Murad Pomegranate Exfoliating Mask - a review

It's not often I pay too much attention to samples added to purchases. Sometimes it's great to try a different product - I like getting primers especially. But skincare is another thing. I never know if my skin will react poorly to products - it's pretty sensitive and doesn't jive with heavy products at all. When I received Murad's Pomegranate Exfoliating Mask as a sample however, I was intrigued. My skin loves exfoliation so I thought I'd make an exception and try something different on my skin! 

First off, I thought this product would have exfoliating beads - it did not. It actually exfoliates your skin by dissolving dead skin cells with AHAs and natural fruit enzymes. And it does it smelling delicious! It's consistency is pretty much like a clear gel that sits on your skin. It makes you look like you have a greasy face, but I think that's better than having some green/brown stuff on it. What I love most about it is that my skin feels plump, soft and glowing after using it. It feels better than when I just exfoliate with my Clarisonic. Plus, the mask doesn't dry me out like most clay based masks do.

The only tiny downside is that the mask comes in little individual packets. Each packet gives me 3-4 uses, but after my first use I have to put the remainder of it in a little pot.

To me though, that's a small disadvantage for such a good product. This is definitely one that I will be repurchasing in the future.

Skincare - my new goal for the year

I readily admit that I was never one for a strict skincare regime. I have mostly used Cetaphil and Spectro Jel for the past few years and Bioderma for makeup removal. No "real" exfoliants or moisturizers, the bare minimum.

I've come to realize that my skin doesn't really bode well with the bare minimum. I therefore decided to give myself the 2012 goal of refining my skincare regime and getting rid of my problem areas on my face. They include acne, blemishes, redness around the cheeks, blackheads and bumpy skin/discoloration. It sounds like a lot but these are all things that I notice when I look very very closely at my skin. And it has begun to bother me. I also have some scars from chicken pox that I would like to see minimized.

So, this new goal has been started by Avene Diacneal. This was an idea I got from Sandra from 15 steps then a beauty blog who constantly raves about this product. It is a combination of retinol and glycolic acid which is supposed to rid your skin of acne and discolorations caused by it. I must say, this was a great product to start my regime with. I use it on my skin every few nights in order to give my skin a bit of a break from the treatment. So far, so good. My skin is much clearer (after having gone through a bit of a purge, I'm assuming from the Diacneal) and much much smoother. In two weeks and a half, I can see a big difference. It has definitely encouraged my skin's cell turnover and has helped my skin have a more unified tone - by this I mean that my dark spots from acne scarring are either gone or slowly making their way out. Even my boyfriend has said that my skin has looked clearer. However, one thing it has not cure is the redness on my cheeks. I'm not sure what this redness is stemming from but it is there and looks like a bad acne rash.

 

My next skincare goal will be to tone the redness on my cheeks. This redness doesn't seem to be rosacea or anything similar but might be from lack of moisturization. The red skin isn't bumpy and doesn't seem to have any acne associated to it. It's just patchy and red. We'll see with time but I'll try to keep my skin as moisturized as possible without being a grease ball. 

I'm looking forward to the new collections coming out soon so you can expect some reviews of that stuff. I'm specially looking forward to the OPI Spring 2012 collection. Should be exciting!