The Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner is a relatively new product from Strivectin that claims to deliver both immediate and long term results for those of us struggling with oily or combination skin (and all the fun stuff that goes along with it – I’m talking large pores, shine, etc). This little miracle worker supposedly improves the skin’s appearance across the board – from refining skin tone and texture, to shrinking pores and reducing shine. So let’s find out how it works!
Strivectin Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner
What It Does
Strivectin’s Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner is a daily pore-minimizing lotion and anti-aging cream that improves cell turnover and delivers both instant and long-term visible pore reduction. As it hydrates and smooths the skin’s texture, it absorbs excess oil to control shine throughout the day for a mattified look. Additionally, Strivectin’s patented NIA-114 technology nourishes and strengthens the moisture barrier, limiting the sensitivity common to Retinol use.
According to Strivectin’s website, the Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner is scientifically proven to:
- Refine the appearance of enlarged pores
- Purify, tighten and reduce the size of pores
- Absorb excess oil to control shine throughout the day
- Hydrate skin and help smooth skin texture
How to Use
Apply the Retinol Pore Refiner over your clean face in the morning and at night. Use it as the very last step in your skincare routine, and after sunscreen for an optimal mattifying effect.
Packaging
The Retinol Pore Refiner comes in an opaque tube, which keeps the ingredients (including the Retinol) protected from light exposure. It dispenses the lotion using a pump, which prevents possible contamination by limiting contact with your fingers, plus it gives you full control over how much product you want to dispense (so you’ll never waste any of the lotion!).
Strivectin Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner Review
I have combination skin in the Fall and Winter months and so I’m often struggling with clogged, enlarged pores around my T-zone, and oily skin in general around my forehead and nose. Between the pore-refining, hydrating, and mattifying effects, I was anxious to see what this treatment could do.
Short-Term Results
I started using this after my moisturizer as the ‘finishing touch’ to my skincare routine. Almost immediately, I noticed that my skin looked a little brighter and more even – if someone were to look very closely at my skin, they’d see a tiny amount of shimmer from the mica, which helps to create that extra ‘glow’. Overall, I think the Strivectin Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner adds a nice ‘final touch’ to the skin, especially for those ‘no makeup’ days.
The treatment also acts as an amazing primer for makeup. It preps skin by both smoothing and mattifying it, creating the perfect canvas for liquids and powders (I use it before applying my Tarte Airbrush powder foundation, and it blends evenly over top the lotion). I found its mattifying effects to last a good 3-4 hours on me before I started to see some shine on my T-zone.
Though the Retinol Pore Refiner does add an extra step to my skincare routine, it doesn’t require that much time to apply. The formula glides on fairly smoothly, and absorbs super quickly into the skin. It has a faint rosy scent, which disappears once the lotion has absorbed.
Long-Term Results
After about a week, I started to notice some of the long-term benefits of using the Retinol Pore Refiner – my pores were gradually shrinking, oil production and overall shine had decreased, and my skin was looking much smoother in texture. Some of the blackheads/clogged pores were also clearing up around my cheeks and nose, and the tiny red bumps I usually get on my cheeks disappeared!
I did however experience extra dryness/flaking on my cheeks (which, having combo skin, are the driest areas on my face), so I had to spend a little extra time moisturizing and exfoliating those areas.
Here are my before and after photos (after just one week):
Final Thoughts
Overall, the StriVectin Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner is an amazing little multi-tasker, acting as a pore-refining treatment, anti-aging cream, mattifier, primer, and extra moisturizer all-in-one! It targets all the little struggles those of us with oily/combination skin face day-to-day, plus it helps to balance and improve skin texture in the long-run.
The StriVectin Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner is $99 for 1.7 oz, and available on Amazon, as well as at Macy’s, Nordstrom, and StriVectin’s website.
Have you tried the StriVectin Advanced Retinol Pore Refiner?
What’s your favorite anti-aging and/or pore-refining treatment?
