Product Review : Lush Cupcake Fresh Face Mask

Hi :D I actually did this review on the same day as the Shunji Matsuo Hair Treatment and scheduled it for today because I'd be working. See... I'm slowly getting hardworking right? Gradually... Turtle-ishly...

SO. During the period of time that we were MIA, my skin turned really bad. I confess that most of the reasons were due to my own laziness though. And usually when I'm home, I don't wear any sort of make up on my face. Contrary to popular beliefs that wearing make up causes your skin to grow lotsa zits, I actually grow more zits without make up. When I have make up on, I do not touch my face at all. Also my powder helps to control the sebum secretion.

Thus when I keep going without make up, I'd touch my face here and there, poke it when I'm bored and pat it too. My sebum secretion is also crazy and makes my T-zone reflective.

So here's what I got to save myself from the oiliness!

The key selling point for me is the CHOCOLATE! I pretty much love a chocolate anything so this was practically screaming my name.

Here is the ingredients list for the sensitive skin peeps. It's a little blurry though T_T So you might want to refer to the Lush website HERE!

With the main ingredient being Rhassoul mud and cacao powder, you must have expected the mask to be of such color. Looks more accurate in the picture below though.

The texture is a little chunky as you can see, probably because of all the mud it contains.

Here it is on my face! Just a thin layer all over will do. Leave it on for 10-15minutes till the mask is dry. Then when you wash it off, don't simply splash water all over. Wet your hands and rub gently in circular motions. I feel like the little chunky bits help to exfoliate a little.

You'll get this! Ok, I'm not referring to the huge eye bags, the crooked nose and the strangely twisted face shape. I think the camera made it weird. LOOK AT THE SKIN! Just focus on the skin will do please :)

Lush SG says :
"Chocolate heaven for oily and teenage skin. Its action removes excess oil and calms breakouts. Rhassoul mud cleans and soothes, linseed, cocoa butter and cocoa powder soften the skin. Balancing peppermint, spearmint and sandalwood oils complete this effective and delicious experience. Apply to clean skin, avoiding the eye area. Leave for five to ten minutes, and then rinse away with warm water. Keep chilled." - As taken from the Lush SG website.

My say :
It's actually not as chocolatey or cupcakey as I expected it to be when I took a whiff of it in the store. It smells really sweet, somewhat overwhelming actually so it may not be for everyone. There's actually a more floral note to it than candy sweets. It's strong in the pot, strong while on the face but lingers around lightly after washing off. I like the washed off scent the most.

The mask itself is actually really creamy in texture. However when you use it straight out from the fridge, it gets a little lumpy and hard to spread around the face. Thus I recommend for all users to let it melt a tiny bit before spreading it all over.

What I've noticed with this mask is that it does suck the oilies out, but not those more stubborn blackheads. For those you'll still have to use those peel off strips or something that works the same way. Despite what it does, it's actually not drying on the face. I have combination oily skin and after using this, my cheeks felt comfortable even without anything on. My skin felt cleaner and softer at the same time. My zits were also less red so I guess it works for the calming breakout part!

To conclude, it's good if you can stand the smell and the price. If you're living in the UK, hooray for you because you can get it at £5.95/75g. This converts to around $12 or so. But because fresh face masks are made without preservatives, you can only buy it in the Singapore Lush which sells this at a whopping $25/75g. It's like double the price. Personally, I will not repurchase as this $25 tub will only last you for a month before it expires. I will stick to my other clay/mud masks >___< (IF IF IF, I'm from the UK, I would repurchase. Not for SG because the price is not worth it.)

Texture : ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (Creamy but lumpy when fresh out from the fridge.)

Effectiveness : ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (It does what it says AND doesn't dry my skin.)

Scent : ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Not really my favorite scent but still bearable.)

Overall : ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (Stars off for the texture, scent and how it's super OP in SG~~)

Cheers,
Domo

Product Review: Skinfood Cucumber Soothing Mask Wash Off

Hello Domokies, how are you guys today? On this bright and wonderful (Mon)day, I'm gonna review a product that I love~ This was actually a gift from Chiharu, like quite a portion of my cosmetic and skincare stuff are. Domo arigatou, domo-chan!

It's a Cucumber Soothing Mask from Skinfood. The packaging is rather simple, but still pretty. I love tubs like these more than squeeze tubes, though it's primarily a matter of aesthetics. Because all in all, squeeze tubes are probably more convenient (and not to mention, more hygienic).

 

  

When you untwist the cap, you can immediately smell the fresh scent of cucumbers inside. The scent isn't overpowering at all, and instead is very pleasant and natural. On the ingredients list they listed cucumber and fruit extract as one of the main ingredients whereas parfum is listed last, so I suppose much of the smell might have come from the former. It's the kind of scent I like - I like the smell of honeydews, watermelons, milk and honey, etc.

The product itself is a clear mildly light green gel that is thick in consistency (almost like finely mashed-up jelly), and is cooling to the touch. I put it in the fridge like Chiharu suggested, and it really is a blessing to put it on your face after a long day of work. Thank god for small favors.

The product gets warm really fast though (or is it just the weather in Singapore?), so don't massage it into your face for too long if you have warm fingers like me. Warm gel feels icky on your face, I think.

I've got sensitive skin which is acne-prone and easily inflamed, so this is a good mask to soothe my skin. So far I haven't good any adverse reaction to it, but here's the ingredients list just in case, for people who are allergic to certain ingredients.

To apply, scoop an adequate amount onto the pad of your fingers and lightly massage it onto your skin.

Gently spread it over your whole face (excluding the eye areas which are more sensitive) until a smooth consistency, and leave it on your face for 15 minutes. Go watch TV and blast the fan at you in the meantime or something. The bad thing about wash off mask is that you have to wash it off. The good thing is that, compared to some sheet masks, it won't fall off your face.

Generally, I consider wash-off mask a little troublesome. But golly, this is so worth the extra effort. My skin feels softer and less irritated after application. Additionally, unlike some masks (clay masks for instance), you can apply this more frequently (even daily) if you like, depending on your skin type. So if you're having Monday blues, perhaps this is something to consider~

Texture : ★ ★ ★ ★  ☆ (Pleasant gel-like consistency, doesn't slip off face, but kinda too thick to spread)
Fragrance: ★ ★ ★ ★  ★ (It makes me hungry for some cucumber salad~!)
Soothing & Moisture Level: ★ ★ ★ ★  ★ (Skin feels rested after application.)
Overall : ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (I don't give my 5-stars easily.)

Signing off,

Ringo