Sample Saturday - The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask *

Happy Saturday x I hope you're all have a good weekend, I've had a bit of a rough week both mentally and physically so instead of the Glossybox catch up that I had planned for today, I've decided to bring back an old series on the blog, Sample Saturday and today I'm talking about a product that I got in the 2020 Glossybox advent calendar.

Before I start on the review, I thought I'd just give you a quick overview of the 2020 calendar x At £80 for Glossybox subscribers, and £99 for non subscribers, this was their most expensive calendar to date, but the contents was apparently worth over £390. 

What I particularly liked the 2020 calendar, was the fact that unlike previous years, it was really easy to reuse it. As you can see the sturdy cardboard calendar, came with magnetic fastening doors, and contained 4 good sized drawers, filled with little boxes of goodies. Although there was obviously an excess of paper shred and thinner cardboard, the fact that the bulk of the calendar could be used for storage was a huge thing for me, and it's currently living in my bedroom, stuffed to the brim with surprise, surprise make up, and beauty products.

Whilst I had issues with a few products in the calendar, the product value was probably there, alongside some cheaper items, and some teeny, tiny samples, there were some really good, high end full sized products, that along with the packaging, made the 2020 calendar a fab way to bring 2020 to a close. If you want to take a peek at the full contents then you can check out the a full day by day unboxing in the highlights section of my Instagram page x 

 

Today though, I am going to talk about one specific product in the calendar, and it's something that Glossybox described as a deluxe mini, and it's a skincare product from The Body Shop.

The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask, is designed specifically for oily skin, and skin that needs a little TLC. Containing sustainable, Himalayan bamboo charcoal, green tea leaves, Moroccan lava clay, pumice, argan shell powder, and argan oil, and Community Fair Trade tea tree oil, this mask claims to unclog pores, suck out dirt, debris and excess oil, and to add healthy glow, as well as leaving the skin softer, and smoother.

The is dark, khaki, green, brown in colour, and it has a creamy, clay like, mask base, with addition of dark green leaf like particles that give it a slightly gritty, textured feel. The smell is quite fresh, clean and herbal based, with hints of tea tree 

You can apply this mask either with a mask brush or your fingers, I've tried both and it was actually slightly easier with my fingers because of the leaves. Almost immediately on application it feels hot, then cold , and very tingly. The first time that I tried I actually debated whether or not to wash it straight off it was so uncomfortable, but I persevered and as the mask started to dry the tingling gradually subsided

Before

On Application

The Body Shop advise that you leave it on for between 5 and 10 minutes, so for full effect I've left on for around 10 minutes. As you can see in the picture below it wasn't completely set, but it was near enough. It dries down like a typical clay mask, with the mask drying, tightening and cracking, and it changes colour from a the dark brown, green, to a pale, slightly khaki tinged beige.

After 10 Minutes

It wasn't the easiest mask to remove, because as well as the clay you had the charcoal, pumice, argan powder, and the green tea leaves to remove. With all of the particles the removal process was quite a scrubby experience. The best way I found to remove it was to soften it down with a warm, damp flannel, before removing it in circular motions with lots of warm water.

After Removal

I'm not sure whether it down the mask itself or exfoliation from the removal but my skin did like quite pink and felt slightly hot. My skin though generally did look brighter, and clearer, and I don't think that my pore looked quite as noticeable. It's not that easy to see in these pictures but I did actually have a little hormonal breakout on my chin area, and I did feel that using this mask dried it up a little bit quicker than normal. The biggest difference I actually noticed though was the feel of my skin, it feel smooth and super soft, even on the oilier and bumpier areas of my face.

If written this review after the first use I probably wouldn't have bought it again, because the tingling was just a bit too uncomfortable. However, in the 2 or 3 times that I've used it since the tingling, hot, cold sensation wan't anywhere near as strong, and I still achieved the same smooth feeling, clear, fresher skin. I did first try this mask in the depths of winter so even though it's snowing today, my skin could possibly have been drier than it is now, hence the stronger reaction. I don't know what I do know is that yes I would potentially buy this again, probably in this smaller size, to deal with hormonal breakouts and as part of a multi mask application when my t-zone and chin feel more oily. If you have drier skin though I would definitely give this one a miss. This mask in my opinion is perfect for people with oilier skin, more visible pores, and breakouts, oh and if you have a more sensitive skin, then I'd probably also give this one a miss, as I thought I might just be a bit too scrubby and strong for you x 

This 15ml deluxe mini size retails at £6, and you can also buy the full 75ml size for £18 from The Body Shop stores, online, and from your local The Body Shop At Home representative.

Have you tried anything from The Body Shop skincare range? Let me know your thoughts and recommendations in the comments x

*This Post Contains Both Automatic And Added Affiliate Links

Nails Of The Day - Ciate - 023 Speed Dial*

Hi Guys x I hope you've all had a lovely long Easter weekend, it's been a strange one not seeing family and friends again, but we've made the best of it, I've done a bit of cleaning, I've filled a few charity bags, and I've consumed just a little bit of chocolate.

Before I play Glossybox catch up again I thought I'd share another belated nails of the day with you, again from way back in October, when my nails were long and I was on the hunt for the perfect orange nail polish.

Thanks to their ever popular Mini Mani Month Advent Calendars I have quite a few mini Ciate nail polishes in my collection. They usually produce a new calendar every Christmas filled different products from their range, and 5ml mini and 13.5ml full sized bottles of nail polish. They are a great way of either starting a nail polish collection, or for trying out new colours or formulations without too much of a risk.

I haven't bought a Mini Mani Month calendar for quite a few years now, as you can probably tell from this old style Ciate bottle with the sorely missed, fabric bow, so this particular polish, 023 Speed Dial, isn't the newest polish in my collection but since it had an orange tinge in the bottle I decided to give it a try.

Alas like OPI Mod-ern Girl, although it did look quite orange in the bottle, it was much more of a coral, orange, red on the nails. 

The one good thing about Ciate minis is that they are true mini versions of the full sized polishes - Because the polish is so small, the brush handle is quite short and as a result fairly easy to control.

The first coat was pretty sheer, and you could still clearly see the white tips of my nails through it. It actually took 3 coats to achieve the finish that you can see here. It dried fairly quickly though so it was worth applying that extra coat.

As you can see the finish was super glossy, smooth and almost mirror like. As per usual when I'm testing out a polish I skipped a top coat and it stayed relatively chip free on my be it very long nails for around 3 or 4 days.

Although again the colour wasn't quite what I expected it to be, it was super pretty and it was the perfect colour to cheer up a dull autumn or even snowy! spring day. Alas like so many of the polishes in my extensive collection this one isn't the easiest shade to find now. I can imagine it would be fairly easy to dupe, but if you want to add Speed Dial to your collection that you maybe able to find it in both this 5ml mini size, and in the full 13.5ml size from various discount retailers, as well as on Amazon and eBay x Let me know your thoughts on this polish in the comments and I will see you later in the week with a skincare review x 

*This Post Contains Added Affiliate Links