The first contenders to enter the ring from my Korean Beauty Haul: BeautynetKorea is the TONY MOLY Egg Pore Collection. WARNING: please, please note that the Egg Pore Blackhead Steam Balm CONTAINS MICROBEADS. I had to throw this product away after first realising. To read more about the environmental hazards of microbeads, please click here.
This trio's philosophy is to exfoliate, tighten the skin's elasticity, and prime. Essentially, remove blackheads, clear pores and reduce excess sebum, They are packaged as three adorable little eggs that are simply twisted open to reveal their contents. As cute as it is, the packaging is utterly redundant, making it a fairly wasteful product. While TONY MOLY do adopt a Green Philosophy, in that these products are made from recycled materials, the lid is nearly twice the size of its contents! It's impracticable, unnecessary and highly wasteful. Quirky egg design should be no way to market these products.
Blackhead Steam Balm
As mentioned, we're ignoring the Blackhead Steam Balm for good reason, because WARNING: IT CONTAINS MICROBEADS. While the principle of exfoliating the skin before applying a face mask is something I subscribe to, I wanted to instead provide two far less dangerous alternatives that offer the exact same results.
Origins Modern Friction This exfoliator mimics the effects of microdermabrasion treatments but with the considerably less abrasive rice starch. It's quite a soft, plump exfoliator which offers the same warming effects. But this product can be very harsh. I found my skin to become a little irritated when using, possibly because the ingredients list features SLS and lemon oil. £32.00 / 125ML
Burt's Bees Peach and Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub This product is a fantastic alternative, and the one I found myself using most often. It uses small apricot kernels to exfoliate, and its rich and creamy texture makes it very soft and kind to skin. It contains 100% natural ingredients and is sulphate-free, making it extremely gentle on my sensitive skin. £10.99 / 110G
Any of the above two exfoliators are a better alternative. As matters of ethics, morales and principle, I cannot use cosmetics containing microbeads.
Tightening Cooling Pack
The Tightening Cooling Pack is possibly the gentlest face mask I've ever used. Assuming this is where the product's name comes from (beside the packaging), its texture is just like scrambled eggs! Oddly, it is actually very cool to touch, and remains cool on the skin. While the cooling qualities are supposedly to help 'close' the pores, that's just nonsense. It does, however, very effectively de-gunk my pores.
Simply scoop out a small piece of the gelatinous mask, and begin to spread it onto the skin. It's not a great spreader, it does tend to be a little too on the sticky side, so I often found myself laying it on quite thick. The most interesting thing about this mask, is it doesn't dry on the skin, it manages to retain its moisture, making it incredibly soft, gentle and barely feel-able and all the while, staying lovely and cooling.
It has an inoffensive sweet scent to it which I can't actually smell while wearing the mask. However, as it's feather-light, gentle and odourless it is completely easy to forget this product is even on your skin.
While it may not dry on the skin, it does like to grip the skin, making it fairly tricky to remove so you will need to grab the muslin cloth. Afterwards, I'm left with slightly red and irritated skin, possibly due to the difficult removal. However, this is amazing for de-gunking pores. My skin is far more clearer after every use, turning my pores into a more greyish colour, making them increasingly less and less visible.
Silky Smooth Balm
The Silky Smooth Balm is actually a primer, and does not offer any skin benefits. Its aim is to reduce excess sebum production and control oil. You can apply this product alone, after your usual skincare routine, or just before make-up. I like to wear it alone, as I don't tend to wear any make-up products.
As the name suggests, this is a super silky smooth customer. Scoop a little piece onto the end of your finger and begin to spread it onto the skin. Do not massage it in. Just glide your fingertips over your skin, outwards from the nose. It's far more effective when you let it rest upon your skin as a barrier against oil.
Your skin may feel like its wearing a barrier, but I find it in no way uncomfortable and it's very soft to touch. You will notice that the balm instantly eliminates any shine, leaving you with a flawless matte finish. It is very, very effective, keeping me oil-free for the entire working day. Yup. Its effects are astounding.
It smells absolutely delicious, a really sweet and pleasant scent. Everything about this product is a real catch, the smells, the texture, and most importantly, the effects. It is definitely a favourite of mine for oil control.
While we're always told not to put all our eggs in one basket, the Blackhead Steam Balm is definitely one egg that I will be avoiding in all of future shopping baskets. The Tightening Cooling Pack was effective sure, but I won't be repurchasing this product as it's difficult to remove and contains a very small helping. However, the Silky Smooth Balm is a dream come true. I've loved how successful this product is, and have categorised it as an absolute essential.
The Tightening Cooling Pack can be purchased from BeautynetKorea for $10.99 / 30G. The Silky Smooth Balm can be purchased from BeautynetKorea for $13.22 / 20G.
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