Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner Review

For the longest time I believed that a toner is unnecessary. That was until I actually used one and realized how much makeup and grime my facial cleanser was missing. After that I started using a toner religiously to make sure my face is clean after the whole day of wearing makeup and being exposed to pollution. I also learned that a toner is supposed to restore and maintain your skin's pH balance, in addition to a lot of other wonderful things.

I came across Etude House Wonder Pore Freshner while researching Korean cosmetics (of course) and it got overwhelmingly great reviews. I ordered it from an Ebay seller because unfortunately I couldn't find it here, in the US. It comes in a gigantic 500 ml plastic bottle and the cutest box which has all the information on it.

 

This toner promises a variety of miracles, including minimizing appearance of pores and moisturizing. Upon its arrival I realized that it contained alcohol which originally really scared me as it is supposed to be really drying and damaging to the skin. I decided to try it anyway and see what it does.

It comes with an amazing no-waste pump which is super convenient. 

 

The toner itself is water-like. It has a slight alcohol smell, but, honestly, if I didn't know it had alcohol, I wouldn't be able to smell it I think. Generally, it smells very fresh. 

I use it day and night after cleansing my face. The directions say that you are supposed to wipe your face with a cotton ball dipped in the toner and then pat the leftover toner on your face for moisturizing purposes.  I find that this toner is not drying at all, and does not evaporate immediately the way other alcohol-based toners do. On the contrary, it evaporates slowly leaving your skin very moisturized, ready for the other steps of your routine.

I have been using it for about three weeks and do not notice any dryness or any adverse effects because of the alcohol. In fact, my skin feels amazing: fresh, moisturized and tight.  

OVERALL: Highly recommended. Leaves the face fresh and moisturized. Beware of alcohol though!

Ingredients:

Water, Chrysanthellum Indicum Extract, Alcohol Denat, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Glycereth-26 Betaine, Sea WAter, PEG-60 Hydrogenated CAstor Oil, Dosium Hyaluronate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Cycmbopogon Schoenanthus Extract, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Extract, Prunus Mume Fruit Water, Uncaria Gambir Extract, Nelumba Nucifera Flower Extract, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Bark Extract, Sanguisorba Officinalis Root Extract, Pelargonium Graveolens Extract, Taraxacum Officinale (Dandelion) Leaf Extract, Chrysanthemum Morifolium Flower Extract, Chamaecyparais Obtusa Water, Pulsatilla Koreana Extractm Dosdium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylglycerin, 1,2-Hexanediol