ whiteheads! 

What I don’t like: 

It takes a long time to dry!

Will I buy this again? No, I won't! I would like to try out the Volcanic Clay Nose Pack, though, but ordered the Charcoal Nose Strips first.

[ETUDE HOUSE] WONDER PORE Soda Capsule

When I purchased [ETUDE HOUSE]'s WONDER PORE Freshner I also got the WONDER PORE Soda Capsules. Recently they released some new products:

- WONDER PORE Modeling Clear Pack + Pack Spatula

- WONDER PORE Clay Clear Pack

- WONDER PORE Brush

The Clay Clear Pack sounds interesting and I still consider whether to get it or not. The WONDER PORE Brush I would recommend for people who wanna cleans their face with a brush, but don't wanna spent lots of money for an electronic facial brush like the clarisonic/ SIRIUSONIC one.

Description: This product is a facial rinse-off cleanser for pore care, preventing enlarged pores, less firmer skin and moisturizing by eliminating what hurst skin health from within.

The light blue box is made of plastic, approx 10x6,5cm big and contains 2x8 capsules (1g each). I used 3 capsules already, therefore some are missing on the pics below.

On the box is the description in Korean and English and the ingredients are the following ones:

Lactose, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, PVP, PEG-150, Chrysanthemum Morifolium Flower Extract, Dandelion Leaf Extract, Chamaecyparis Obtusa Water, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Sodium Stearyl Fumarate and Riboflavin.

Like the Freshner, the Soda Capsules are also a 7in1 TOTAL PORE SOLUTION:

- Maintain ph 4.5 +/- 1

- Refine the skin tones

- Keep the elasticity of pores

- Deep cleanses pores

- Minimize appearance of pores

- Control a large amount of the sebum

- Moisturize inside and outside of skin

Each capsule is not bigger than a small coin and has a yellowish/ beige color with brown sprinkle spots. They remind me of a fizzy tablet!
To use them take a bowle with warm water and add one (1) capsule. These will start to melt and produce some bubbles. I didn't notice any scent but the water got a yellow color.

After the capsule completely melted, wash/ rinse or face with the water and massage it into your skin.

Since I used 3 capsules only I can't see any big improvement on my skin yet. [ETUDE HOUSE] recommend to use it 2~3 times a week.

Nevertheless, I can say that my skin feels softer afterwards and doesn't get as dry as when I clean my face with plain water or a soapy cleanser. 

How to use: Melt 1 soda capsule with water at the last stage of facial cleansing day or at night. The capsule will melt fast with bubbles and gently rinse your face with this water.

Price: around 8,50,- €/ US$10  

Bought at: eBay (rubyruby76)   

What I love: 

It doesn't dry out my skin as much as plain water or a soapy cleanser does. 

What I don’t like: 

There is nothing I dislike yet! 

Will I buy this again? No, I won't! It was nice to try out but I'm too lazy to use it and I'm not sure if just 'water' really will help to reduce my pores size.

[SKINFOOD] FRESH APPLE *Mild Pore Peeling Gel & Sparkling Pore Cream*

Recently I received my ordered FRESH APPLE products from [SKINFOOD]. I reviewed already the FRESH APPLE Smooth Pore Cream and got now the Mild Pore Peeling Gel, the Sparkling Pore Cream and samples of the Toner, Emulsion and Serum.

This product line is recommended for oily skin with enlarged pores! 

A No Sebum Spot Serum is now available as well!!

Description: Unripe green apple extract and carbonated water controls sebum production and tightens pores.

[Fresh Apple Story]
Unripe is an apple that tastes bitter and unripe which cares sebum and contact pores, which is eventually beneficial for pore care.

[Carbonated Water Strory]
Primary carbonated mineral water is one of the world's three "mysterious orient" water is called a freshness to the skin will be soft.

FRESH APPLE Mild Pore Peeling Gel:

The peeling comes in a greenish tube, same as those of cleansing foams. It has an metallic twist-off lid and contains 150ml. It has exactly the same design as the Smooth Pore Cream - just bigger.

The description on the back of the tube is completely in Korean, so it's hard for me to read the ingredients.

But I found out that it contains 150mg Carbonated Water and 750mg Green Apple Extract. These two are the main ingredients as well.

The consistency is gel-like and has a slight whitish color. The Mild Pore Peeling Gel can be used by all skin types coz it doesn't contain any harsh granules like many other face scrubs.

