Benefit The POREfessional Pro Balm: Review & Swatch

Do you ever walk into a shop and find something that is too cute to resist, so you buy it but have no idea what you will do with it? You may not even use it at all! I do this allllll the time! Mostly, it's in gift and card shops like Cards Galore, Clintons or my favorite- PaperChase. I'm always picking up random bits and bobs that look alluring, even though I don't need it.

And that's exactly what I did when the latest issue of 'Glamour' magazine came out this month. They are giving away free sample sizes of Benefit products: 'That Gal' brightening primer (check out my review of it  here), 'Bad Gal' mascara and 'Porefessional Pro-balm'. These products have been appearing everywhere in beauty blogs for the past week and half. Since I already own the original sizes of the first two products, I bought myself three copies of the same magazine which included the 'Porefessional' samples. The packaging was too cute to resist!

You know the feeling you get when you pick up an adorable baby, and you just want to squeeze its cheeks and give it a tight hug...until it pukes all over you? I had a very similar feeling after using this product, although I guess it wasn't so bad as being puked on. What a waste of £4- I should have just bought one copy (as I enjoy reading this magazine) and used the £4 to treat myself to a frappuccino at Starbucks. Hmmmphh.

Benefit describes Porefessional as a balm which 'Quickly minimises the appearance of pores and fine lines'. It also says that it helps makeup stay put- so it's a primer as well? Now I don't have any fine lines, or large pores on my face so I won't be commenting on that, but I can say one thing for sure- if this is a primer then it's a rubbish one at that. It failed to keep my makeup on for just a couple of hours- I felt like I was a teenager again who didn't know how to keep her makeup from disappearing, unlike Benefit's 'That Gal Brightening Face Primer' which keeps my makeup lasting all day. I really tried to like this product, I really did. (I know what you're thinking- 'Of course you tried to like it, you bought three of the same magazine for the same product thrice!') But it did nothing for me.

The product comes out as a beige, lotion-like texture, but once rubbed in it becomes completely translucent, leaving behind no tint. Once rubbed in, the skin does feel really silky but this effect does not last long. It does not make my skin glow or anything (and you all know how much I love to glow), and neither does it keep my skin feeling smooth. Lately, I have been getting slight dry patches on my cheeks, but once I apply a moisturising cream after cleansing, these patches disappear. To my dismay, Benefit's Porefessional only enhanced my dry patches, which was made to look worse once I applied makeup on top.

Many bloggers have rated this product highly, but I just don't understand the hype. I would not recommend this product to anyone, however, it does seem to work for many others out there and it may work for you. Also, I do not have fine lines or large pores (yet) so perhaps this product was just not for me, but if you do have these problems then Porefessional may benefit you. If you're living in the UK, I would suggest you grab yourself a copy of the latest 'Glamour' magazine and try out a sample before purchasing- and please do not buy tons of copies like I did until you've actually decided whether you like it or not!

I will most definitely NOT be purchasing the full-sized version of this product, and at the cost of £23.50 I'd be crazy to even think about it! Twenty-three-pounds-fifty-pence for a balm claiming to be a primer which does nothing but get rid of my makeup quicker and gives me dry patches...no thanks! I'm happy to stick to That Gal who is a lot more professional and does what she's meant to do.

If I had to say one good thing about this product, it would be that as with all Benefit products, I love the fragrance of Porefessional. It has a fruity scent to it which lingers on the skin for quite a while and smells absolutely delicious! But yeh, that's about all the pros I have for this product. Do let me know of your experiences with this product!




RATING: 1/10