little white truths

You may remember that, last year, I picked up a Peter Thomas Roth mask kit from Beautybay and slowly started using and reviewing each item in turn. I've now opened four out of five of the products and this is the next one that I'm ready to review.

While I loved the 24k Gold Mask from the set (reviewed here) and didn't think much of the Rose Stem Cell Mask (reviewed here), this one falls somewhere in the middle and although I don't hate it, I also don't feel that it's doing much for my skin. More on why below.

Peter Thomas Roth claims/product details:

• A purifying, decongesting and hydrating mask with odourless Irish moor mud to draw out dirt, oil and impurities 
• Infuses skin with moisture and vitamins
• Irish moor mud rids the skin of impurities and provides it with essential moisture and vitamins
• Black hijiki seaweed provides nutrition and hydration 
• Volcanic ash helps revitalise and detoxify skin
• Activated charcoal has a magnetic effect that draws impurities and toxins from congested pores
• Helps minimise the look of pores, fine lines and wrinkles, leaving skin looking pure, fresh, hydrated and radiant
• For all skin types
• To use: apply on clean skin and leave for up to ten minutes; remove with a warm damp facecloth; use 2-3 times a week
• RRP $56 AUD approx for 150ml (see eg Beautybay), but do shop around

Verdict

As mentioned above, I don't love this mask but I don't hate it either. It's not so bad that I think it's a bad product, it's just that I was expecting it to do more for me than it does - particularly because I've seen a few rave reviews of the product in the beauty community.

It's indeed a black mask with no scent and it's not your standard 'mud' in texture because it feels like like a sticky gel and it doesn't dry down completely, but rather becomes a little harder and stickier over time. It doesn't feel uncomfortable on the skin so it may suit those who can't stand the feeling of traditional mud masks: this one shouldn't dry out your skin or leave it feeling tight as those can do.

I've been using this twice or thrice weekly as directed for over a month now and I can't say I've seen it do anything in that time. After use my skin may look a little brighter, but the product doesn't feel that it's doing much in terms of removing impurities from my skin. When I use a good clarifying mask my skin normally feels clearer after use, but it doesn't with this so I can't speak to its purifying abilities because I've noticed no benefits of that nature.

One thing I don't love about this mask is that it can be a pain to remove: it's so sticky that I need a cleanser to remove it properly (as well as a damp cloth) and even then I need to work hard to get rid of the grey cast this leaves behind. And if I don't remove it properly, my skin also feels sticky after use so I really need to attack this to get it off and I don't like the extra effort.

This is added to the fact that it will leave little grey/black splatters all over the bathroom sink (and often on the floor, not to mention what your washcloth looks like after removing it), and while I'm sure that's an issue for all masks, I notice this one a lot more due to the colour so I often opt for using it at night and removing it in the shower instead because that's less messy. I do prefer using most masks in the morning, though, so the troubles I have removing it and cleaning up afterwards make a difference to me.

On the claims: I haven't noticed any purifying or decongesting effect but this doesn't irritate my skin either, so it should be ok if you have sensitive skin like I do; I don't feel that it infuses the skin with moisture and other goodies; and I don't feel that it minimises the look of pores, fine lines or wrinkles. It does make my skin look a touch brighter after use but not so much that it's worth using the product for that reason alone.

All in all, this isn't the mask for me and I hope the last two products from this Peter Thomas Roth kit do more for me than this does. Note, though, that a lot of people seem to love this so it may just be that it doesn't work for my skin.

Looks like I have another potential mask to add to Project Pan 2017! I'm not sure how I'll get through it otherwise. Hoh well, you can't win 'em all.