As you may know, over the last few weeks I’ve been doing Clinique’s Great Skin challenge to see if in two weeks, I’ll have that famous Clinique skin glow. Well I’m on week 3 and I’m incredibly impressed, not only is it glowing, it’s holding on to more moisture and my pores are noticeably smaller and unblocked. So I thought I’d introduce you to the penultimate product in my regime.

Clinique Pore Refining Solutions Instant Perfector Invisible Bright delivers instant but no long term effects so should be used as part of a good, solid skincare regime.

Utilising ‘smart technology’, it’s comprised of hydrolysed soy protein and coconut acid which is aimed to balance out oil production to reduce shine, but not leave your skin dry and dehydrated. Vitamin E acts as an antioxidant whilst stearyl glycyrrhetinate works as an anti-inflammatory.

You might not be surprised to learn that the pore reducing effects are the result of a formulation of silicon. Now dimethicone molecules are too large to be absorbed into the skin and wash away easily, but some claim it to have negative effects as it can trap dirt and sebum in the skin and possible cause irritation. I will concede that this should definitely not be used on skin prone to eczema. Remember however that this product has been allergy tested and undergone lengthy clinical trials (tried on over 600 patients over a period of weeks). Silicon is so widely used in cosmetics (seriously, you’d be surprised) that I honestly see no real problem.

This is designed to keep you shine free for up-to 8 hours whilst maintaing the appearance of those tiny pores. Even though it doesn’t seem to keep me shine free for as long as say Sampar Glamour Shot, it definitely keeps my pores visibly reduced a lot longer than 8 hours. The test used in store to demonstrate efficacy is to apply the product onto the lines of the palms. Look at the two photos of my hand above, the first is without the perfector and the second is with, the differences are pretty dramatic, right?

If you’re a BB cream user, I definitely recommend applying this over the top. My top tip for application is to squeeze a little onto your finger ends, gently rub your finger ends together and then pat into the skin.

If your problem is with enlarged pores, then I definitely recommend this, it is part of the Pore Refining Solutions range after all. You can pick it up here direct from Clinique for £19. A 15ml tube should last you a while and you have three colours to choose from. The shade I’m using, Invisible Bright, is completely undetectable but if you’re a little darker or tanned, then you may want to look at the others.