A product that helps control that oily shine. (Clinique Pore Minimizer T-Zone Shine Control)

Member Name: Gemma_C

Product:	Clinique Pore Minimizer T-Zone Shine Control
Date:	23/05/09 (185 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Skin is mattified and doesn't feel as cloggy or oily!

Disadvantages: Expensive, but it's a high quality product that does last a while even with daily use.

I'm a huge fan of Clinique products. I always find their products to be of a high quality and they always work. They may be pricey compared to cheaper brands, but they are worth the price tag. For example I am a fan of their Anti-Blemish clarifying lotion, I recently attempted to find a cheaper alternative and when I ran out I tried other similar products. This was a bad idea, my blemishes and spots became much worse and I quickly switched back to using it, and now my skin is visibly clearer and much better again.

- About Clinique -

Clinique are an offshoot from the Estee Lauder company and were founded in 1968. Clinique claim to cater for individual's needs and realises that everyone has a different skin type. They are most famous for their 3-step skin care regimes, which consists of 3 products and often comes with the line '3 Products. 3 Minutes. Twice a Day' and they claim if you follow this easy 3-step solution for your facial skin type then you will notice a huge improvement in your skin. All of Clinique's products are allergy tested and many of them are 100% fragrance free.
They have products aimed at dry skins, normal skins, combination skins, oily skins... well, you get the picture. They also have their anti-blemish range for people who suffer from spots and blemishes.
If you are unsure what your skin type is, the consultants at their counters will give you a quick and free consultation and advise you on the best products to use. Alternatively you can take the online consultation which is quick and easy to do.

You can find their counters in Boots, Debenhams and many other department stores. Their products are more high end, and range from about £8 to £20-30. Clinique will often have a 'bonus time' gift special offer on. You usually need to buy 2 products and recieve a make-up bag with lots of Clinique mini's in and usually a full size product. I prefer to buy Clinique products when this offer is running as it's a great way to try out new products.



- Pore Minimizer -

Clinique's 'Pore Minimizer' range is aimed at skin which might have large pores and can quite quite oily or greasy. In my opinion this works well with the anti-blemish range as people who have large pores may often find they have quite blemish prone skin. They have a small range of products aimed at minimising the appearance of pores both outside and in.

I have oily skin so when I was buying more of the clarifying lotion from my Clinique counter I noticed this product in the pore minimizer range. It's a t-zone shine control gel that claims to 'control oil and shine all day' It works by mattifying the area this is applied to, and also helps reduce the look of pores. You can use it under or over make-up.

The full size product is 15ml and whilst this is quite small, you don't need to use much of it so it does last a while. I've had mine a month and used it almost everyday and I can tell there is still alot left in my tube.

The tube comes in a standard Clinique green box. Inside there is a little leaflet containing a bit of information about the pore minimizer range in lots of different languages. The product itself comes in a little tube which is a pale pink colour to match the other products in the pore minimizer range and it has a silver screw lid. The product itself is a pale white milky colour, however once applied to your face it is clear. There is a tiny pinhead hole at the tob of the tube to allow you to squeeze out a small amount of the gel at a time, this stops you wasting any excess.
The gel doesn't have a strong smell to it, you would only notice a scent if you sniffed it really hard!
It's also small enough to pop into your bag so you can top-up later in the day if needs be. I generally don't take it with me to work, but if I am going out after work I may top-up in the evening when the skin is starting to form some shine again.

Application of this gel is easy. The first time I used it I applied it under my make-up, however I have found this to work much better when applied over my foundation, but before I use my powder to 'set' my make-up. I squeeze a small amount out onto my finger and rub in gently to the areas of my face I believe to be most oily. This is usually my forehead, nose, chin and around the hairline at the side. I have not found this gel to disturb my make-up at all, infact it helps it blend in nicely and it feels gentle and soft.

So, does it work? Using it instantly I notice that any shine on my skin is nicely mattified. As the day goes on I have noticed a huge difference. My skin doesn't feel as oily or cakey as much as it used to and feels so much better than without it. It's helped control my blemishes as it helps keep the areas oil-free! Towards the very end of the day I do notice some shine, but noweher near as much as I usually have, and I wasn't expecting it to eliminate oil from appearing all day. This has become a must have product for me on a morning when applying my make-up, and I feel more confident knowing my skin won't appear as shiny as it normally does during the day!

With the current VAT cut this costs £10.77, expensive yes but as I mentioned before this is lasting me quite a while, it's lasted over a month already. If you have oily skin and hate having shiny skin, especially later in the day then I can not recommend this enough.

Summary: Another great product from Clinique to help combat problem skin.