As I mentioned in my first review, I did not particularly like the Passion Peel Off masques. I don’t usually go for peel off masque, and if I do, I want to really be able to peel off the masque. The Passion Peel Off masque did not peel off smoothly – although I do not know if it’s  because I applied it wrongly or not.

This time, I received the Fruit Smoothie Deep Pore Cleansing Masque. This one isn’t a peel off masque, the texture of the masque actually do feel like a smoothie, it’s thick, like a yogurt, and it definitely smells good enough to eat. It says Raspberry and Mango on the packaging, but I definitely smell more than that. It smells very sweet. According to the website (http://www.montagnejeunesse.com/fruit-smoothie-face-masque-230), it also has pomegranate, peach and Vitamin E.

I definitely like this mask more than the one I received last year. For one thing, the package I received was filled with product. It said to “lavishly apply” and I did, as you can see in the photo above. Perhaps I have a small face, but even after covering my entire face, I still had half of the product left. So a packet is enough for two uses, way to stretch a dollar!

The masque is easy to apply. I washed my face and slathered the mask all over. Browsed the net for 15 minutes, and then proceeded to wash it off with a wet cloth. I tried rinsing it off but the mask was a little too thick to wash off with just water, but it definitely came off easily with a wet cloth. Are my pores much cleaner after the mask? I can’t really tell, but my face do feel cleaner and it looks a little brighter. I love that it is paraben free, which is always a good thing.

Overall, I would say this is a quick and easy mask for cleansing and face brightening. It’s not expensive – Ulta sells it for $2 a packet and I think you can find it in other drugstores as well. Definitely worth the purchase!

I also like that it’s flexible, so you can add or take away ingredients as you like to make it work for you.

Here are the ingredients I use.

The base of the mask is Antho Organic’s Mermaid Cheek Face Mask. I love Antho Organic’s Facial Masks. They have four in total and I have all of them. They are basically powders that come in beautiful apothecary style glass bottles. The fact that they come in powder means they stay fresh for the longest time. You mix them up with whatever liquids or creams you want so, so each mask can be different. I love that flexibility and I love the mixing up part. It’s so fun! I also like that because this mask uses all natural ingredients that you can control, it’s safe to relax for about 20 minutes with it, so it’s perfect to use while soaking in a hot bath.

Mermaid’s Cheek is actually my least favorite of all their mask. The other masks smell like chocolate, strawberries and other fruits. Mermaid’s Cheek smell like rotten seaweed. It’s like the smell of a seal-filled La Jolla cove on a bad day. However, it’s the clarifying and balancing mask, which is the one you should reach for when you have a bad case of acne. As they say in Chinese, foul tasting medicine is the medicine that works. Note of advice, do not use this mask and seaweed bath salts together. Overpowering seaweed smell makes one faintly nauseous, not exactly the relaxing spa I was after!

The good thing is, the recipe I used this time masked the smell entirely! The secret is the Tea Tree Oil. Tea Tree Oil is well known for being anti-acne. Here, the Tea Tree Oil I used is from Desert Essence, a reputable brand.

And the final ingredient is yogurt. Yogurt is one of the staple ingredients in my DIY masks. It has antibacterial properties. The probiotics are great for treating acne and I find it very soothing for the skin. I prefer Greek yogurt for their thicker texture. It’s easier to mix into a paste.

I used two heaping tablespoons of Mermaid’s Cheek, two heaping tablespoons of yogurt and half a teaspoon of tea tree oil. I mixed them all into a creamy paste before applying. The tea tree oil and cold yogurt made the mask very cooling – I couldn’t smell the seaweed smell at all.

I applied a hair mask as well and soaked myself in a bubble bath for 20 minutes before rinsing everything off. There was a slight tingling feeling on my face afterwards and the next day, I did notice that my acne were noticeably smaller. But again, I have been doing anti-acne masks for the whole week and the particular  mask was the last of the group. It was however, definitely the most enjoyable mask and the ingredients are the least harmful. There were some peels that I tried that I although might be effective, but I also find way too drying. I also like that you can play around with this mask – add honey for more anti-bacterial effects, green tea for clarifying effects, add a little more or little less tea tree oil, or a little lavender for the scent. I usually like to add jojoba oil for more moisturizing effects, but didn’t this time. Feel free to trial and error, and see what works for you.

In conclusion, this is definitely the mask I would recommend for people that are also suffering from acne. May we banish them forever.

This winter, I tried a total of three scrubs, and thus decided to do a little review and comparison.

The first scrub I used was Burt’s Bees Cranberry and Pomegranate Sugar Scrub. I bought the Bee Pampered Spa Set for $20, so that would make this 8oz tub approximately $10. If you buy it by itself, it retails for $13. I actually like this sugar scrub. I previously tried Fresh’s Brown Sugar Body Polish, and I found it similar, except that Fresh’s body polish left an oily residue on my skin, which I guess is supposed to be moisturizing or moisture-locking, but it just felt oily. I understand about the oils in sugar scrub aiding in moisturizing, and I just feel the Fresh version overdo it a little. Burt’s Bees sugar scrub have a similar moisturizing oil feel, but much less oily.

The second scrub I tried was also a sugar scrub by Scrubz Body. The texture is definitely similar to both Burt’s Bees and Fresh. I received a sample on the scrub in my Green Grab Bag; however I only tried it once. The sample I received was in the Wild Cherry Almond scent. The scent was really strong! It’s a good point for Scrubz Body, except I dislike both Cherry and Almond scents. I really couldn’t stand using the scrub in the bath so I’ve since gave the scrub to the husband to use. However, I visited Scrubz Body’s website and they seem to have many more scents. A 8oz tub retails for $16 on their website.

I also found that Burt’s Bees sugar crystals seem to melt faster in the water, compared to Scrubzbody. Scrubzbody’s sugar crystals seem to last longer, which may be good or bad depending on how “tough” a scrub you want. However, I really like the pomegranate seeds in Burt’s Bees. They smell lovely and add a different feel in the texture of the scrub.

The third scrub I tried was the Softsoap Coconut Scrub that was in my December Holiday Voxbox. This scrub differs hugely from the previous scrubs in that it comes in a bar form. I have to say, a scrub in the bar form is a lot easier to use than that in a tub form. For one thing, you don’t have to scoop up the sugar and have half of the amount fall onto the shower floor (or maybe that’s just me). Alternatively, you can use a loofah, but I always feel that’s a little extra. A loofah already exfoliates, why use a scrub?

The Softsoap bar comes with tiny little flaks (coconut flaks?) that’s supposed exfoliate the skin. It’s really easy to use, just rub the bar of soap everywhere. The coconut scent that I got smells quite nice. Sadly, I fell that the little flaks really do little in exfoliating. I do feel it, but it’s nowhere as good as the sugar scrub. You also don’t get the moisturizing oils that you get in the sugar scrubs. However, much kudos to Softsoap for coming out with a scrub in a bar. Also, I’m not quite sure how much Softsoap retails, but I think it’s less than five bucks in most drugstores.

At the end of this particular season, I have to say that Burt’s Bees is my favorite of all three scrubs that I tried this winter. But this isn’t conclusive at all. If I got a different scent in my scrubz body sample, I might have felt different.

Also, I really hope they invent a sugar scrub in a bar form. And please, not in a Cherry Almond scent.