Our beauty editor put Bioré’s Pore Refining Bubbling Nose Mask to the test and here’s what she thought
The Y2K beauty essential has had a 2026 makeover
Bioré blew the minds of blackhead-riddled folks everywhere when the brand brought pore strip technology to the mainstream thirty years ago.
As a millennial, I watched Y2K icon — the thirty, flirty, thriving Jenna Rink — parade around proudly in pore strips on the silver screen. So when I grew up, I knew I wanted to throw equally epic sleepovers, complete with a Bioré pore strip too.
What I didn’t bargain for however, was the brand upping the ante and investing in innovations like South Korean exfoliating bubble mask technology when I hit my thirties.
Here’s exactly what I thought when I put the Bioré Pore Refining Bubbling Nose Mask ($12.99 from Chemist Warehouse) to the test.
Bioré Pore Refining Bubbling Nose Mask
Bioré Pore Refining Bubbling Nose Mask Review
First Impressions
After cracking open the box of four nose strips (just enough for a month’s worth of weekly pore-eliminating masking moments), and peeled open the mask packet, serum immediately started spilling out.
It’s genuinely impressive the amount of serum that’s been included with each pore strip, there’s definitely enough to apply to the rest of the face, if I was so inclined.
My Experience
The nose strip itself was cool to the touch, and didn’t slide down my face at all during the five minute application of the smooth white side.
After the five minute timer on my phone went off I flipped it over to the green silicone side of the strip to gently scrub the head of my nose. And it only took a few seconds of movement for the bubbling and foaming to start.
Then I rinsed off the excess serum and dried my skin with a clean towel.
The Verdict
Immediately after drying my skin I couldn’t stop touching my nose, because my skin felt so smooth and soft.
The enzymes and glycolic acid in the mask had also definitely had a positive effect on two blossoming breakouts on my nose — my complexion looked a lot more uniform after application.
My favourite part about the experience had to be how hydrating the mask was.
I typically have quite dry and sensitive skin, but the skin on my nose didn’t feel like it was desperately yearning for moisturiser after applying the pore strip. It just felt exfoliated, clean and comfortable. Consider me officially thirty, flirty and thriving…
Shop now for $12.99 from Chemist Warehouse
Image credits: Supplied
Looking for more editor reviews? This is what we thought of the reformulated Armani Luminous Silk Foundation.
Briar Clark got her start in the media industry in 2017, as an intern for Marie Claire and InStyle. Since then, her keen interest in fashion and beauty has landed her gigs as a Digital Content Producer and Beauty Editor with titles like Girlfriend, Refinery29, BEAUTYcrew and beautyheaven. She loves the way seemingly innocuous topics like skin care and style have the ability to put a smile on people’s faces or make them think about themselves a little differently. A big believer in self love and experimentation, Briar has made a point of becoming the Australian beauty industry’s unofficial guinea pig for unusual treatments and daring hair trends. When she’s not testing out the latest beauty launches, Briar is big on broadening her horizons, mostly in the form of food but she’s also partial to travelling to new destinations both near and far (and of course, allocating an extra bag to bring their best beauty offerings home with her).