I purchased the full range of Kiehl’s Rare Earth products ages ago, and totally forgot to review them. Luckily, I still had these two sitting around in my box of unopened skin care items [a goo hoarder? where??], so I decided to give them a shot and actually document my experience this time around. My biggest problem with pore-minimizing products is the fact that they can really dry out my skin, which in turn can make the situation even worse. Currently, I have some uncomfortable bumpy breakouts on my cheeks, so I’m ready to try just about anything to get rid of them.
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| Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser and Pore Refining Tonic |
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| Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser and Pore Refining Tonic |
Rare Earth line of products was first formulated by Kiehl’s decades ago, and now their upgraded formula includes the famous Amazonian clay “to help purify and detoxify skin, while minimizing pores.” For this product test I’ve been using both the cleanser and the toner for two weeks as part of the AM routine, alongside my current skin care.
Deep Pore Daily Cleanser has the texture of a thick gray’ish milky paste, and whenever I see a cleanser like that, I immediately imagine that it will be gentle on the skin. In addition to Amazonian clay, it contains Diatomaceous Earth particles for gentle exfoliation. This scientific-sounding name makes it seem like a fancy ingredient, but it’s actually just a type of of dirt, or as Kiehl’s describes it “a natural skin-sloughing ingredient found in fresh and salt water, attached to cultivated solla, rocks, and seaweeds”. I was surprised to see that this thick paste foams quite well, meaning I probably won’t waste too much product; and the fancy dirt exfoliates better than I expected – it’s the mildest physical abrasive that I have encountered so far in cleansers. The product claims include softening and minimizing pores, gently cleansing the skin to remove dirt, oil and toxins. I believe that Deep Pore Daily Cleanser lived up to all of those claims, because even after the very first use, my face felt softer and the skin looked matte.
With all those minerals at the bottom of the bottle, Pore Refining Tonic looks like those two-step makeup removing systems with separate layers that you need to shake before use. It smells a little muddy, but not any worse than any clay product. I’m sure many of you tried at least some form of clay masks, and it kind of smells like that, but lighter. The product is supposed to minimize the appearance of pores, remove excess dirt [yeah, let’s remove dirt by applying more dirt! *just kidding*], impurities and toxins; and make the skin look softer, smoother and more matte. I normally used it right after the cleanser, so I didn’t fully experience its standalone purifying abilities, but it certainly made my pores look smaller, and kept my combination skin matte for several hours, which is a big achievement considering how quickly my T-zone becomes greasy during the day. I think at this point I pretty much single-handedly support the blotting papers market 🙂
My overall thoughts about both products are quite simple: I think they are good choices for combination skin type, especially when used together. Both the toner and the cleanser contain alcohol, so I wouldn’t recommend them for people with dry or very sensitive skin.
THE VERDICT
Deep Pore Daily Cleanser and Pore Refining Tonic both can be considered good products to try for people with oily or combination skin. They worked well to keep my T-zone matte for several hours after the initial application, and after two weeks of use the pores around my nose and on my chin look smaller and much cleaner than before.
PRICE & AVAILABILITY
Deep Pore Daily Cleanser – $22.50, 5fl. oz. Available at Kiehl’s, Nordstrom, Birchbox.
Pore Refining Tonic – $21.00, 8.4 fl. oz. Available at Kiehl’s, Nordstrom.
Shop Rare Earth collection:
Have you tried anything from Kiehl’s Rare Earth line? What are your favorite mattefying products?
Ingredients:
Rare Earth Deep Pore Daily Cleanser – Aqua / Water, Kaolin, Glycerin, Alcohol Denat., Sodium Cocoyl Glycinate, Coco-Betaine, Acrylates Copolymer, Sodium Chloride, Ci 77891 / Titanium Dioxide, Solum Diatomeae / Diatomaceous Earth, Phenoxyethanol, Peg-14m, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Benzoate, Aloe Barbadensis / Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Salicylic Acid, Avena Sativa Flour / Oat Kernel Flour, Tocopherol, Sodium Hydroxide, Allantoin.
Rare Earth Pore Refining Tonic – Aqua / Water, Alcohol Denat., Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Silica, Zinc Oxide, Methyl Methacrylate Crosspolymer, Kaolin, Methylparaben, Zinc Gluconate, Aloe Barbadensis / Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Avena Sativa Flour / Oat Kernel Flour, Menthoxypropanediol, Hamamelis Virginiana Distillate / Witch Hazel Water, Allantoin, Salicylic Acid.
I am intrigued to try these, thanks for review!!
You’re welcome! They are quite nice, way better than I expected 🙂
It’s a shame this doesn’t look friendly for my sensitive skin, but it sounds really earthy and cleansing. I don’t experiment a whole lot with skincare but I love reading other people’s experiences! 🙂
Yes, these products will most likely irritate your skin, because of alcohol and abrasive particles. People with sensitive skin tend not to experiment with their routine much, which is what I would do if I had that skin type. I’m glad you found products that work for you!
I really like the Kiehls brand, but I haven’t tried these. Sounds great!
Same here! I’m not like a die-hard fan of the brand, but I do purchase their products on occasion if I spot a good deal. This duo is one of the best purchases I made, for sure 🙂
Yay for goo hoarding!
Haha yeeessss!!!
Haven’t tried these, as I have dry skin. Sounds great for those with combo skin!
Indeed, it’s a great duo for people suffering from enlarged pores and blotchiness.
I love anything by Kiehl’s! I’ve never tried these products because I have normal to dry skin but the cleanser sounds great.
You could still try the cleanser if your skin isn’t too sensitive, because it has very fine exfoliating particles. They did a pretty good job gently sloughing off those dead cells 🙂
I haven’t tried anything from the rare earth line. I am using their body polish, and I love it so far.
I haven’t tried that one yet! I’m all about skin exfoliation, so maybe I’ll give it a shot 🙂
I have combo skin as well- with an oily T zone. This would work great for my pesky nose pores!
It’s definitely worth a try. You could try emailing the company and asking for some samples, I’m sure they will be happy to send some your way 🙂
I wish they were cruelty free. They sound wonderful.
Me too. Hopefully, one day they will.
I would love to try this as I have combination skin.. i love kiehl’s.
I personally think these two products worked really well. They also have a mask and a moisturizer in this line, and I think I’ll buy those two to have the entire lineup.
I’ve heard so many great things about this brand – Must try!
It’s a very nice brand, they have something for everyone 🙂
I love Kiehls! They are my ‘go to’ skin products.
I have a giant stash of skin care products, but I also agree that Kiehl’s is great!
OOOOO! I love Kiehls! I have oily skin too! I need to give this a try!
You should! I think you’re going to like it 🙂
I use the mask from this group and it’s terrific.
That mask was great! I used it up a while ago, but looks like I need a new jar 🙂
Kiehl’s is such a great line – thanks for the great review!
I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
It’s making me want to go buy it
Haha, I’ve even enabled myself to buy mask and a lotion again to complete the lineup 🙂