CosRX Two in One Poreless Power Liquid As Used by A Dry Skinned Girl
I decided a review of the new CosRX Two in One Poreless Power Liquid ($22) was in order since it has finally arrived in the US and is available at ulta.com. If you live under a rock you might not know that CosRX Two in One Poreless Power Liquid is pretty much taking the Korean Skincare world by storm at the moment with its promise of creating clear, smooth, glass-like skin.
I am so not the demographic for this product nor many of CosRX’s skincare products. Their line focuses on oily, blemish prone skin or from time to time oily dehydrated skin. This isn’t to say you can’t find some amazing gems for drier skin in the CosRX Collection such as Advanced Snail 96 Mucin Power Essence and Hyaluronic Acid Hydra Power Essence.
As for Two in One Poreless Power Liquid it’s more about those with congested visible pores. This is a lightweight treatment which targets larger pores and pore congestion around the T-Zone area. It contains simple but effective ingredients to dissolve sebum and dead skin cells that become trapped in pores and also acts to tighten pores which results in smoother, clearer skin.
I do not have larger pores nor do I have clogged pores and I’m not prone to blemishes but of course, I had to try this for myself and see what sort of effects it would have on my drier skin because they had me at glass-like skin. This is a low calorie BHA in my opinion. So, perhaps if you have more sensitive skin or you’ve never tried a BHA before this could be a potentially nice option for your skin to get used to BHAs or to use a more gentle formula.
For drier skin like my own I’d be more inclined to go with an AHA which is perfect to exfoliate the surface of my drier skin where as a BHA is best for oily, blemish-prone skin since it penetrates deeper and will unclog pores while normalizing skin.
I’ve been using this nearly a month now give or take a day or two and I had one half of the month where it was a horror story for me and I had to stop and I had another half of the month where it worked out beautifully well.
Here’s how things went down.
Initially when I received this my skin was in Winter mode so I was quite drier and duller. I applied it with my hands in the evening after cleansing and toning and waited 30 minutes before following up with the other steps in my routine. During that first week my skin flaked up on my forehead area and cheeks. I figured there would be a minor adjustment period but since this went on for eight days I decided it would be best to stop the treatment because it was only contributing to my dryness. It makes sense I’d get drier skin as this is made up of nearly 90% Willow Bark Water which is great for oily skin but not exactly a top pick for drier ones. Needless to say I decided I’d give my skin a minute to get back to being normal again before I resumed my testing.
After a week of hydration and some warmer weather my skin returned to normal and was very well hydrated. At this point, I was also experiencing some oiliness on my cheeks and chin. Lucky enough, I also had a minor outbreak of of hormonal pimples on my chin. SCORE! Now was a good time to resume testing! The warmer weather had made me a bit oily and those pimples needed to be banished.
This made a world of difference in my testing. Within a single use the small whitehead pimples on my chin instantly cleared up overnight and the oiliness around my cheeks and chin disappeared. I wouldn’t say my skin looked any brighter or less dull after using this but I was having way less dryness this time around. I made it nearly three weeks now without any dryness and so far this is what I’ve experienced using it.
Smoother skin
My skin was never bumpy or less than smooth but the left side of my cheek always seem to be rougher than the right side. It’s so much smoother now visually. My overall complexion just has a more softened appearance.
Pores
I don’t have visible pores on my face but on my nose I do. After using this I feel like they are so much less visible now and the blackheads that like to live in them have completely cleared up without the need to use a pore strip.
Oiliness
There’s definitely an overall improvement in the oil my skin produces. I mean, I’m not all that oily but I notice that in the warmer weather I can start looking greasy and right now on a hot, humid day it feels like my skin produces absolutely no oil and I think that might because this mattifies my skin so well.
Brightness
There’s not change in my the overall tone or brightness of my skin but I did have one tiny brown spot on my left upper cheek bone that looks considerably lighter since I started using this.
Glass-like skin
Glass skin? Well, sort of. This doesn’t exactly produce the signature dewiness associated with the glass skin look but it does create a very smooth appearance which could account for everyone and their mom saying this will give you glass-like skin!
I also noticed that the best application worked for me when applying it with a cotton pad. I am not an advocate for applying skincare of any kind with a cotton pad. Even my toner is applied with my hands by palming and patting it into my skin. Why would you spend a ton of money on say SK-II Facial Treatment Essence and proceed to have a cotton pad soak up all the goodness!? This product is the exception as I felt I experienced a lot less dryness by using it with a cotton pad. It’s a thinner consistency but still has serum-like texture that absorbs easily but does leave skin slightly tacky after application but sets after a few minutes and within that time becomes less sticky and tacky. It does absorb easily but as I said just a bit sticky initially. There’s a slight, very slight tingle when I apply it but nothing dramatic. It does have a very subtle medicine-like scent which I imagine is the willow bark. It sort of reminds me of the smell of Witch Hazel.
Overall, CosRX Two in One Poreless Power Liquid has some really great ingredients that could potentially make oily, blemish-prone skin look smoother and clearer. I would not suggest it for drier skin even though I had some a fairly good results with it. It’s not formulated with us dry skinned people in mind. I will continue using it though just not in my daily winter routine since I felt super dry when I was using it earlier in the month and the weather was cooler. It seems it might be more suitable as something I’d inject into my Summer routine versus my Winter one but in all honesty, now that I’ve eased my curiosity about it I likely wouldn’t purchase it again since there are better options available for my particular skin type. So, this one I’m leaving for the oily skinned people out there. I think it contains some great ingredients that will keep your skin clear and smooth.
CosRX Two in One Poreless Power Liquid is available now at ulta.com.
Tried it?
Do share your thoughts on it!
Ingredients:
Salix Alba (Willow) Bark Water, Butylene Glycol, Hydroxypropyl Cyclodextrin, Water, Pentylene Glycol, 1,2-Hexanediol, Betaine Salicylate, Arginine, Betaine, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Allantoin, Panthenol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carbomer, Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract, Menthyl Lactate, Mentha Haplocalix Extract