Review: Biore Charcoal and Baking Soda Range #gifted

Hello!

I was sent a bunch of Biore products* two months ago and as voted by you guys, here is the review!

Here are the products I recevied:

• Biore Deep Cleansing Charcoal Pore Strips
• Biore Self Heating One Minute Mask
• Biore Charcoal Acne Clearing Cleanser
• Biore Charcoal Acne Scrub
• Biore Baking Soda Acne Scrub

All these products are available at Priceline or Chemist Warehouse.

Before we get into this, I have oily/acne-prone skin and I have previously tried some Biore products in the past.

Biore Deep Cleansing Charcoal Pore Strips:

Excess oil can clog pores and lead to blackheads. Luckily, these strips, infused with natural charcoal, trap and draw out deep-down impurities and excess oil. Biore Deep Cleansing Charcoal Pore Strips work like a magnet, instantly locking onto and drawing out deep-down dirt & oil that can cause blackheads. Infused with natural charcoal, these innovative pore strips draw out excess oil for the deepest clean. In just 10 minutes, you’ll remove weeks’ worth of build-up and see 3 x less oil.

Directions:

1. Remove strip from pouch. Twist strip to loosen and separate slits prior to use.
2. After washing your face, thoroughly wet your nose. The strip won’t stick on a dry nose.
3. Dry hands. Peel off plastic liner. Apply to nose area, smooth side down, pressing down to ensure good contact with skin.
4. Let dry for about 10-15 minutes until stiff to touch – like papier mache.
5. Slowly and carefully peel off starting at edges, pulling toward centre. Any residue left on skin is easily removed.

Ingredients:

POLYQUATERNIUM-37, SILICA, AQUA, GLYCERIN,POLYSILICONE-13, CI 77499, PEG-12 DIMETHICONE,MENTHOL, CHARCOAL POWDER,STYRENE/STEARYLMETHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER,METHYLPARABEN.
First Impressions:

I’ve used these a few times in the past. Originally, Biore brought out the normal pore strips, but within the last few years they introduced these charcoal ones. They do work in pulling out all the gunk in your nose, so they’re useful to use every few months.
What I like:

• Easy to use

Instructions are easy to follow

• Works

Definitely does the job in unclogging pores and drawing out excess oil

• Cautions

On the side of the box, it says not to use more than once every three days. Personally, I think this is too frequent use. I use these about once every 1-2 months.

**Overall:

I do enjoy this product and I do recommend this product, but with limited use.

Biore Self Heating One Minute Mask:

Directions:

1. WET FACE. Leave face wet – the Bioré® Self-Heating One Minute Mask is activated by water.
2. APPLY MASK. Dry hands, open single-use packet, dispense contents into hand and apply mask to face. You may add a little water to your fingers to help spread the mask and activate warming.
3. MASSAGE for about 1 minute. As you massage, the mask will heat up. For more heating action or for your preferred consistency, massage in a little water. The mask does not dry/harden.
4. RINSE. After one minute has passed, thoroughly rinse with water to remove the mask.
Recommended Usage: Weekly. May use up to 2-3 times/week.

Ingredients:

BUTYLENE GLYCOL, ZEOLITE, KAOLIN, PEG-8, METHYLGLUCETH – 2 0, CELLULOSE, TALC, PARFUM, LAURYL METHACRYLATE/GLYCOL DIMETHACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, CHARCOAL POWDER, DIMETHICONE, HYDROXYPROPYLCELLULOSE, MENTHOL, DISODIUM EDTA, BHT.

First Impressions:

This is another product that I’ve used before. I really like this product, though I’m not sure that I see such a difference. It’s really fun and different because as you use the product it literally starts to heat up. As you wash it off, your face is left feeling cool.
What I like:

• Feel

I like the heating sensation you get when you use the product.

• Refreshing

After you wash it off, your skin is left feeling refreshed and I really like this feeling,

• Product amount

Personally, I think there’s enough product inside one sachet for two washes, however I don’t think it can be stored for long as it’ll dry out.
What I don’t like:

• Messy

As with any charcoal product, it gets quite messy when washing it off.

• Can be hard to wash off

Charcoal products aren’t always easy to wash off and may require going in with a toner afterwards to get your skin extra clean.

• Packaging

Having it in a sachet makes it hard to squeeze out, leaving a lot of waste. If you’re paying money for a full product, you’d expect to get as much use out of it as you can, right?
Overall:

Enjoyable product, despite the thing’s I don’t like about it. The negatives aren’t enough for me to stop using this product. However, if they fixed the packaging, it would be so much easier to use, and I wouldn’t have any faults in it!

Biore Charcoal Acne Clearing Cleanser:

A refreshing liquid cleanser that deeply cleans pores and removes dirt, oil and impurities from the skin without over-drying. Suitable for oily skin, the natural charcoal absorbs excess oil from the skin, without causing skin irritation and traps impurities. Salicylic acid then helps treat existing pimples and prevent new breakouts. 

Recommended daily use.

Directions:

Wet face. Then pump product into hands, massaging over entire face and neck. Rinse thoroughly. For optimal results, use daily.

