November 2021

Nose strips aren't great for the skin, but let's face it - it's satisfying to see all of that gunk being pulled out in all of it's disgusting glory. On occasion I will use a pore strip on my nose when it is looking particularly sad. To me, it is less traumatic than the BHA + Clay Mask + Oil Cleanser Massage method to clear it out.

TONYMOLY
Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack Review

TONYMOLY Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack Review

INFO SHEET

Brand:  TONYMOLY
Product: Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack
Scent: None
Price:  $3.50 for one Strip
Where to Buy:  Amazon, Jolse, Target, Ulta

TONYMOLY is known for it's super cute packaging, and those Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack is no exception. I was a bit taken aback by the price though, because it is $3.50 for only one nose strip. However, I ended up purchasing anyway because I needed something small to throw in my cart to get free shipping :).

Instructions are quite simple: Place on wet nose, wait 15 minutes, remove.

It kind of looks like a little octopus. So cute :).

I'll be honest. I didn't do any research about the TONYMOLY Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack whatsoever before I bought it. I thought it would just be for the nose and was pleasantly surprised that the nose pack made a cute little octopus shape covering part of the forehead too. I only really have sebum on my nose though so I don't believe I'll benefit much from the forehead area, but I'm sure some people will enjoy that feature!

INGREDIENTS

When reviewing the TONYMOLY Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack I was surprised as to how long the ingredients list is. Is it really necessary? This isn't really a skin care product, because it's only meant to be worn for 15 minutes and then rinse off the residue after. All a nose strip really needs is some sort of adhesive agent, something that removes excess oil, and perhaps something to help reduce redness and inflammation. Let's take a look at it further...

Also another thing to note, the ingredients list on every website I visited was a huge mess and didn't really match what is listed on the packaging. None of the ingredients are in any particular order, no comma separation, and there are many repeat items listed. I'm surprised that ULTA, Soko Glam, etc. all had copy and pasted the same ingredients list that didn't make any sense. This is the true ingredients list taken directly from the Nose Pack packaging:

PVP, Water, Glycerin, PEG-12 Dimethicone, Kaolin, Butylene Glycol, VP/VA Copolymer, Titanium Dioxide, Taurine, Sea Silt Extract, Maris sal, Sea Water, Peat Water, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract, Pueraria Lobata Root Extract, Pinus Palustris Leaf Extract, Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract, Betula Platyphylla Japonica Juice, Bambusa Vulgaris Water, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Flower Water, Rosa Damascena Flower Water, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Wine Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol

Notable Ingredients:

Kaolin - A type of clay mineral that is often used to absorb oil in the skin.
Sea Silt Extract - Absorbs excess oil in the skin.
Hydrolyzed Collagen - A water-binding agent that helps increase skin smoothness.
Oenothera Biennis (Evening Primrose) Flower Extract - Derived from an herbaceous perennial plant, this ingredient is said to reduce inflammation and have skin-soothing properties.
Pueraria Lobata Root Extract - aka Kudzu Root. This powerful antioxidant helps reduce inflammation in the skin.
Ulmus Davidiana Root Extract - Used in traditional Chinese and Korean medicine, this water-binding agent is said to have highly effective moisturizing as well as anti-inflammatory properties.
Bambusa Vulgaris Water - Water extracted from Bamboo which has skin-soothing and anti-oxidant properties.
Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Flower Water - A soothing agent that moisturizes and alleviates discomfort in dry skin.
Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract - aka Green Tea Extract. An antioxidant that calms the skin with it's anti-irritant properties. Said to improve the overall appearance of sun-damaged skin.
Wine Extract - This ingredient calms the skin and helps reduce redness.

So the adhesive component in the TONYMOLY Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack is PVP which is short for Polyvinylpyrrolidone. It is a common binding agent found in mascara and hair spray. If it's safe enough to put in mascara then it's probably fine to use on the nose. There were a lot of ingredients that had redundant properties such as absorbing excess oil, and some that are said to be skin soothing (according to companies trying to push their products) but I could not find much evidence supporting those claims so I didn't list them. Aside from that there are still quite a lot of goodies listed. I did notice that there aren't any ingredients that helps reduce the size of pores such as Witch Hazel though.

COSDNA ALERTS

Butylene Glycol - 1 out of 5 (Acne)

The only possible trigger in the TONYMOLY Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack is Butylene Glycol; which is honestly present in a lot of skin care products. I don't believe my skin will have an adverse reaction to it.

BEFORE AND AFTER

The TONYMOLY Tako Pore Nose Pack wasn't very effective.

TONYMOLY Tako Pore Nose Pack took out some sebum. Also, 🤮🤮🤮.

The instructions say to apply to wet skin and leave on for 10 - 15 minutes. I did have to leave it on for 20 minutes to dry a little more though. The TONYMOLY Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack wasn't as painful to remove as other nose strips out there, but it also wasn't as effective. I only use these strips every once in a while so my pores were very full of sebum. Sadly, the Nose Pack didn't have much of an impact when it comes to removing them.

As a matter of fact, I think it made my nose look a little worse as shown in the second photo. This is because it had only pulled the sebum out half way making it much more noticeable...

FINAL THOUGHTS

I will not repurchase the TONYMOLY Tako Pore One Shot Nose Pack. To be honest, at $3.50 for one strip you aren't getting much. The Pacifica Cosmic Vanish Pore Strips (full review here) were way effective and you get six strips for $6.00 (2x Nose, 2x Chin, 2x Forehead). Plus they are all similarly shaped so I actually did use them all on my nose.

STORE	PRICE	OFFERS
Amazon	$3.50	Free Shipping
Jolse	$4.25	Free Shipping Orders $30+, Free Gift with Every Order
TONYMOLY	$3.50	Free Shipping Orders $50+
ULTA	$3.50	Free Shipping Orders $35+

I feel sad that this product didn't work out because I do think TONYMOLY is a decent company with fun products. Perhaps the ingredients were lacking something to effectively pull the sebum out and minimize the pores the way the Pacifica strips do. To those who do like this product - it does go on sale occasionally. I believe right now ULTA has buy two get two free and Amazon is showing a coupon as well, but it just wasn't for me.