ORIGINS: Clear Improvement® Active Charcoal Mask

"Activated charcoal acts like a magnet to draw out deep-dwelling pore-cloggers. White China clay absorbs environmental toxins, and lecithin dissolves impurities. Without all that stuff down there, skin breathes a sigh of relief."

Welcome back everyone!  

I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I love facial masks for a number of different reasons.

First off, many face masks are meant to be somewhat of a "quick fix" meaning that if you haven't been taking good care of your skin, (out all night partying then coming home and sleeping in your make-up.... we've all been there trust me), applying a face mask is a great way to kick start back into your old skin care regimen.  Secondly, there are so many face masks on the market today that they are bound to carry at least one that is catered to your skin's needs.  And last but certainly not least, face masks are a great way to sit back, relax, and pamper yourself in the comfort of your own home without the hefty price tags that come with fancy salon visits!

I always like to start off these posts by explaining the 5 W's (and how) of the product: 

WHO: The Origins Clear Improvement® Active Charcoal Mask

WHAT: A mask with activated charcoal to draw out deep-dwelling pore-cloggers. 

Ingredients include:  water,myrtus communis (myrtle) leaf water, kaolin, bentonite, butylene glycol, montmorillonite, polysorbate 20, peg-100 stearate, charcoal powder, xanthan gum, lecithin, peg-150 distearate, propylene glycol stearate, sorbitan laurate, glycerin, propylene glycol laurate, simethicone, caprylyl glycol, ethylhexylglycerin, hexylene glycol, trisodium edta, dehydroacetic acid, phenoxyethanol.

WHERE: Can be bought anywhere Origins products are sold (i.e.: Sephora, Macy's, Amazon, eBay, etc.)

WHEN: Use once a week or as often as needed.  

WHY: When environmental toxins, dirt, and debris get under your skin, its waste-filtering system gets jammed, pores get clogged, and skin looks cloudy. By using this mask, nature's complexion clean-up crew gets to the bottom of skin's overcast condition and clears the way for it to act its best.

HOW: Start by opening pores with a warm, moist towel or you can boil some water into a bowl and tilt your face over the bowl to steam your face (sauna's are great for this too!).  Next you want to apply a thin layer of the product to your face; application tool is up to you.  You can use your clean fingers or use an old foundation brush.  I use my Real Techniques pointed foundation brush to apply a thin layer of the mask all over my face making sure to avoid the eye/eyebrow area.  Allow the mask to dry and harden (about 10-15 minutes), then rinse well.  

Pros and Cons of the Origins Clear Improvement® Active Charcoal Mask
Pros (+)	Cons (-)
Decent amount of product (3.4 fl OZ/100 mL) in a sleek, squeezy tube Spreads very easily (a little goes a long way) Thin consistency which allows the product to be washed off easily Helps reduce/shrink pore size especially on the nose! Also helped tremendously with the little tiny acne bumps that I used to have (the ones that you can't pop/pick at because they are just under the skin) Softens and smooths skin	Price ($25 US and $30 CAN) Leaves the skin dry/tight feeling so I would not recommend this for those with dry skin Somewhat of a strong fragrance (I actually don’t mind the fragrance but some may be sensitive to products with fragrance in them)

The pictures listed below show when the mask is first applied to my skin and 10-15 minutes after.  Right away you can see how thin the mask applies as there are no visible clumps in the product.  The mask starts out as a wet, grey colour and eventually dries up to a darker grey.  Once you move your face and see cracks starting to form from the mask you'll know it's time to wash that baby off!  You also want to make sure you follow up with a good moisturizer.  I have combination-oily skin and I find the mask tightens and dries up my skin ever so slightly so for those of you with dry skin types you may or may not have a positive experience with this product.  If you do go ahead and purchase the product I'd love to hear about your experiences with it in the comments below!  

 Freshly applied ↑ 

↓ 10-15 minutes later

 

Stay tuned for my next blog post and take care,
Glynn   

"Every exit is an entry somewhere else."

Tom Stoppard