Unboxing Beauty

image source 

I love mud masks.  There are few things that are so satisfying than adding some cooling and detoxing mud on my face.  Seriously.  One day, I would love to go to a spa where I could just sit in a mud bath.  My love of mud goes back to when I was a little kid ~ me and my best friend would have have tea and cookies with our dolls. Of course, our cookies were mud cookies!! No, we didn’t eat them ~ lol. I also loved going to the lake and just stepping into the rich deep mud and seeing how far I would sink into the lake.  So, when Musely, a fantastic eco-friendly, organic shop, offered to send me a couple of mud mask products by Alaska Glacial Mud Co, I eagerly accepted!

Alaska Glacial Mud Co uses Alaskan glacier mud, sustainably hand-harvested from the Copper River Delta and it is full of minerals.  Mud masks help detox, exfoliate and soften skin and this one is gentle for all skin type.  Alaska Glacial Mud Co uses only wild and certified organic ingredients with no synthetic fragrances, colors or fillers.  They do not conduct animal testing or use animal by products.  They are committed in donating 10% of their profits  to wilderness preservation, restoration, environmental defense and education in the Copper River Watershed.

The Glacial Facial Purifying Mineral Mud Mask in Vanilla Lavender   This is a purifying mud mask, pre-made with the famous Alaskan mud and kaolin clay and also certified organic and wild crafted botanical extracts, sourced from the Pacific Northwest and it is moisturizing, softening and anti-aging. This is ONE beautiful mud mask ~ it shimmers in the sun

This mask has a nice texture to it ~ it is like spreading non-sticky pudding on my face! I can also feel a bit of grit from the mud powder ~ very fine, but it is there. This doesn’t smell like vanilla to me, but a mud-lavender scent ~ I know that sounds weird, but I do love the scent of dirt, so I actually like the smell. As this mask dries down, it is cooling on my skin and it never tightens or pulls at my skin. Some mineral rich mud masks make my skin itch too, but this one does not. I didn’t find that this flaked off my skin ~ I included a photo that shows the mask before I rinsed it off ~ about 20 minutes of wear time. As I rinsed off the mask, I used the fine mud grit to massage around my T-Zone and pores, gently exfoliating further. My skin feels baby smooth with this mask, my pores are clean and reduced in appearance, my skin looks brighter and refreshed!

I use mud masks a lot in the summer and this one will be one I reach for time and time again ~ when this one is used up, I am going to go back and get the From Alaska, with Mud kit that Musely sells ~ it has the peppermint-lavender mud mask, plus soap and a cool headband.

Ingredients: Alaska glacial mud***, purified water, glycerin*, emulsifying wax NF*, natural kaolin, safflower seed oil**, vitamin b5, glyceryl stearate SE*, extracts of yarrow**, horsetail**, elderflower**, blueberry**, cranberry** and kelp***; vitamin e, natural xanthan gum, bisabolol*, steam-distilled essential oils (depending on type)**^, preservatives of 1,2 hexanediol*, caprylyl glycol*, tropolone*

^Relaxing vanilla-lavender includes essential oil of lavender and vanilla flavor extract. *plant-derived, **certified organic, ***wild-crafted

Alaska Glacial Essentials Detoxifying Glacial Clay Mask Powder  This is a DIY mud mask, made with 100% raw and unadulterated Alaska glacial silt and clay from the Copper River Delta I plan on trying this mask with several different liquids ~ first up, using a soothing toner instead of water! If you have a toner that is almost expired and are wondering how to use it up, use it as a liquid in your powder masks! I am using Naruko NRK Calendula Soothing and Calming Toner, which is a lovely hydrating and soothing toner.

This clay-mud powder is very fine-grained, so be careful when you open up the tin, as you might get powder all over the place! I am using my Shangpree Antibacterial Gold Bowl with spatula (courtesy of brand) to mix up my clay masks ~ this is a fantastic and easy to clean rubber bowl!

Everything looks so fancy when I use this bowl  😀 Using a watery toner means this mask will be more watery in texture ~ and so I will have to move fast to apply it and prevent drips ~ this mud does not have a scent that I can detect.

This mask has a cooling effect on my skin and what I am really loving is THAT THIS does not ITCH as it dries down. There are some powder clay/mud masks that make my skin itch like CRAZY and this does not ~ it is very soothing as it dries down, with no tightening on my skin. It will flake with very fine powder grains (just like before I added the toner) so it can be a bit messy if you don’t rinse off right away. This is a smooth mud mask, unlike the Glacial Facial Purifying Mineral Mud Masque, and therefore, there are no physical exfoliating bits in it, so it is suitable for sensitive or thin skin. After rinsing off, my skin felt so smooth and my blemishes looked less red ~ my skin also felt like I cut thru the grease too! My skin is so oily right now with the muggy heat ~ and we have been having nice muggy thunderstorms as well,  so this mask really helped with my excess oil, while also unclogging my pores and making them look smaller in appearance.

My second usage with this mask is a bit more complex ~ I am using 🍯honey thinned with water ~ if you have dry skin, try the honey without the water for a very moisturizing mask ~  and turmeric (yes, raid your kitchen spices!) Honey has antibacterial properties and can speed up healing in your skin ~ think acne, rashes, cuts ~ and prevent additional infection. The wonderful texture of honey will keep moisture close to your skin, which makes for a glowing and radiant complexion. Not only does honey keep moisture in your skin, but it is humectant, which means it attracts moisture too and finally, it is an antioxidant, which means it helps repair and combat any damage caused by free radicals and prevents premature wrinkling. My addition of turmeric is for blemish care ~ turmeric has both anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits so it can help heal and reduce swelling and redness from acne. So, clay for detox and exfoliation, honey for moisture and blemish care and turmeric for inflammation and blemish care. I did a little DIY video on Instagram below

To recap: This is a mix of the glacial clay, honey, water and turmeric ~ clay for detox and exfoliation, honey for moisture and blemish care and turmeric for inflammation and blemish care. I did have to add a bit more clay powder as I had too much water in my mixture, but this is supposed to be a thinner mask ~ otherwise, you would use up the whole tin of clay powder!

This has a firming effect on my skin while it dried (and it does dry quickly!) and I rinsed off with warm water and patted my skin dry. For oily skinned peeps, you will love this ~ my skin was degreased ~ with my wonderful command of the English language, I cannot find any other way to really describe it.  My pores were really clean and tightened in appearance and my face felt really CLEAN. I love using honey and turmeric in my DIY clay masks ~ how about you?

I want to try this powder with yogurt and then with aloe vera, so look for those reviews in the future both here and on Instagram. I am just having so much fun with this mud!  Have you tried Alaska Glacial Mud Co masks? What did you think of them? I am very impressed with these masks and I love versatility with the powder version.   Many thanks to Musely for sending me these fantastic masks!

Where to Purchase

Musely carries these products plus so much more!

• The Glacial Facial Purifying Mineral Mud Mask in Vanilla Lavender   100 grams $33.95
• Alaska Glacial Essentials Detoxifying Glacial Clay Mask Powder  4.5 oz  $19.50

The powder will last you a long time, as that is a nice big tin!

Other products used in this review

• Naruko NRK Calendula Soothing and Calming Toner  $14.99
• Shangpree Antibacterial Gold Bowl   $10.00. Save $10.00 off your first $50.00+ purchase at Peach & Lily by using my referral link (click here) 

[ disclaimer: products received complementary for review purposes.  contains affiliate links ]