Zero Pore Cream 2.0
Ingredients
water, propanediol, butylene glycol, cetearyl alcohol, caprylic/capric triglyceride, dimethicone, 1, 2-hexanediol, cyclopentasiloxane, cyclohexasiloxane, glycolic acid, beeswax, camellia japonica flower extract, arachidyl alcohol, glycerin, panthenol, cetearyl glucoside, behenyl alcohol, cetearyl olivate, arachidyl glucoside, potassium hydroxide, sorbitan olivate, helianthus annuus seed oil, allantoin, fragrance, xanthan gum, tricholoma matsutake extract, hydrolyzed cicer seed extract, rhododendron chrysanthum leaf extract, disodium edta, glycine soja oil, glucose, hyaluronic acid, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, sodium hyaluronate, oenothera biennis flower extract, pueraria lobata root extract, pinus palustris leaf extract, ulmus davidiana root extract, bixa orellana seed oil, tocopherol, fomes officinalis extract, cinnamomum zeylanicum bark extract, nelumbo nucifera flower extract, pelargonium graveolens extract, sanguisorba officinalis root extract, uncaria gambir extract, cymbopogon schoenanthus extract, citrus aurantifolia peel extract, mentha rotundifolia leaf extract, linalool, limonene.
This product is marketed as a moisturiser (I think), but everything about it — from the ingredients to the texture to the smell — says it wants to be an exfoliating mask. The instructions, verbatim, are: "Apply appropriate amount gently along the skin texture after washing your face and pat lightly for absorption", which sounds like a standard leave-on cream, but honestly, it behaves more like a treatment. A strong one.
I'm honestly confused. Is this meant for the whole face? Just the T-zone? Is it a pore treatment? The name says “pore cream” which makes it sound targeted, but the instructions suggest moisturiser — and that just doesn’t add up.
It contains glycolic acid fairly high up on the list and is meant to be left on — which is a strange choice, especially given the rest of the formula. On top of the acid, it’s heavily fragranced, with a scent that can only be described as Vicks VapoRub. The mentholated feel is unmistakable, and the fragrance components (fragrance in the middle of the list, linalool, limonene) are not skin-friendly at higher concentrations, especially in a leave-on format.
Yes, there are soothing and hydrating agents in here — glycerin, hyaluronic acid, glycine soja oil, panthenol, allantoin — but they feel insufficient. On my skin (which is fairly resilient), this still feels too aggressive to be a daily-use moisturizer. There’s a bit of hydration, sure, but not enough to offset the harshness.
If this were positioned as a rinse-off exfoliating mask, it would make a lot more sense, it would have a much higher rating in the Skincare Classifier— and in fact, that’s how I’ll be using it going forward. As a moisturizer? Absolutely not. It’s far too intense, too fragrant, and too confusingly formulated for that.
Odd product. Not a good daily moisturiser — and frankly, not a good moisturiser, period.