Oh, this stuff is HEAVENLY, boys and girls! If you have a face, you definitely want to get this mask.
Look, I understand your objection: the price. It’s $55. I used to get by on those harsh masks that you can buy in the drugstore — you know the kind. You slap the stuff on your face, dance around to a Talking Heads songs, and let it dry to a crust that sucks all the grime and oil out of your skin, leaving you with a healthy glow and soft punim after you scrub it all off with a washcloth. It cost about $9, or maybe $16 at the most.
And then I got kinda old. As in, approaching 50 in a few years (okay, four years, but a girl has to emotionally prepare). Suddenly it mattered what I slapped all over my face, and I had to invest in higher quality products. And I developed some sensitivities that made any kind of scrubbing exfoliant, no matter how gentle, verboten. I mean, not even jojoba beads. I mean not even newborn kitty cats walking gently across your face with their paw pads dipped in sugar.
But if we want to look radiant for Jesus we have to take care of our skin, and exfoliating is necessary. Gentle exfoliation once you’re over 40 is important. You can’t just squirt some of that apricot kernel scrub from St. Ives onto your hand and rub it in anymore (that works fantastic on upper arms and dry elbows and heels, though). You have to consider fruit acids and other products involving SCIENCE.
Here’s where REN comes in, which is my favorite skin care line. I don’t use everything in their line — can’t afford it — but I do splurge for this mask because it makes a huge difference in my skin, which, by the way IS sensitive and prone to redness (which means that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for a sample of this product even if your skin is also sensitive, even though REN’S description here says it’s not for sensitivoes). Even though this has a very scary-sounding name, there’s no peeling involved. You smooth it onto damp skin, let it hang out for 8 minutes, add some warm water and rub it around some more, and rinse. Then you walk out the door all shiny and cute.
You just use a very little bit, and it really does last. It works small miracles, and is worth squirreling away your dollars for.
Mmmmm, smells good, too.
For those who are saying, “UH UH NO WAY,” I still highly recommend Aveda Tourmaline Radiance Mask. It’s going for $31.50 now, and it was $27.50 the last time I recommended it a few years ago. Inflation, boys and girls. Jeepers.
I will research budget options, but I strongly suspect that something homemade with organic ingredients would work better than any cheap drugstore product that’s full of harsh chemicals. Let me know if you have any recipes.
P.S. No one pays me for my opinion or secretly provides me with free skin care for pimping their products. Not one penny. Ever.
I have rosacea on my 42-year old face — which means I, too, cannot withstand the footfalls of newborn, sugar-dipped kittens — and I WHOLE-HEARTEDLY AGREE with your praise for the REN mask! Everything you say is true! (And you only need a thin layer of the mask to work its magic, so you won’t be buying it every month or anything crazy like that.)
Superfine sugar makes a nice (and cheap) exfoliant. Plus, it contains natural glycolic acid. Smear on some papaya pulp before scrubbing.
My skin is thick, oily, larger pores, very un-sensitive. I could use fine sandpaper on it to little ill effect, and certainly have a hard time finding scrubs or peels that do anything on me. THIS peel, which I know is loved by so many people with sensitive skin, is also magically somehow tough enough for MY face and neck and chest. I just love it.
Just used this product for the first time and I love it! Thanks–you have never steered me wrong. BTW, what’s the deal with the little handkerchief? Can’t I just use a facecloth?