Behind The Mask - nügg 5 Minute Face Masks for Beautiful Skin

Hey there!

I was in Target last week and saw these nügg 5 Minute Face Masks for Beautiful Skin. Now I can't use a face mask right now because I had a little cyst removed and I have a tiny hole in my face that I'd rather not get face mask product in (TMI? Sorry!) but these did look very interesting. My Target only had 4 types but the website touts 6 types. Target had an exfoliating one, a soothing one, a hydrating one and a revitalizing one. The website also offers an anti-aging one and a deep cleansing one.

They all run $3.29 at Target and on the website, so not too bad for a treat. The one that I'd love to try is the Shea Butter & Chamomile Extract one (the soothing one). It says that it "helps to calm, balance & hydrate troubled or sensitive skin". While my skin isn't troubled or sensitive, I like using shea butter and chamomile products. They just feel good.

I also wouldn't mind giving the hydrating one a try. It's Camellia Seed Oil & Spirulina Extract. It claims to intensively hydrate & replenish dry and/or dehydrated skin. Again, I don't have that problem but I'm figuring this would feel really good all the same.

Now, the third one I'd try is one of the ones that wasn't at my Target. I'm not sure if that's just a space issue or you can only get it online but I'm going to keep my eyes peeled and when my face is better, I'm going to try it. The Vitamin B3 & White Tea Extract is the anti-aging face mask. It is supposed to help improve skin elasticity & neutralize free radicals. Wouldn't we all do better if our free radicals were neutralized?

All of these masks have a seal that says they are gentle, nondrying and nave a natural oil dispersion technology. Now, I don't know what that means but it sounds good. They also don't use chemical emulsifiers, fragrances, synthetic colors, petrochemicals or parabens. For a girl that is allergic to everything under the sun, that makes me feel good.

Have you see these at your local Target? Have you tried them? Are you planning on it? Let me know if you do!

(ps - I was not paid to endorse this product at all nor was I given any free or reduced product. No one from the company contacted me. I saw them and thought they seemed fun to try).

Behind The Mask - May and Early June Unmasking

Let's not even say it. We all know I've been a slacker in the masking department. Let's just agree that I need masking therapy. There is just something so hard about opening a mask and putting it in my face for 10-20 minutes. Yep. I have issues. 

But have no fear. I have used masks during this time. I just haven't used as many, as often as I should.

I used my Lush Cosmetics OatiFix Fresh Face Mask twice. It felt really nice. It was also nice knowing that everything was freshly made. Afterwards I wanted to make banana bread...seriously. My face felt nourished and refreshed. And I felt hungry. 

You have to keep it in the fridge.  That's a downer. I don't remember that it's there. I might buy it again though. I have to see if I can get over the fact that it only lasts 3 weeks. If I were better about masking...

I saw the Garnier Intensive Treatment Skin Renew mask at my local drugstore (I think it was Walgreens). I had seen this mask advertised so I knew that I wanted to try it.

This mask was very liquidy. I like that. It was wet enough to give my neck some love. Many of the masks that I've used have had some extra liquid but not enough to go down to my neck.

This mask claims to have stretch-to-fit technology? Really? No. It stretched about as much as they all do. In fact it was a bit small for my face. It Smelled fine...just like the other beauty supply stores masks do. 

All that being said, it costs $2.79 so twice what the comparable beauty supply store ones cost. I know that there are high end masks that cost more but so far I personally haven't come across one that excited me enough to pay that. This one doesn't excite me either. I probably won't buy this one again. 

 

I picked up my  Montagne Jeunnesse Creamy Coconut face mask at Wal-Mart. I have admit that it has an artificial coconut smell. That wasn't too bad though. It tingled for thirty seconds then fine. You know ever since the Glam Glow mask tingling scares the crap out of me.  

I can get two uses out of this pack. Score! It dries on your face - not like a hard mask though. Afterwards my face was sooo soft.  I kept touching it. There wasn't any tightness at all. I will repurchase this mask. 

