Staff Picks: The secret to minimizing our pores
The truth is, the size of your pores is part of your DNA - no amount of exfoliators or pore minimizing skin care is ever going to (permanently) change that. But there is one thing that we should look out for. Living in the city often exposes us to a lot of pollution and increases the likelihood of getting blocked and dirty pores. Mixed with the natural sebum buildup from our skin, the dirt can get trapped inside our pores and cause us to get blackheads and whiteheads. These obstructions make our pores look even bigger!
Aside from hating the bumpy skin surface it causes, having all that stuff in our faces just grosses us out. So we're sharing our deepest, darkest pore secrets to help you get out of that rut!
Liz: Masking and exfoliating regularly is the best way to keep pores clean and near invisible. I love the Origins Active Charcoal Face Mask and the Cure Aqua Gel for clearing all the nasty stuff! I also got this awesome tip from Jigs Mayuga, celebrity makeup artist - always set your face with a matte HD powder. Shiny products highlight pores; matte powders hide where pores begin and end since skin end up looking so smooth.
Image via sabshernandez.com
Den: Nothing exaggerates the look of your pores more than comedones! I use the amazingly cheap iWhite Nose Pack, and it's so satisfying to peel off the dried mask and see whiteheads and blackheads stuck to it. I also pat L'oreal Base Magique Primer on my nose and cheeks prior to foundation so the skin area looks smoother and my makeup lasts longer.
Kathleen: I am not particularly bothered by my pores even if they are visible. I am more concerned about keeping them unclogged! But when I need to look as polished as possible, my personal remedy is to use a nice smoothening primer. I have tried Lioele Secret Pore Rich Balm and it is effective! Besides being accessible, the price is affordable too. I can happily repurchase if I ever run out.
Image via lazada
Kimberly: I got into the fun although slightly painful habit of using nose packs sometime in the last quarter of 2015. My sister who's into Thai beauty introduced me to Gel Hut Mun White (sometimes called Clear Nose by online sellers) and after one use, I never looked back. It's just the bomb dot com at unclogging pores, I tell you! I regularly use it on my nose, cheeks, and chin every 4 days, and overtime I noticed that it shrunk the size of my pores and I pick up less gunk!
Rae: I've given up on the size of my pores. I used to get really bothered by them but I've grown to accept that I can only reduce their appearance. I find that pores are more noticeable when my skin is dry so I use a moisturizer regularly. I also use exfoliating products to keep blackheads at bay.
With makeup, I use slightly dewy foundations that give a soft-focus look, like Koh Gen Do Aqua foundation and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer. Matte foundations tend to emphasize my pores and other textural problems.
Nikki: If you're a large pored girl who loves a good dewy look like me, refrain from using highlighters that are liquid or cream based. I've noticed that highlighters in these formulas actually enlarge the size of the pores. Instead, use a cc cream or liquid foundation with a dewy finish to get the effect. However, if you must get your highlighter fix, use highlighters in powder form instead.
Image via sunnanz.com
Katsy: I do my best to keep my pores unclogged by exfoliating and getting a facial regularly. I'm also currently using a Pore Tightening Serum from The Face Shop. And whenever possible (aka whenever I get extremely lazy), I don't wear makeup at all.
Image via allaboutleanne.com
Stacie: To keep my pores clean and my face smooth and soft, I use a black sugar-clay mask combo weekly- The Skinfood Black Sugar Mask Wash-Off and Innisfree Super Volcanic Pore Clay Mask. The black sugar scrub exfoliates and brightens my skin while loosening and removing the gunk inside my pores, then the clay mask finishes the job by sucking out all the dirt which the sugar scrub was unable to remove. This leaves my pores feeling oh-so-clean!
Have you tried any of pore minimizing favorites? What's your secret pore routine? Reveal them below!
