Bioderma Sébium Pore Refiner Skin-Smoothing Treatment

The purpose of the Bioderma Sebium Global confused me a bit and should have a few pointer on the box or tube advising you of why you need the product. From what I could see, it is supposed to assist with treating severe blemishes. The light feeling lotion is a white colour which has a little translucency to it and a light scent which fresh, almost cucumber like. If I wear this cream without a moisturising cream on top I get dry and flaky skin in some areas (around my nose) within a few days and sometimes after a few hours of application, other areas of my face becomes super oily (basically without a moisturiser on top, it aggravates combination skin) but when it is applied and then a moisturiser is applied on top I found it helped with my acne. Though it does help reduce the severity and frequency of pimples when used under other moisturiser I was not sold on buying this product again. Made in France.

I was originally applying this cream in the evening after toning (not realising it was a primer) but saw little reduction in pore size. I then began using the product as a primer beneath my make up. As a primer it works quite well for oily/blemish prone skin, as it is light weight and mattifying, doesn't clog your skin or effect your foundation. I must say I didn't really see any pore refinement though, and my skin was still oily at the end of the day. Unfortunately I experienced some skin irritation (I have sensitive skin and found that this product stung a little when I applied it) so for this reason I won't be repurchasing.

I heard a lot about this Bioderma product over the years, have used some other products from the range and liked them, but never had a chance to test it out myself so I was pleasantly surprised to find it in the Marie Claire box. I have a combination skin and my favourite face cream/treatment is La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo + and I love it to such an extent that it would be my only desert Island item. Therefore, my expectations were high. I must say I was a fan of a lightweight formula, somewhat lotion like. It has a delicate scent, very pleasant and subtle. The cream spreads like a dream on the skin and is absorbed in seconds. It does give a smooth and matte finish, I didn't detect any nasty film either. The skin fels soft and looks mattified. Pores might look a little less visible but I am a sceptic when I read that something will refine my pores... it might fill them in so they look less prominent, but I do not really believe in magic. What I noticed though is that Bioderma Pore Refiner does keep the skin matte for longer ( compared to a regular moisturiser). A definite plus is a fact that it does seem to refine the skin texture, it does smooth out the skin and it doesn't clog the pores ( I know, it should be self evident but believe me or not I have used anti acne products that cause acne). My problem with this product is that I m not exactly sure whether it is a kind of a moisturiser, a treatment or just a kind of primer. When used on its own I saw the best results, and in my opinion it is good to use it at night but then we do not really need the mattifying effect. When used with other products I am not sure when to apply it / before or after a moisturiser, before or after an spf? It also might cause a bit of a trouble as it doesn't agree with some make up primers and foundations. In that case, I just didn't use any primer, treated Pore refiner as one and opted for a compatible foundation. All in all, I think I get the idea of this product, I think it works pretty well but there are some little disadvantages that make me stay faithful to Effaclar Duo + making the Bioderma affair only temporary.

I was happy to receive a sample of this product and loved the promise of pore refining. This was a good primer and the lightweight cream felt nice on and was easy to spread and it soaked in well. However i didnt really notice any pore refinement. The powdery finish was nice and it did soak up oil which was a bonus for me as I have an oily t zone. It does prep skin well for makeup and does not clog pores so quite a good product

I'm not a huge fan of the powdery feeling on my skin after using this, but it does have a mattifying effect which is handy when my skin is on the oilier side. I prefer this to more silicone based primers, as it didn't feel like it was clogging my pores and make up doesn't 'ball up" when I apply it over the top.

I don't love this product. I think it's only an average primer, and I didn't notice any difference in my pore size or the look of my makeup on top. It does feel nice to put on and is easy to apply, plus has some good quality ingredients. However I think it is overpriced for what it is - there are better primers and pore refiners out there!

I agree it a good primer but I was a little disappointed when using this product as I have used other Bioderma products and loved them.  I had read on the packaging that it "Tightens the pores & Refines the skin texture". Neither of these have taken place with my skin but it does keep my makeup in place - especially in the Summer heat.  

I bought this product during summer to trial. I have combination & acne prone skin. The light weight cream was nice on my skin on first use but I was still oily after 4 hours. I would recommend only using this on areas that are oily and not all over the face as it will dry your skin out. By the 4th day I had flaky skin on my cheeks and decided to use it as a spot & target area treatment instead, which worked well. I absolutely love this brand and have used many of their products before but this one might be a miss for me.

I received a sample of this product from a beauty subscription box and I've used several Bioderma and I like it all abd this one has not been a disappointment. The only thing is I thought it was just a serum as the tube doesn't state it's a primer and I didn't do my research before using it. I have been using it as a serum and putting my regular moisturiser on top of it so I didn't get to see the full effects of the product. Nevertheless, I still like it as it's very lightweight and doesn't clog up my pores.