My last mask was the Epielle Facial Essence Mask. I've used the cucumber mask in this line before. It is really nice. It has a large surface area and feels comfortable on the face. I did discover that I have to cut the eye holes a little bit bigger. The way the cut is situated bothers my eyes. But it is very similar to the Garnier mask (or the Garnier is similar to it). The difference is that I pick these up at Big Lots for $.69 a pack. 

It feels good and it smells good. I don't feel any unnecessary tightness and afterwards there is enough liquid left over for my neck. I will certainly purchase this mask again.

Behind The Mask - April Unmasking

I know. It's May. But, I've saved all of my April unmasking for you! I didn't want you to miss out. I did better this month. I have FIVE masks for you in April. That's like one every 6 days! Next month (this month) maybe we'll see one every 5 days! Fingers crossed for that goodie!

On with the show!

GlamGlow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment. OUCH!! What the hell? The first minute of tingle DID NOT feel good. The second minute wasn't so hot either but by the third minute I was starting to feel better. I didn't know if I was going to make it 10 minutes though. Well, I did and fifteen minutes later I had a cool, smooth face. But I had already vowed if sweet baby Jesus allowed me to survive the 10 minutes, I wouldn't do it again. I saw NO benefit to this mask other than torture and with a price tag of $19 for .5 oz and $69 for 1.7 oz I'd like some visible (almost immediate) benefit. 

Boscia Cool Blue Calming Mask. This isn't cooling as much as it is annoying. Any air that touched my face made it irritated while I was masking. The color was cool beans though and it was neat to be able to pull the mask off of my face in practically one piece. The gloss that my face got was neato skeeto but this mask costs big bucks. It's $34 for 2.8 oz or you can do like I did and get a 3 pack mask (with a luminizing black mask, bright white mask and cool blue calming mask for about $15). Each pack had enough for 2 uses so if you really like all 3 but don't want to drop $34 at one time, get the 3 pack with 9 treatments for a little less than half of the price. For me, I'm not sure that neato skeeto is enough. In this case and I saw no real results.

Studio 35 Beauty Peel-off Mask - I got this little beauty at CVS during a BOGO 1/2 off so it was about $1.50. You can get 2 uses out of this pack. At first I was really happy with this mask. It had a nice cucumber scent that I was ready to love. Then I got a blast of alcohol scent (2nd ingredient listed). It was nice and cooling on the skin and again, I wanted to ignore the almost overwhelming alcohol scent and love it but then came peel off time. I had used the Boscia mask previously and it took maybe 60 seconds to pull off (because I wanted to do it in 1 piece so I was really careful). This didn't peel off all at once. It took me 7 minutes to get all the pieces off. I'm not exaggerating. I timed it! For a mask that you have on for 15 minutes, I should be able to take less than half that for removal! I could probably deal with one thing or the other but alcohol smelling and tough removal? It's not worth it to me.

Skin Benefits Anti-wrinkle Green Tea Facial Mask. I really like this brand. It's a full sized, thick paper mask with slots for your eyes, nose and lips. It feels comfortable, smells pleasant and afterwards (for at least a good 2 or 3 hours) my skin is smoother and softer. I use these masks at night on purpose because afterwards I wait until ready to go to bed to add my moisturizer. Yep, these masks are so good that I like to let the gel soak into my skin. I may not see super fabulous results but I'd pay a lot more than the Big Lots $.69 for this mask. I say every month, if you see this brand, grab all of them!

Skin Benefits Anti-aging Grape Seed Facial Mask. Again, a winner from this brand. This smelled like heaven. It had a fabulous grape smell. I'd wear it for that alone!  It's also a thick paper mask that fits comfortably over your face. And I find that I'm about to put my glasses on and do things around the house while wearing this mask. It's really nice to wear. This brand of masks really feels like a treat when you wear them. Highly recommended.

And there you have it! Unmasking for April. I polled several beauty gurus and they said you can mask at the very least once every 2 days. I think I'll try for every 3 or 4 days and see what happens. I haven't had too many adverse reactions to masking (because once I remembered that if you have fruit allergies, fruit masks are bad, I was ok!) and you do feel pampered while wearing them -- even if you look weird.