Category Archives: Masks

At-Home Peels for Better Skin

Posted on

I got a peel done once from a professional, it was $150 and didn’t do anything. Soon after that I began dabbling in the wonders of at-home DIY peels to slough off the top layer of skin when I’m starting to look dull and sluggish. What better time than fall to revive the skin that the sun damaged while you were basking in it all summer long. Here are a few peels I’ve tried that are sure to get your skin back to a brighter state.

I’m a huge fan of Glycolic acid, I’ve used it daily in various forms for years because of its ability to turnover skin without making you as sun-sensitive as its rivals. I love Glytone, they have a full collection of effective skin care for face and body that works like crazy to improve all sorts of skin problems while maintaining the skin’s ph so the irritation is minimal. You can use a thin layer of Mini Peel Gel up to a few times a week for 10 minutes to see brighter, clearer, tighter skin almost immediately without redness, irritation, or downtime. It’s a perfect compliment to your current regimen.

Your skin will look like it has just taken a deep breath of fresh air when you use The Oxygen Peel. Philosophy uses an oxygen foam to infuse the skin and give it an instant noticeable radiance. It’s the perfect treat pre-event or for when you haven’t been getting enough rest and your skin can tell the tale. 

Cane + Austin have simplified their line into two jars, one meant for skin with acne and the other for wrinkling and pigmentation issues. These glycolic-soaked Treatment Pads work as a daily retexturizer  to help peel back the layers of wrinkled, uneven skin to reveal a brighter look. It’s a gentle, daily way to ease into better skin over time.

You don’t have to completely desecrate your skin to get some positive changes, at-home peels like these are genus because you can get some great results while keeping your skin in tact.

Boscia Luminizing Black Peel-Off Mask

Posted on

By now you’ve probably noticed that I’ll put just about anything on my skin for the sake of a good review (as evidenced HERE and HERE just to highlight a few) but there isn’t anything that I’ll try on quicker than a good face mask. I can’t resist the idea of something sucking the yuk out of my pores giving me fresh, clean skin. I couldn’t wait to try Boscia’s now Luminizing Black Mask, I haven’t used a peel-off mask in years.

As promised, it’s black!
And it peels off! You can feel it pulling everything out of your skin too.
I tried so hard to take it off in one piece just for a cool picture. Success!

This radiance-boosting skin treatment eliminates the most annoying part of using a mask – taking it off. Peeling it away sure beats working the mask off by scrubbing one small section of your face at a time which can really irritate sensitive skin. It gave my skin some serious glow and a lot of softness, my makeup looked flawless and my fine lines were much less pronounced. It’s a twice weekly way to get a spa-quality facial right at home.

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask

Aztec Secrets Indian Healing Clay – World’s Most Powerful Facial…

Posted on

It’s not that I was in the market for another clay mask, but it wasn’t possible for me to walk past a giant tub with a label attached claiming to be the “world’s most powerful facial,” and also read that you’d be able to “feel your face pulsate!”

And it was only $8.

Inside of this 1 pound tub is the real deal – 100% natural Calcium Bentonite, a green clay that’s been used to clean and detoxify the skin for thousands of years. The amount included will allow me to mix mud masks for probably the next 10 years, 5 if I’m using it for body wraps like they also suggest doing.

I found it at Vitamin Cottage, I’ve probably walked right past it 100 times.

You’ve seen this right? 
A glimpse of the powder, it’s completely unscented too which I really like.

I didn’t mind making the paste, it was easy to scoop a small amount into a bowl and add some cider vinegar (their recommendation and great for tightening pores) which activated and awakened the clay making it temporarily bubble.

I opted for a thicker paste, the usual consistency for a clay mask like this.

And then it happened. Sure enough my face was pulsating. Every little heartbeat pulled my skin tighter and tighter until it was dry and ready to be removed. When I walked back into the bathroom, I wanted to laugh at how crazy my face looked but I couldn’t move it.

See how it’s pulling the skin under my eye down?

I swear if it were clear I’d wear it under makeup daily, like a face lift you brush on.

So since it’s just us girls, and my vanity left me years ago,  it’s totally worth showing how crazy my whole face looked.

Doing my best ‘droopy’ face. 

Ok, here’s the thing – the overall softness and glow my skin had after I took it off was pretty remarkable. It cleans out pores better than a ton masks out there for a lot less money and no impure chemicals. According to their (really bad) website, the clay contains ‘almost every mineral found on Earth’ and the negatively charged clay pulls out the positively charged toxins and pollutiants in the skin. I’ll go ahead and skip the 25 minutes of Googling to see if that’s true and just believe them.

