Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud

This is the second face mask from skyn ICELAND that I am testing. (click on Vitamin C rubber mask for a review of the first mask).

Never heard of this brand….what are you testing?

Despite “Iceland” in the name, this mask is very much made in the USA. I am testing, a “Fresh Start Mask with Ice Age Mud.”

The helpful packaging explains that, “Phase I is made up of detoxifying blue clay and 13,000 year old oxygenating mud from the Ice Age.** Phase II is an Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) gel complex…that’s designed to polish and refine the skin.

(** I am worried about this grandiose statement, because I associate the Ice Age with melting glaciers and reservoir of infectious diseases.)

The instructions are to first apply the blue clay (packet 1) and then the gel (packet 2). As so…

This marketing photo from the brand’s website is instructive for 2 reasons – it shows you the product, a moist clay formula and it accurately depicts the actual quantity of the product. I don’t think its a coincidence that no product makes it way to the model’s forehead and elegant nose. I had to use 2 sachets of the clay mask, which means I only get 3 uses out of this product and not the advertised 6.

Before and after photos

Results and would I buy this again?

The clay pleasantly smells of menthol and on application of the gel, there is gentle bubbling which creates a mild heating sensation. The marketing blurb promises “polished and refined” skin: I am left with a slight glow and my skin is cleared and softer. My skin is a bit dry, but I expect that from a clay mask.

This product does deliver a good outcome, even if it is US$ 13 per session and not US$ 7.50

However, I won’t be rushing out to buy it again as its a mask that doesn’t particularly want to leave its packet, its messy to apply with the additional gel and its extremely messy to get off. Its a dismal and disappointing user experience.

See also other masks/scrubs I have used: Glamglow Power Mud Dual Cleanse treatment, Fresh Vitamin Nectar Vibrancy Boosting Face Mask, Wishful Yo Glow Enzyme Scrub