Etude Goodbye Pore Ever Primer Essence vs Stick

Hey guys! It seems like I'm on an Etude House roll lately. I hope you're not fed up of the brand. I happen to love it, and I'll admit, I'm rather biased toward it, but for good reason! They have awesome products. One of my fave products, and the topic of one of my more popular posts has always been their Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Stick (click to see review).

I mentioned in that post that they have an essence variant (Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Essence), somewhat comparable to the far more expensive Benefit POREfessional. I was never really able to make a review on this before and a lot have been asking me what the differences/advantages/disadvantages of the two are. To address all those questions, I'll be doing a review on the Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Essence while pitting it against its stick counterpart. You might also want to read my previous review for more info.

The Claims
So first and foremost let's check out each of the claims of these babies. We all know these are both basically made to cover up pores and fine lines to give a smooth canvas to the face - why have two versions then?

Honestly - they even have the same description. Most would think it's really a matter of preference, but if you take a closer look at the ingredients, you'll see the difference. The pore primer stick has more ingredients mostly for polymerization (making it solid) and the silicone derivatives are a lot bulkier than than those found in the essence, and there are more drying components in the stick. To put things in simpler terms, the pore-filler of the Stick is, for lack of a simpler term, chunkier and its ingredients make it so that the finish of the stick is more of a matte finish than that of the Essence which is dewy. One of the biggest difference, IMO is that the Pore Primer Stick has Mango Seed Butter, mostly used as a coagulant but also serves as a natural moisturizer without the added shine.

Whether these ingredients are relevant to you or not, all I'm trying to say is that they really are different products. All they have in common is that they aim to do the same thing :D

First Impressions

I originally bought the Pore Primer Stick mostly because it was what was available (The Pore Primer Essence was out of stock). Either way I liked the ease of use of it all. I didn't have to really blend anything in, plus the stick just felt so smooth on my skin. Upon reexamination, I probably would've still bought the Stick over the Essence because of its SMELL. The Pore Primer Stick smells markedly better than the Pore Primer Essence. It has a nice subtle floral smell to it, whereas the Pore Primer Essence almost smells like watered down glue (it's actually not that bad, I just have a very sensitive nose).

This can be seen in two ways. On one hand, while the Pore Primer Essence may not smell as good, some people would prefer it because of the lack of added fragrances. It's also very much a basic concoction as opposed to the stick, making it less irritable to the skin.

Packaging and Price

The Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Stick is PHP428 (~10.5 USD) for 4.5 grams of product. I bought my first stick of it late November and I only just run out of it now (late March). That's 4 months of everyday usage. Not bad.

The Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Essence, however, is PHP498 (~12 USD) for 20mL of product. Assuming I use 0.2 mL for my entire face everyday, the essence will probably last me a little over 3 months with everyday usage. Also not bad, and you can actually get away with using it longer if you're frugal with your product. It's not like you need to prime your entire face - just concentrate on the key areas. It's also pretty blendable so a little goes a looooo~ng way.

Coverage and Efficacy
Scent and first impressions aside, I can honestly say both of these products do what they promised on my skin. The only real difference noticeable is the finish they give once settled.

You see a pretty obvious difference between the texture of my bare face and my face with Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Essence and Pore Primer Stick. I did a side-by side comparison just to show you guys. Both do a good job of covering up my pores but you can see that the essence leaves a dewy-er finish than that of the stick. It's also more translucent with the way it covers up pores, you can still see some of their depths, but when layered over with BB Cream or foundation, you see practically no difference at all.

I prepared some rather revealing super macro photos of my skin, just to show you guys how well these babies work. I hope you guys don't judge the condition of my skin after this D:

The Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Essence covers up my pores pretty well and does a good job of bouncing light off my face in the right directions to create an illusion of a smoother face and dewy finish. You can see what I was saying about the translucency of the essence because while your skin might feel smooth to the touch, you can still somewhat make out the pores. Again, no need to worry - going over it with a bit of BB cream or foundation leaves you with a smooth canvas.

Below, you can see the results of the Goodbye Pore Ever Pore Primer Stick.

The Pore Primer Stick is better when it comes to hiding fine lines and also leaves a matte finish instead of a dewy one. The fact that it's chunkier and flesh-tinted also helps with the opacity when covering up pores. However, I find that the results of the Essence when used with BB cream is better than the stick when used with BB cream because the BB cream seems to adhere better to the essence.

Both have pretty good sebum control over the day, though from experience, the Primer Stick holds better in hotter conditions. I don't really need to blot when I use the stick, but I experience more shine with the Essence. It depends on your skin's own natural oil production.

Here's the finished look with full makeup (BB Cream + setting powder).


So which do I like better?
Being completely honest, I really do like the Pore Primer Stick better, but where price is concerned I can honestly go either way.

I have combination skin that tends to get oily where my pores are concentrated, so I prefer the matte finish of the Primer Stick. People with drier skin might want to get the essence since it's less irritating and gives you a healthier finish.

Also, some may prefer the Pore Primer Essence due to hygienic issues, but honestly I'm not even that nitpicky about it. As long as you use your products with your face and hands clean, and as long as you don't share them, there really shouldn't be much to worry about.

Despite all the differences of the two products, I think these two products are still a much more affordable alternative to more expensive pore primers out there.

So what do you guys think?

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