Mario Badescu & L'Oréal - Mask On or Mask Off?

Hey guys!

A couple weeks ago, I shared my brief thoughts on this Mario Badescu Flower and Tonic mask and figured it's worth doing a more in-depth blog post about too. Honestly, I have never been left so gobsmacked by a face mask before. I've also decided to include my thoughts on the L'oréal Detox Mask while I'm here, so make sure you read until the end if you're interested in that too!

So, let me get straight into it. I'll start off with the Mario Badescu Flower and Tonic mask first. Once upon a time, I was shopping on Beauty Bay and remembered I wanted to purchase the famous Drying Lotion from Mario but instead, I ended up buying the anniversary set instead as 1) it worked out cheaper to buy the set of 5 products and 2) I thought it would be fun to try out some new skincare! I should've actually done some research before trying out the products, but I didn't want to form a biased opinion so I stayed away from product reviews online etc. I trusted the brand as it's been successful for 50 years now and Badescu is known for being the go-to cosmetologist for a fair few A-listers. So, I gave it a go - actually I gave this mask 3 chances to prove itself (more chances I give to people to prove themselves) and it just left me annoyed e v e r y time!!

Attempt No1

Advertised as being a deep-cleaning mask and being suitable for combo/oily skin types I was excited to try this out and have pure & fresh-feeling skin! On application it was incredibly cooling and smooth as you can see from the photos below. I applied this mask with a flat synthetic brush for even application but this isn't necessary. The mask is slightly perfumed too which didn't bother me too much.

After application, the mask dried fairly quickly and it did become tight which is usually a good indication of a purifying mask. I left the mask on for 15-20mins as advised and then began washing this off with warm water. No exaggeration, this took me 5-10mins to wash this off my face completely. It felt waxy & greasy and you really had to rub your skin to get each mm of mask off your face. Once I did finally manage to get every trace of mask off, I pat my face dry and was still left with a waxy layer on my skin. When I touched my face, the waxy feeling transferred to my hands so I would have to wash my hands again. Never in my life has a mask made me feel like that.

I decided to use a face wash and thought maybe that will help get rid of that weird texture but no, that didn't help AT ALL. It made no difference. After that, I used the micellar water from Garnier which helped slightly but nothing that made my face feel 'normal' again. I was basically trapped and didn't feel like I could get rid of this waxy film on my face. I decided to use a facial spray and just leave my skin alone for the remainder of the day. SO glad I didn't have to go anywhere!

Attempt No2

Somehow, I had completely forgotten about the above experience when I decided to use this mask again. I want to say this was about 3-4 weeks after my first attempt. I remember realising half way after application the trauma I was left with the first time but it was too late to take the mask off and I was feeling positive. Maybe it was my skin that reacted badly to the mask? Maybe it was my fault for leaving this mask on for too long? So anyway, I left this mask on for 15 mins then proceeded to wash the mask off. Same problem, again. This time I felt a little more prepared though so I went straight for the micellar water which helped get rid of some of that waxy texture. I used a facial spray and that was it. I didn't even want to use a moisturiser on top of that waxy feeling I was left with. My skin already felt heavy, my pores felt clogged and I didn't feel 'refreshed' whatsoever. I'm so glad Sundays are my mask days, I just hibernated indoors all day.

Attempt No3

I know I really shouldn't have given this mask another chance, but I did. This was probably the worst reaction I had too which annoys me even more. While I had the mask on my face, I looked up some reviews online and I was in shock at the reactions numerous people were having to this mask too! (I definitely should've done some research beforehand lol) I checked out the ingredients list to find: Microcrystalline Wax, Beeswax, Methylparaben and Propylparaben among many other ingredients. This explained the waxy feeling I was always left with and there is a chance that parabens are harmful to the skin so I'm not keen on using products with these toxic chemicals in! The day after using this for the third time, my skin broke out terribly! I was left with lots of bumps under my skin which were irritating and I have never reacted so badly to skincare before! It took me a couple weeks to recover from this - all because of this one facemask!!

Final Thoughts

You can probably guess that my final verdict is: MASK OFF! *said in Futures voice*I wouldn't want to put anyone through the same trauma I experienced and without a doubt there are face masks out there that will do their job and not leave you with a wax film on your face and/or break you out. I'm disappointed that such a reputable brand offers specialist skincare products made with cheap ingredients with false claims. I'm surprised there hasn't been a new version of this mask despite so many bad reviews online! I hope they decide to do something about this and I might even have an attempt no4 at some point.

L'oreal Detox Mask

Now this a mask I would definitely recommend you to use if you are looking to unclog your pores or have combo/oily skin! I have repurchased this so many times and have recommended this to friends and family who have never had a bad experience either! For the price point, this does amazingly well at giving me a clear complexion without leaving my face feel tight or dry. I can't actually provide pics right now as I need to replace my empty jar! This mask applies smoothly, rinses off easily and leaves you feeling so refreshed. It's blended with 3 different types of clay to balance your oil production, reduce your imperfections as well as an overall clear complexion. I can't express how much I love this mask!

Thank you for reading this post! I know it was pretty long but I just had to share my experiences with you guys! I'll be sharing tips on what I did to recover from the Badescu mask later on in the week so keep an eye out for that. If you have tried either of these two masks, I'd love to hear your thoughts so feel free to comment below or drop me a message through my contact page. See you on the next post!

Kavita K xo

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***All of the products I have mentioned above are from my own personal experiences. Please remember that everyone reacts differently to different products - products that work for me may not work for well for you. Be sure to do some research before making purchases, especially if you do have allergies to certain ingredients.***