FARMACY Bright On Massage-Activated Vitamin C Mask

Never heard of the brand?

This is an American farm to skincare brand. All the product’s raw materials come from farms in the USA (and now Brazil). They use non-GMO ingredients, no parabens or mineral oil and so on. You can read about the brand HERE

What am I testing today?

I am testing a clay mask that requires motion (or a massage) to activate the Vitamin C content (which includes Vitamin C derivatives). Apparently the mask should go from lavender (mauve) to green (see the featured image above). The product contains over 50 ingredients, but essentially the important ingredients are Aloe Vera, Glycerin, Apple Extract, Clay as well as Lavender and Vitamin C.

Expectations?

The blurb on the packaging indicates I should expect “brightening” which makes sense because of the Vitamin C content. Also, I’d add that the aloe vera and lavender should be soothing and the glycerin should be moisturising.

The product has so many ingredients, so I am not clear what additional outcome I should expect. It’s almost as if this is America’s answer to South Korean products, which are famous for having gazillion ingredients.

My expectations of the mask are that it should brighten, tighten pores but most importantly, the key to great clay mask is it should not dry your skin out. With the copious amounts of Glycerin and Aloe Vera present in this product I hope this is the case.

Before and After photos

This is the product when it comes out of the tube. Evidently it is not lavender.

My thoughts

This is a disappointing mask. And it certainly wasn’t worth GBP 36.

I won’t be purchasing it again. In descending order of importance, here are the cons:

1. Zero brightening: I can live with the fact that the “GREEN” colour was not visible on my skin. It may be because the product is already green, indicating dysfunctional preservatives OR I am too dark-skinned for the green to show. Either way, I find it unpalatable that there is no brightening, when the major highlighted ingredient is Vitamin C.
2. Zero impact on my pores: if anything, my pores may have enlarged.
3. Drying: the mask is drying and I had to apply some serious heavy-duty moisturiser in what is summer for me.
4. Difficult to remove the mask: how is using a gallon of water to remove a face mask consistent with “sustainability?”

The rubber mask by Sarah Chapman that I reviewed earlier has definitely set the bar high for clay masks, brightening masks, and masks generally. I also like the fresh Vibrancy Booster Face mask, if you are looking for something “clean.” Drop me a line at email@happyskindays.com if you have a different experience to mine in using this mask. I would love to hear from you.

Available for purchase at Cult Beauty