Sparkled Beauty

Vichy, my favorite skin care brand, has released a trio of facial masks, and they are the most beautiful things to receive, look at and use.

First off, presentation! I am very familiar with the jars that lots of Vichy skin care products come in, but the colours and textures inside these jars of masks that take things to the next level. They are display pieces on the shelf!

Note the jars shown on the boxes feature English labels but the actual jars only have French labels, which I find a bit odd.

Onto the masks themselves. All 3 are paraben free, refreshing and cooling with fresh light scents, feel amazing on and leave the skin with a very comfortable feel that I almost want to skip the moisturizer after. They are, however, not the same. I am showing you the 2 wash-off masks today and saving the third one for its own post tomorrow.

The Double Glow peel mask with volcanic rock and AHA is meant to brighten dull skin with a double peel action:
- chemical action with AHA (fruit acids) to remove dead cells
- mechanical action with rock of volcanic origin to gently exfoliate.

I love exfoliating products, and to have the action is a mask format is a dream come true. The gel texture looks and feels awesome on, and when dries down, it does not create the tight feel on the skin. The scent is of cassis, apple and white musk, making the experience more pleasurable.

I alternate this mask and my glycolic toners during the testing period, and like I said, a mask feels more luxurious, for similar effects. I normally keep it on at least 20 minutes (against the suggested 5 minutes noted on the box) but test your skin's resistance/ sensitivity to find the ideal duration.

Ingredients: Water, Alcohol Denat., Glycerin, Dimethicone, Hydroxyethlpiperazine Ethane Sulfonic Acid, CI 14700, CI 19140, Carbomer, Vaccinium Myrtillus Fruit Extract, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Pumice, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Mannose, Ascorbyl Glucoside, Disodium Edta, Carprylyl Glycol, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Fruit Water, Citrus Limon Fruit Extract, Acer Saccharum Extract, Xanthan Gum, Fragrance.

The Pore Purifying clay mask with 2 mineral clays - Kaolin and Bentonite - is designed to help eliminate excess sebum and impurities for combination to oily skin with clogged pores.

The texture is smooth and clay like, but more creamy, and the scent is minty but more subtle than most clay masks, which I appreciate.

The mask does what it promises to do. Not much else to comment on it other than saying it dries softly (not cracking hard), hence the skin still feels comfortable through the process and feels clean afterward.

Ingredients: Water, Kaolin, Argilla, Propanediol, Glycerin, Caprylic/ Capric Triglyceride, CI 77891, Cetearyl Alcohol, Zea Mays Starch, CI 77499, CI77492, CI77491, Allantoin, Ceteareth-20, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Lecithin, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopherol, Carprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Fragrance.

The masks are 2.54oz/ 75ml, $34 each. Make sure to catch 'em at a sale. Stay tuned tomorrow for the third mask.