**REVIEW** Dead Sea Mud Mask

I know that I said I was taking a break from the skincare products, but... I needed something to pamper my face after testing all of the other items. This mud mask from InstaNatural kind of surprised me. It's their Dead Sea Mud Mask.

100% natural

 I've only regularly used one other mud mask treatment that I liked - because I'm not a huge fan of facial masks. The thing about this one that surprised me (nicely) was that there was absolutely zero smell. Not a nice one, not a funky one, not one that made me want to throw the jar and run away screaming. There is just no odor that I could detect. Good. You know how I am about that.

The ingredients list was the second surprise. For one thing, the Dead Sea mud was (heh heh) dead first. For another thing, the list is nice and short. I counted 11 items. And I can pronounce every one of them.) That makes the whole 'zero scent' thing kind of weird. You'd think I'd be able to smell at least a couple of these ingredients, right?

Unless I'm pronouncing that last ingredient wrong...

The third thing that I didn't expect at all is how much clearer this mask is on the skin. Usually, masks are super thick and chalky. This one went on in a thin coating.

You can see by my forehead that the mask is still damp in spots.

My "You drank all the coffee?" look

At the same time that I was thinking that it was nice not to have such a thick coat of mud on my face, I decided that more must be better, and I had to resist slathering on more product.

Doesn't it look as if it would be really thick?

 I'm glad that I resisted adding more. The amount I used was just fine. As it dried, it still didn't look as chalky and "cracking" as other masks. I worried that it might not be working but, when I rinsed my face, my skin did have that deeply-cleaned feeling. My face wasn't overly dried out (thank goodness) even when I waited ten minutes to moisturize.

Even though this mask is supposed to be good for blemishes and acne, my sensitive and combination skin didn't have a problem with it. As far as evening out my skin tone, I will have to use it more and on a regular basis before I can let you know about that.

This was a good mask treatment for me. I think of it as one that I could use regularly if I wanted and not have to worry about drying out my skin. (Note that the label warns about over-use!) The other mask I use is also a favorite, but I use it about once a month because it seems somehow stronger. Now that I have this one, I will be able to rotate the two.

Here's another plus with this mask. It comes in a huge 16-oz jar. Remember that I mentioned how little I used and got results? This is going to last me for a long while, and I will probably end up sharing it with my niece and sister. It's a good value for my beauty budget - which I have jokingly labelled in Excel as PoorButPretty.

As always, InstaNatural backs their products with wonderful customer service and a 100% money-back guarantee. Win-win, right?

Peace
--Free

DISCLOSURE:

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

**REVIEW** Dead Sea Mud Mask

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

This is the second product from Pure Essential Minerals I've had the chance to try.

While the hair treatment didn't blow me away, this face mask did. I love it! (And, men - this is not a girls-only product...)

I don't usually do well with face mask type treatments. All the ones I've tried in the past (not many) have left my skin too dried out or, worse, broken out. I even hated the way they seemed too tight when drying. I have been wanting to find a good facial treatment though and I'm super glad I gave this one a try.

As with the other product from Pure, this one gets lots of kudos for the ingredients. Here they are in order (with my inserted links to info):

• Dead Sea Mud
• Organic Shea Butter
• Organic Sunflower Oil
• Organic Aloe Vera Juice
• Organic Vegetable Glycerin
• Organic Jojoba Oil
• Hickory Bark Extract
• Organic Calendula
• Filtered Water
• Xanthan Gum
• Eucalyptus Oil

Nice.

The label says that the mask draws out "impurities, toxins and excess oils." The minerals are supposed to stimulate and improve blood circulation. I couldn't wait to see how it played.

The smell when I opened the container was mild, but got lots stronger while I was applying it to my face. It's really strong, actually, but not unpleasant. I guess that's the Eucalyptus and Xanthan Gum.

The directions instruct to let dry for 5 to 10 minutes so that your skin gets full absorption of the minerals. I left it on for a full 10 because I wanted it to be completely dry. It does tighten as it dries, but not to the point of being uncomfortable. (The scent at this point lessened and became very soothing/relaxing.)

Rinsing it was fun. Next time, I will do so in the shower! It's nice when you do as instructed and sort of massage the mask off with wet hands. I could feel a slight exfoliation going on. It rinsed a lot easier than I expected.

The best, best, best part? How soft and clean my skin felt. There was no gritty, filmy leftover ickiness. You know how when, sometimes after washing your face, you can feel a dryness set in while you getting to your moisturizer? There was none of that. I took at least five minutes leaving the bathroom basin and getting back to my room to my face cream because I had stripped off my robe to rinse my face. 

It's been 20 minutes (at time of typing this) since I dried my face and neck and applied moisturizer and I'm noticing something: I had the mask on my face for the full 10 minutes, but put a little on my neck as an afterthought for the last 3 or 4 minutes. Right now I can feel a pleasant tingle on my face but not my neck. This is a really subtle sensation that I almost don't notice if I'm not thinking about it.

I really cannot wait until next week when I can do another treatment. If I notice anything else, I will let you know.

By the way, I got a nice little surprise gummed to the lid of the jar:

Freebie, freebie! Gimme, gimme!

You can get the code when you buy product! :-)

You can find this product at Amazon, but first check out the Pure & Essential Minerals site for more product details and a possible discount.

Peace

--Free

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.