REVIEW: Holika Holika PIG-NOSE CLEAR BLACKHEAD Deep Cleansing Oil Balm

I am so sorry for the super late post. 
I've been through a lot of stress lately so I had to take a rest. :( 
Anyways I am so happy to be back on my usual routine. ;)

I have a lot of stuff to posts but jeez, I feel like there's no time. :( 

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I got my latest beauty haul 3 weeks ago. I was able to post it on my personal blog (http://theunemployedfish.tumblr.com/). 

Here they are!!

I ordered a lot from Han Ryu's sale last time. I really saved a lot! 

I'll just share my haul. I promise to make a review for each product as soon as I try them. 

I just love her. She gave me a nice personal letter and a cute/useful/ 'I-love-it' item. 

Thank you soooo much Ms. Grace!

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Here's a my first review after a long hiatus from blogging: 
HOLIKA HOLIKA PIG-NOSE CLEAR BLACK HEAD DEEP CLEANSING OIL BALM

I took this photo the moment I took it out from the package. 

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I'll be doing a review for a pore-cleansing facial product. This is a product from Holika Holika. 
Holika Holika is a Korean brand that sells skin care products and cosmetics. 

This is my first review for this brand and I'll be doing a review for Pig-nose Clear Blackhead Deep Cleansing Oil Balm. 
  


The PRODUCT:
Name: Pig-nose Clear Blackhead Deep Cleansing Oil Balm (Holika Holika) 

- An Oil-balm that's meant to remove blackheads and cleans your pores gently. I couldn't find an English website for Holika Holika so I do not have the official description from the company. But here's an English description I found from an online shop: 

The Holika Holika Pig-Nose Clear Blackhead Deep Cleansing Oil Balm is a hypoallergenic deep cleansing blackhead oil balm which removes blackheads gently. As you massage the solid balm into your skin, you can feel it melt with your body heat, allowing dead skin cells to be removed easily. Blackheads and other impurities will be loosened and easier extraction as well. With the help of pink clay, excess sebum will be quickly absorbed without over drying. Aloe Vera gel provides nourished skin while minimizing pores. 

- Net Wt: 25g
-PRICE: I got this on sale from HanRyu:  PhP254
- The Benefits (got this from: http://www.prettyandcute.com/Holika-Holika-Pig-Nose-Clear-Blackhead-Deep-Cleansing-Oil-Balm-p5041.html) : 

Benefits:Loosens blackheadsNourishesHelps to control excess oilMoisturizesMinimizes Pores

This is what it looks like: 

 - I find the name of this product amusing (in a positive way). Koreans just love these cute-sy  / art-sy packaging in their cosmetics and skin care products. 

 - Here's the back part. Unfortunately, no English descriptions / translation for this. Hmm.. All I know is that this product expires on 2015/06/15 (which is a great thing for Korean cosmetics/skin care products because you can easily see the expiration date OR the manufacturing date)

-And here's what it looks like INSIDE:

Looks like the 'hardened' cooking oil that my grandmother used in the province. 

-Yes. Pig-nose Clear Blackhead Deep Cleansing Oil Balm looks like a blob of petroleum jelly. The consistency though is not similar with petroleum jelly, it'a actually 'harder' than petroleum jelly but 'softer' than the lip gloss in a jar. 
- The smell: It smells like lemon! (or our local kalamansi in Filipino). Actually, the scent reminds me of a lemon-scented car freshener.  But fear not! The scent is not too strong. 

The APPLICATION: 
- I have huge pores. These pores are seen even if you are 3km away from me. Okay, 3km is an exaggeration but my pores are really huge and these pores on my nose are prone to blackheads. Actually, the blackheads loooooooove staying there in my pores because they are  so spacious. (hawmaygoodness!) 

The attack of the blackhead-zombies!! 

Here's how to use the product. I got this again from an online store: 

Directions: After washing your face, apply an appropriate amount on areas with blackheads and massage for several minutes. Rinse with warm water. For best results, use 1-2 times a week.

I am totally shy to show you how my pores + blackheads look like. But since I've mustered all the courage I have for tonight, here it goes! 

This one looks better! 

These before-and-after photos are not edited. What you see is what you get. ;] 
NOTE: By the way, these photos were taken when I used the product for the first time. I am on my 4th try on this. 
(I will update this as soon as I see any changes with my pores/blackheads) 



MY VERDICT: 
- If you will look at the first two 'before-and-after' photos, you  will notice there were very minimal (well I cannot say 'minimal' because I could not see the difference). But I love the third 'before-and-after' photo. 

- Let's take a look at the promises of Pig-nose Clear Blackhead Deep Cleansing Oil Balm: 

Loosens blackheads - Hmm.. lemme give this product a chance to prove itself when it comes to loosening blackheads. I've been using this for the fourth time but I can still see blackheads on my nose after application. 

Nourishes- hmm.. no comment on this one since I don't know how to test this. 

Helps to control excess oil - It actually did control excess oil! I've noticed that I do not have to blot too much the next day after I use this. 

Moisturizes- It did not dry my nose or the other parts of my face where I applied the product. 

Minimizes Pores -  After four applications, I haven't seen any changes with the size of the pores. I will update this post as soon as I get positive results. I am planning to try this for a month. 



I'll be updating you guys about this. 
For now, all I can say is that  Pig-nose Clear Blackhead Deep Cleansing Oil Balm still has a long way to go. When I first read that it loosens blackheads, I was expecting an immediate result. I was a bit disappointed when I still saw the blackheads on my nose. ;( After my fourth try, I can still see the blackheads but not as prominent as before. Still,, I am not losing hope to Holika Holika's Pig-nose Clear Blackhead Deep Cleansing Oil Balm.