Clinique Pore Minimizer Thermal-Active Refiner

I love this scrub! I've always had combination skin, and my forehead, nose and chin have always been super oily. It can be a bit of a pain to try and keep my skin clear of blackheads. However, when I started using this scrub, it just massaged and scrubbed all that dullness and 'clogged-ness' right away. It felt warm, like you would expect a micro-dermabrasion type of scrub to feel, and it left my skin feeling smooth as a baby's bottom. It's really easy to use. Just take off your makeup and massage it gently, over your damp face. Then rinse it off and do your skin care routine the way you typically do. That's it. I would just say that you want to make light circular motions with it, don't push hard and scrub it like sandpaper over your face. I did that when I first tried a micro-dermabrasion type of scrub and it burned like heck. Then I saw that it said "massage gently" and I felt so dumb. So in case you're like me, I wanted to share that. This is my favorite micro-derm type of scrub, because it's better quality than at the drug store, it's fine for skin that reacts to frangrances because it's fragrance free (my dermatologist said I have to ise fragrance free) and it's a lot less expensive than some of the other brands in the department stores. So it works for me. I hope it works for you, too.

I am a 50% fan of Clinique I'd say. I love their cleansers but hate their creams. Me and my skin are very picky so I'd say I'm pretty objective.

The Thermal Refiner The things I liked about it most:

The feeling after - really nice. Doesn't give a dried-out feeling after use. No harsh little pieces scratching or irritating you. Easy to rinse off. Overall quick to use (I hate 20 minutes masks). Removes blackheads, tightens pores a tad bit.

All in all

It is quite thick so I find it hard to smooth it all over the face easily. Once I do though, it doesn't feel harsh, the warming effect is pleasant and it's easy to wash off. Afterwards, I always feel like I peeled off whatever dirty or tired layer of face was on top. My skin is super smooth and simply feels great.

My pores are far from terrible big holes everyone can see. But I can! After using the Thermal Refiner I think there is a bit of an improvement. The blackheads are gone, that's for sure. BUT, if you have very visible pores by nature, I don't think this product is for you.

Who is it for?

Slightly sensitive skin, normal, oily to a little dry. Pores that are clogged because of dirt - the regular daily damage from dust, smoke, sweat and so on. If you like gentle but thourough cleansing a few times a week and want the clean and smooth effect within 5 minutes.

Who won't like it?

If you have sensitive or very dry skin, I'd say skip this one.

If your pores have always been large, this is probably too weak.

Just so you can compare - My skin:

Fine on cheeks, bit oily in T-Zone, sensitive and awfully picky about what I put on it; although not oily it produces a pimple here and there quite often and blackheads prone. All this manageable with make up and generally people say my skin looks great though.

I purchased this product because I have PCOS and it causes my skin to be very oily and my pores to be large. I read the directions before I used it as I always do before using a new product. I applied a THIN layer of the product over my face and within seconds my face felt it was on FIRE. I could not get this stuff off fast enough. It was very painful. My face was beet red afterwards and less than 2 days later my skin feels like sandpaper. It is almost like it took about 4 or 5 layers of skin off. My face itches really bad. I read the reviews on this site and am very surprised at how many positive remarks there are. I do tend to lean on the sensitive side on my skin but this was ridiculous. I advise if you have sensitive skin not to use this product.

As soon as I applied the Clinique Pore Minimizer Thermal-Active Refiner to my T-zone areas, I saw instant results. It goes on very light without that caked on feeling. My pores looked smaller and my skin looked smooth with an even skin tone. I would definitely recommend this product. Enjoy!

I was scepticle when I first used Clinique Pore Minimizer Thermal-active Refiner but after a few tries I have noticed a difference already. Pores are still noticable but only very close up! Worth the money paid. I have been using the Pore Minimiser Serum also which benefits the Refiner.

After I had seen the commercial for Clinique Pore Minimizer I couldnt resist to buy it. Although I'm not really sure if I'm so satisfied with the result. Sure, skin feells really smooth after (which is a very big plus) but I dont think that my pores have been any smaller (not directly after application nor after), unfortunally. But I like the refreshing feeling that I get after using though. So I'm a little bit confused about my feeling regarding the product. I would recommend Clinique Pore Minimizer Thermal-active Refiner to you if you want a okay facial scrub that makes you feel fresh, but I dont think its reduces the pores as the commercial says.

I have to confess that the Clinique Pore Minimizer Thermal-active Refiner is the only product from Clinique that I don't like so far. I was tempted by their advertisement, but was left utterly disappointed. It is in a thick paste form, which I find very hard to blend with water. I felt an unexpected pain as I scrubbed (gently, that is)! I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone, even though it does make skin as smooth as a peach!