Don’t let my sad, droopy face fool you, I loved this mask. You can find it on Amazon (where you can also read some great reviews), or at a Vitamin Cottage, Whole Foods, and other health food stores.

Best Facial Masks

Posted on

I always look forward to my 30-minute, once a week (or whenever I remember) time when I treat myself to a little mini home facial. It’s usually after a hot shower so my pores are open, and then I select something from my mask arsenal to remedy whatever my skin’s problem is at the time. Clay masks are great, especially for oily or problem skin, and they were once the standard but now there seems to be a mask for every skin type and concern, so you’re sure that your home spa experience is time well spent and your skin receives exactly what it needs.

For A Lift

Lexli’s aloe based line mostly targets those with adult acne, but their Aloe-Based Lightening Lift is a star when you’re looking for some serious lifting action. A friend of mine urged me to try it and raved about how her skin felt pushed back to point where it was visible while the treatment was on. She was right- it not only gives an instant lifted look to the skin (even when you remove it), it also lightens areas of discoloration and exfoliates like crazy.

Lexli.com $72

For Radiance

Sometimes you can’t exactly put into words what’s wrong with your skin, but ‘blah’ might just sum it up best. Skin that’s dull and lifeless is a common complaint among women, especially after menopause when everything changes. To give your skin a radiant boost, look for a mask that has radiance-inducers like Ren’s F10 Enzymatic Smooth Radiance Facial Mask. Vitamin C, Cherry Extract, essential oils, antioxidants, and fatty acids deep clean and revitalize the skin giving it a big-time healthy glow.

REN F10 Enzymatic Smooth Radiance Facial Mask $37

For Detoxifying 

Leave it to the dynamic wrinkle-fighting line Freeze 24/7 to have a clever double-duty cleanser/ mask combo. Their Daily Detoxifying Cleanser & Mask becomes a self-foaming pore scrubber and detoxifier when a generous amount is added to damp skin. It’s gentle enough to use daily and you only need 2 minutes to get full benefits.

Freeze 24.7 Skin Glace Daily Detoxifying Cleanser & Mask $65

For Calming

It’s a high number like 80% of women who view their skin as sensitive, and even if that isn’t factually accurate, pollutants, irritants, stress, and even some products can leave our skin red and irritated sometimes. SkinMedica’s Calming Masque is a gentle solution for those who want their skin completely cleared of toxins without stripping any of their moisture barrier in the process.

SkinMedica Calming Masque

For Most Skin Types

When you think of a mask, PCA Skin’s Purifying Mask is what would come to mind although the formula is anything but basic. They use red clay, vitamins, essential oils, and even wine extract to dig out stubborn dirt and impurities. Get an added exfoliation treatment by working the tiny bits of pumice in the mask into your skin using damp fingers right before you remove it.

PCA Skin Purifying Mask

Stumble It!

Make Your Own Skin Care

Posted on

TotalBeauty.com shares 13 simple recipes for cleansers, masks, toners and scrubs that you’d actually want to use in a new DIY skin care article.

Here’s one for an All Purpose Olive Oil Moisturizer.

You’ll find all of the money saving recipes right HERE

Stumble It!

Zia Natural Skincare; Food-Based Facial Masks

Posted on

I believe the evolution in skin care looks something like this; using food on the skin, using technology, using food and technology.

‘Eatable’ skin care is the hottest ‘new’ way to deliver those antioxidants made by nature into your skin for glowing results. Zia Natural Skincare uses food to treat, nourish, and revive the skin in their mask line.

Their Pumpkin Exfoliating Mask clarifies dull, damaged, and oily skin by decongesting and infusing your skin with Vitamins A and E. It’s not a clay-based mask so there isn’t a tight feeling on the skin, and ‘pumpkin’ isn’t just something they threw on the jar for marketing, it’s the mask’s 2nd ingredient so you’re getting the natural nourishment they promise.

If enlarged pores and dark patches are more your concern, their sweet smelling Apple Refining Mask should do the trick. It’s filled with apple juice, milk, lemon juice and green tea extract and has the consistency of a creamy moisturizer. It allows the vitamins to soak into the skin and leaves such a nice soft feeling once you wash it off.

For skin that needs a little more revving up, try the Papaya Enzyme Mask to dig out dirt, oil and flaky patches. It doesn’t sting the skin like some enzyme masks can because of the sunflower seed oil and honey which calm and soothe so the papaya con comfortable do its job.

Stumble It!