glamglow supermud clearing treatment

This face mask is much praised in the blogosphere but I could never quite persuade myself to spend US$69 on it. So when I received this as a belated Christmas gift, I was over the moon since I'd heard wondrous things about it, mostly from the lovely Fleur -- whose recommendations I always consider, as I think she and I gravitate towards similar things.

It comes in a beautifully packaged box which greets you with a 'Hello Sexy' when you first open it. Who doesn't love great packaging, though I do have to say there is an excessive amount of cardboard that really isn't necessary from an environmental standpoint, especially considering how tiny the actual pot of product is. Anyway, the tub itself (albeit quite small) is relatively sturdy and is surprisingly weighty when you first remove it from its delightful packaging.

This product is supposed to clear your skin, and help solve your (I'm listing this from the packaging now) pores, problem skin, blemishes, pimples, breakouts, zits, spots, black & white heads, razor bumps, in-grown hair -- long story short, basically anything remotely wrong with your skin. It can be used as both a full face-mask and spot treatment, and I like this idea a lot as sometimes you just don't want to deal with putting on an entire face mask then having to wash it off, etc. It contains a bunch of chemicals that are supposed to help get your skin clear, and I'm not even going to go into detail about this because I'm not actually sure I really understand it. 

The product itself is the average dark grey colour of your typical mud mask, but unlike other mud masks I've tried, it smells kind of herbal-y (probably due to the Eucalyptus stuff in it). Anyway, I applied a thin layer to my entire face and left it to dry for quite a while, you can leave it on for up to 20 minutes supposedly. While it was drying, I could really see the gunk that it was pulling out of my skin and since the pollution in Hong Kong has really been messing with my skin, this mask has actually cleared it up significantly. When I washed it off, my skin was so much smoother and just...nicer. I see why people rave about this -- it really clears up most problems but doesn't dry your face out into a desert, this is some good stuff. I'm not sure I would repurchase, however, considering how expensive it is for such a tiny pot but you really don't need that much when doing a full face mask. But it is definitely worth a try if you ever do feel like splurging on a face mask. 

current skincare routine: cleansers

Since I seem to have gotten my skincare routine down perfectly and my skin isn't being crazy dry or overly oily, I thought I would take the time to share a little bit about what has been going onto my face in the mornings and evenings. All these items are definitely interchanged, what I use tends to depend on what my skin feels like, what I've been up to that day, etc. but these are the products I have been rotated around within my routine.

To stop this post from getting mid-numbingly long, I've separated it into two sections, so here is the first installment -- cleansers. Stay posted for the second.

1.  Bioderma Hydrabio
Since I previously reviewed this lovely micellar water here, I won't go into too much depth about it. I use this with a cotton pad to remove my makeup before I get into the shower (where I usually wash my face).

2. Bobbi Brown Eye Makeup Remover
For the times that my mascara is being ever so stubborn, I'll dip a cotton bud into this and swipe it over my eyes to remove anything that wouldn't come off with the Bioderma. Unlike oil-based eye makeup removers, this formula contains aloe vera and rosewater extract which is extremely soothing on tired eyes and I've found over multiple times of accidentally stabbing my eyeball with the cotton bud, that it doesn't sting.

3. Clinique Mild Facial Soap

I was given this centuries ago when I had the typical teenage oily skin, hence, I didn't feel like it really cleansed my skin so I put it away in the corner of my bathroom for a while. However, now that anything overly harsh and oil-stripping seems to wreak havoc across my face and leaving me looking awfully blotchy, I've resorted to the 'Mild'-ness of this soap which seems to be doing its job. It leaves my face feeling cleaner but doesn't turn it into a flaking disaster of dryness.

4. St Ives Naturally Clear Blemish and Blackhead Control Apricot Scrub
This will be a little controversial to the skincare-obsessed-nazis out there since it is a very harsh particle-grainy scrub, but I have used this for years and it really makes my skin smoother whilst getting rid of outrageously stubborn flaky bits I tend to get sometimes. I have never used a chemical exfoliator before because I simply have not gotten around to it since I tend to absent-mindedly repurchase this whenever I run out, but perhaps I will venture into one in the near future. 

5. Sebamed Clear Face Active Cleansing Foam

I use this in the mornings since I always do a thorough cleansing at night and there is absolutely no reason to over-cleanse. I like foaming cleansers in the morning because they are quick and easy (awesome for when I'm running late) and this one in particular doesn't seem to make my skin act up. I've been using this for a few years now but I have yet to find another foaming wash that seems to tick all my boxes.