The Body Shop: Haul

The Body Shop are a UK brand that offer ethical, natural and high quality skincare and beauty products. I fully recommend signing up for their 'Love Your Body' reward card- it's free and you can get lots of discounts and free gifts when you spend a minimum amount: their products make great gifts and 'me-time' treats so it's very easy to have a splurge in their store. On a recent reward card 'event' I picked up these beauties:

P  R  O  D  U  C  T  S:

Shea Body Butter 200ml ~ £14*

Shea Body Scrub 250ml ~ £15*

Bath Lily~ £2*

Muslin Cleansing Cloth ~ £2.50

Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask 75ml~ £15*

Chinese Ginseng and Rice Clarifying Polishing Mask 75ml ~ £15*

Instablur All-in-One~ £14

*original price

I picked up a free gift as I spent over £25: I chose the Shea Butter collection which included the Body Butter, Body Scrub and Bath Lily- the scent is so luxurious and has a subtle nutty 'note'. Boy Oh Boy! This combo is gorgeous: richly moisturising without that sticky feeling, easy to apply and love the smell-very autumnal!

The Body Shop have recently brought out a range of 100% Vegetarian Exfoliating Face Masks of which I was super eager to try having heard good things!

Image Credit 

I like the idea of Multi-Masking. The skin on the different areas of your face ie: T-Zone, cheeks, neck, delicate eye area...is very different and is affected differently so therefore you should treat them differently with specifically targeted products.  I have 'Normal' skin but do get large pores, blackheads, the odd crater spot, dryness and dullness. I was on the prowl for a mask to brighten my tired skin:

Chinese Ginseng & Rice Clarifying Polishing Mask

A thick, white creamy consistency that is not too abrasive on the skin. 

Removes dullness and revitalises skin.  

Smells like Green Tea with Lemon & Ginger! 

...and a mask to reduce and clean out my pores:

Himalayan Charcoal 
Purifying Glow Mask

A thick greeny-grey creamy consistency with small green tea 'leafy-bits' (technical name) that dries within 10mins to a firm grey layer.

Draws out impurities and reduces the appearance of pores, absorbs excess oil

Gave a prominent tingling sensation that was not uncomfortable just noticeable.

Had quite a strong but pleasant floral scent.

I went for the clay masks as they give a clear indication that they are working (ie: drying)

H O W  T O  A P P L Y

I used my fingers to apply the mask (the £8 facial mask brush you can buy from The Body Shop doesn't seem worth it). I applied the charcoal mask to my T-Zone and the Ginseng and Rice mask concentrated round my cheeks and the edges of my face where I get little pimply spots congregating.


I let this dry for 10 mins then applied a warmed, damp muslin cloth to my face for 30 seconds to soften up the clay and then began to remove the masks using circular motions. The masks came off easily and did not need any harsh cloth application. I swooshed cold water on my face to seal the pores and patted my face dry.

B E F O R E 

As the masks dried, my skin felt slightly tight and tingling with a very subtle burning sensation-that is a over-statement: it wasn't unpleasant just noticeable. It was clear when the charcoal mask had dried as it changed to a cracked light grey colour, however it was not so clear when the ginseng mask was ready to come off.

A F T E R

My skin was left a little red where I had applied the charcoal mask although this did go down after a few minutes. My skin was left bright and radiant- that was the most apparent and the blackhead site was clear of congestion too. It states to use this product 2 times a week but I ain't got no time for that and personally these masks I quite intense (possibly not ideal for sensitive skin) and my skin is not in great need of TLC so a pamper sesh once a week will suffice. A little goes a long way so a pot will last you a while- £15 is worth the price for these high quality masks. 

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Which masks have you tried?