Big, visible pores are one of the Great Frustrations of anyone who is into make-up and skincare. I have been using the Bobbi Brown Skin Smoothing Pore Perfecter for over a year now and I love how it feels and what it does for my skin on a day to day basis. But it’s not a miracle cream, so I am always on the lookout for new ways to clean and reduce pores. Benefit seemed like a great place to start. I tried the POREfessional PRO Balm Face Primer and the POREfessional Instant Wipeout Facial Masks. There are three more products in the POREfessional range: a powder, a rescue gel and a oil-blotting stick. I will only be reviewing the primer and the masks in this post.

The POREfessional Instant Wipeout Facial Masks

I will start off with a couple of claims on the package:

It cleans out your pores
It tightens your skin
It makes your skin look smooth

Apparently the wipes are a specially textured fabric, woven from cottony fibers that helps to exfoliate and remove pore impurities. The masks contains mushroom extract known to clarify pores.

How to use it:
Each box contain eight masks. The individual packages have a button that, if you push it, releases the magical mushroom stuff. The masks have a specific shape that fits your forehead, your nose area or your chin. The masks have a textured side and a smoother side. You put the smooth side on your skin for about ten tot fifteen minutes and then wipe that area clean with the textured side.

My experience with the Instant Wipeout Masks

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This product is very easy to use. There is no mess and the masks fit perfectly on the areas you want to target. For me that means forehead and nose. When I put them on my nose I do feel my eyes sting a bit: one of the ingredients is a bit irritating. But if you close your eyes and relax (as is advised on the package) this won’t bother you. When I take it off after fifteen minutes my pores are smaller, my skin looks and feels smooth and my foundation looks flawless on top. When I have used a mask on my forehead I can see a immediate difference between the pores on my forehead and my nose area and vice versa.

As with most masks the bliss doesn’t last. After a couple of days I find myself “in need” of a new mask. I have been using these masks for a little over a month and there is no permanent improvement. The temporary improvement is undeniable and pretty amazing though. So this is still a product I would definitely recommend.

The POREfessional PRO Balm Face Primer

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I guess everyone and their mother knows this product and has an opinion about it, so I am going to keep it short and sweet. This face primer is meant to minimize the appearance of pores. So, it’s not like the Bobbi Brown Pore Perfecter, which actually claims to physically reduce pore size over time. And if you ask me, the Benefit PRO Balm does a great job at doing what it says it does. The primer puts a soft layer over your skin, to smoothen it out. This readies your skin for the make-up you put on top of it. You are basically making a soft and smooth canvas for the rest of your make-up. It feels a bit greasy at first (even though it’s oil free), but the finish is actually super soft. I’ve tried it with three different foundations and it really is a lovely base.