Exfoliating Face Masks - LUSH vs. The Body Shop

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you will know that I am still a novice when it comes to skin care. It has only been recently that I set myself up fully with a morning and evening cleansing routine, which you can read about – here.

A few months ago, I started trying face masks. My skin was in pretty bad shape, breakouts and clogged pores galore – immediately I reached for the exfoliating masks. I brought two; LUSH ‘Mask of Magnaminty’ and The Body Shop ‘Blue Corn 3-in-1 Deep Cleansing Mask’, both of which claim to give my skin a similar treatment, deep cleanse and unclog pores.

LUSH ‘Mask of Magnaminty’ £9.25

 ‘A multi-purpose mask with a mixture of gentle yet effective ingredients to clean, calm and clear the skin. Easily smoothed over the skin, this mask is made with peppermint oil to stimulate, marigold oil and chlorophyllin to treat the skin; evening primrose seeds and aduki beans to gently exfoliate as you remove it. You can use this mask anywhere.’

The first thing that struck me about this mask was the gorgeous smell. I really enjoy anything with a peppermint smell, and this really came across in the mask. You apply to a dry face, and it was very easy to smooth out and cover. The primrose seeds and aduki beans do mean that the texture is quite course, however I didn’t find that it scratched the skin. When applied, I found there to be a slight heating sensation, often found with mint products, but no irritation. However, if you have sensitive skin I would be careful, my sister tried the mask and found that it stung her.

It is recommended that you leave the mask on for about 10minutes. In that time, the mask dries and becomes crumbly. To remove, wash off with warm water using circular motions, which is where the texture does its job. The ‘Mask of Magnaminty’ was very easy to remove, leaving my skin significantly improved. Afterwards, my skin felt incredibly soft, clean and it did a fantastic job of unclogging my pores.

The Body Shop ‘Blue Corn 3-in-1 Deep Cleansing Mask’ £10.

‘This three-in-one cleansing mask cleanses, exfoliates and moisturises normal to oily skin.

• Gently cleanses the skin
• Removes dead skin cells, excess oil and impurities
• Moisturises, leaving skin feeling soft
• Weekly treatment’

 

What I really like about this mask is the results it produced. I don’t think my face has ever felt as clean as it does after I have used this mask! It unclogged my pores and, as with the LUSH mask, left my skin smooth and soft. This mask is applied to damp skin, and has a smoother texture to the ‘Mask of Magnaminty’ with the exfoliating elements being a lot finer. Once applied, I did feel a slight tingling sensation but it was not so bad that I had to remove the mask straight away. Again, when left for around 15minutes, the mask dries to the skin.

The ‘Blue Corn 3-in-1 Deep Cleansing Mask’ dried a lot faster than the LUSH mask, which made it slightly harder to remove with water, but the results are worth it. One element of the mask which I was not particularly keen on, was the scent. It has a slight musky, floury smell which isn’t offensive, but not as yummy as the peppermint of the ‘Mask of Magnaminty’.

Overall, both of these masks provided great results. When used weekly, they helped to stop breakouts and to clear up my skin! If I had to pick a favourite however, I would definitely have to go for LUSH ‘Mask of Magnaminty’. It was slightly kinder on my skin and that scent! Just perfect!

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?