I apply it to my dry skin and rub it over my whole face until the product starts to peel off, then I wash it off with warm water.

Like all products in this line it smells for me like cucumber but that's probably the green apple. It doesn't have that sweet apple scent you might know from other apple products.

How to use: After washing and towel-drying, massage onto face in circular motion, and rinse with warm water.

Price: around 14,- €/ US$17.50 
Bought at: eBay (gooditem2012)  

What I love:  

It's gentle enough for sensitive skin! 

What I don’t like: 

There is nothing I don't like. 

Will I buy this again? No, it will last for a long time and should be enough. 

FRESH APPLE Sparkling Pore Cream:

Description: A cooling and hydrating pore tightener with fresh unripe green apple extract and carbonated water that controls sebum production and tightens pores. 

The face cream is inside a greenish (glass) jar, has also a metallic lid and contains 50g.

On the bottom is the description and Korean and English (can be opened).

As many other products the cream got a second cover underneath the lid. The main ingredients are Green Apple Extract (5,000mg) and Carbonated Water (2,500mg).

The refreshing gel cream does moisturize well and get absorbed quite fast. It has a whitish color and the same green apple scent as the other products in this line.

A very nice face cream! I wished it would sparkle/ tingle a bit on the face, though, since it contains carbonated water.

How to use: After emulsion or serum application, dispense an ample amount onto the palm and smooth over the entire face. 

Price: around 17,50,- €/ US$21.50

Bought at: eBay (gooditem2012)    

What I love:  

It refreshes and moisturizes my skin without getting too oily.

What I don’t like: 

Nothing yet!

Will I buy this again? Maybe I would but I'm not sure! 

FRESH APPLE Sparkling Pore Gift Set & Sparkling Pore Serum:

Beside the two full size products I also got some samples. The Sparkling Pore Gift Set contains the Sparkling Pore Toner and the Sparkling Pore Emulsion with each 5ml content.

Both products are colorless while the Emulsion has a thicker texture than the Toner - it's still rather runny, though.

The Serum has a white lotion-like consistency and I find it a bit similar to the Peach Sake Pore Serum. 

Price: around 3,60,- €/ US$4.30 (Gift Set);  around 1,60,- €/ US$2 (5 Serum Samples)  
Bought at: eBay (rubyruby76)    
 

[innisfree] Jeju volcanic pore clay mask (mini)

Recently I was looking for more stuff from [innisfree] which uses natural ingredients - similar to [SKINFOOD] or [THE BODY SHOP]. I strumbled over their Jeju volcanic products and wanted to try out something of it because this line seems to be quite popular and is good for those with oily skin!
[innisfree] sells some of their face masks now in smaller 30ml sizes, so I got the Jeju volcanic pore clay mask (mini). Of course, you can get the 100ml size as well!

The following masks are available as mini tubes:

- Jeju volcanic pore clay mask

- almond sugar scrub

- aloe soothing gel mask

- red ginseng mask

- olive heating massage mask

- blueberry firming mask

Description: A clay mask with Jeju volcanic clusters to attach to sebum and purify pores.

While the big size comes in a jar, the small 30ml one is inside a brown tube. Around this tube is a sticker made of brown recycling paper with the description on it (Korean only). 
It has a twist-off lid!

Beside Jeju volcanic clusters the mask also contains scoria and green complex.

I found the following informations about Jeju volcanic online:

This pure and rare ingredient, formulated from solidified lava caused by volcanic eruptions in Jeju island, absorbs impurities and sebum that are deeply embedded within skin pores.

The consistency of this mask is creamy and dries fast on my skin. It has a brownish-grey color and a scent I find typical for those clay masks.
Since the tube is small I apply just a thin layer to my skin.

I apply the clay mask to my skin and let it dry, then wash it off with warm water. Afterwards my skin feels softer and pores looking cleaner. But to see better results I have to use it over a longer time.

Together with this product I got samples of the eco science skin and lotion. When I tried them out I found the brownish color and the strong herbal scent weird. They contain marine plants from Jeju ocean and anti-aging ingredients.

How to use: Apply clay mask to cleansed and toned skin. Massage 1 minute and leave on for 10~15 minutes, then rinse with warm water. 1~2 times a week.

Price (30ml size): around 7,- €/ US$9

Bought at: eBay (hsckoreanimports)     

What I love:  

My face feels more smooth and pores looking cleaner.

What I don’t like: 

There is nothing I don't like yet! 

  
Will I buy this again? Might get the full size or one of the other mini masks.