MAC Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask

Maybe it's just me but using a good facial mask at home makes me feel like I took a mini trip to the spa - it relaxes me and the thought that it might be improving my skin makes me happier =)

Do you feel the same way about facial masks?

So I did pick up the MAC Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask because well, it sounds pretty cool that there's volcanic ash in it AND I've been loving a bit of warmth in my facial masks ever since I tried the Olay warming scrub.





It's 100 mL so that's not a bad size for the price.


Instructions:

One thing to note from the picture above is that you have to knead the tube to mush all the contents together. I just know I'm going to forget this when I get half way down the tube and the box with the directions on it is long thrown out!

So this is what it looks like out the tube - a thick black paste. I know, it looks like crap literally:

It is warm when you apply it directly onto the wet skin on your face but the warmth dissapates very quickly (within a few seconds). And yes, you have to make sure your skin is wet because at one point a part of my face wasn't damp anymore and when I applied the mask on that area there was no warming sensation.

The nice thing about this is that when you wash it off after it dries, upon contact with the water the mask gets warm again. Yah, I'm a sucker for that few seconds of warmth! LOL

If any of you have tried the St. Ives Mineral Clay Firming Mask you'll know that the mask dries tightly on the face and leaves the skin with a slightly tighter/firmer feel to it (basically, need moisturizer right after).

The MAC volcanic ash mask didn't dry tightly on my face within the five minutes I had it on for. In fact the mask was still damp to touch at the end of the recommended five minutes. It's fine though because the MAC mask didn't claim any sort of firming action on the skin. The MAC mask does what it says it does - it did leave my skin feeling clean, soft and moist (I didn't have to slap on moisturizer right away like I have to for most other masks).

I'll probably pick up another tube the next time I'm at the store.

What are some of your favourite facial masks?

=) Karen