Ingredients:

SALICYLIC ACID, WATER, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE,COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, SORBITOL, GLYCERIN, LAURETH-4 CARBOXYLIC ACID, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, SODIUM BENZOATE, FRAGRANCE, MENTHOL, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, POLYQUATERNIUM-39, DISODIUM EDTA, CHARCOAL POWDER

First Impressions:

It smells really nice! The product itself is black in colour due to the charcoal, but once it is lathered, it turns to a grey-milky texture. It washes off easily and is super gentle.
What I like:

• Packaging

Easily dispenses the product, I usually do 2 pumps because I like to wash my neck and decolletage too. I also like being able to see when I am close to finishing the product as the packaging is see through.

• Smell

Sometimes I like my skincare to be fragrance free, other times I don’t mind the smell. It really comes down to what it smells like. But I really enjoy the smell of this!

• Gentle

I find this to be a very gentle cleanser.

What I don’t like:

• No differences

I didn’t find much of a difference after using this. It is ‘acne clearing’ but I still have a few breakouts here and there, so I wouldn’t say it’s very effective.
Overall:

Very nice cleanser, but as I said, it didn’t do much for me. I would still recommend it as it’s a very nice and affordable cleanser. 200ml will last you some time, even with twice daily use.

Biore Charcoal Acne Scrub:

Formulated for oily skin, the combination of oil-absorbing charcoal plus acne-fighting salicylic acid, gives skin a deep clean without over-drying. This powerful scrub contains exfoliating beads and skin-polishing micro crystals that clear away dead skin cells, without irritating the skin or stripping it of moisture.

Directions:

1. Wet face. Then squeeze product into hands, massaging over entire face.
2. Rinse thoroughly. For optimal results, use 2-3 times per week or up to two times daily, as needed.

Ingredients:

WATER, GLYCERIN, SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE, ALUMINA, COCAMIDOPROPYL BETAINE, SORBITOL, SYNTHETIC WAX, LAURETH-4 CARBOXYLIC ACID, MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX, SALICYLIC ACID, ETHYLHEXYLGLYCERIN, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, XANTHAN GUM, SODIUM BENZOATE, FRAGRANCE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, MENTHOL, POLYQUATERNIUM-39, CHARCOAL POWDER, DISODIUM EDTA, YELLOW 5 LAKE, TALC, RED 30

**First Impressions:

There are ‘bead-like’ products in this which I have been told is made from non-micro plastic materials, such as Jojoba beads, specialised wax beads and Alumina.

The product smells citrusy and lathers very easily.

What I like:

• Lathers easily

This is a super gentle formula, and it lathers so easy.

• Smell

Smells really nice, just like their other charcoal products.

**What I don’t like:

• Nothing

This is a decent scrub, but I personally rarely use physical exfoliants nowadays, as I have been trialling different chemical exfoliants.

**Overall:

It is an affordable scrub that smells nice and lathers easily. If you’re on a big of a budget you may want to have a look at this. But as I said, personally I rarely use physical exfoliants nowadays. However, if I were to reach for physical exfoliants, I’d use them maybe twice per month max.

Biore Baking Soda Acne Scrub:

Formulated for combination skin, this cleansing scrub gently exfoliates without over scrubbing to remove pore-clogging dead skin cells. With the inclusion of salicylic acid, the creamy formula balances and helps treat the skin to banish future breakouts.

Directions:

1. Wet face. Then squeeze product into hands, massaging over entire face.
2. Rinse thoroughly. For optimal results, use 2-3 times per week or up to two times daily, as needed.

Ingredients:

WATER, SODIUM COCOYL ISETHIONATE, GLYCERIN, GLYCOL DISTEARATE, SYNTHETIC WAX, ETHOXYDIGLYCOL, SALICYLIC ACID, PEG-6 CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC GLYCERIDES, MICROCRYSTALLINE WAX, CETYL ALCOHOL, PEG-12 DIMETHICONE, SODIUM LAUROYL LACTYLATE, SODIUM HYDROXIDE, ACRYLATES/C10-30 ALKYL ACRYLATE CROSSPOLYMER, XANTHAN GUM, SODIUM BENZOATE, FRAGRANCE, MENTHOL, SODIUM BICARBONATE, BENZOPHENONE-4, YELLOW 5 LAKE, TALC, RED 30.

**First Impressions:

The packaging and colours of this is really nice. I had been skeptical of this in the past because it has baking soda in it, and I am aware that baking soda’s PH is too high to apply directly on the skin. But after some research, I found that the baking soda is PH balanced, and therefore not harmful to the skin. This also has small white and orange beads  and smells citrusy.

**What I like:

• Lathers easily

This is very similar to the product above, except this is baking soda.

• Smells nice

Another citrus smelling product!

**What I don’t like:

• Hard to wash off

I did find it is a bit hard to wash off, I found there were some bits of beads left on my face. I recommend going in with a toner after using this product.

**Overall:

My review of this is similar to the one above. Both smell nice and lather easily, but they are a bit hard to wash off.

If you’re looking for another affordable exfoliant, you may want to look into this one. Once again, I use this probably 1-2 times a month.

That’s all I have for today, have you tried these products before? I’d love to know your thoughts!

With love,

Irene

*I was gifted these products, but all opinions are 100% honest and my own. I am not being paid in any way to post about these.

**The original post has been edited.