Review | Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask

Yesterday afternoon I had my bridal makeup and hair trial (post coming soon!) which was so much fun and a seriously pampering experience! It's made me want to really kick my butt into gear and get my skin as sorted as possible for my wedding in January, and using a face mask twice a week is one of my beauty targets! I'm also going to pop to the doctor's and have them check out my chin/jawline as apparently acne here is hormonal and I'd like to make sure I don't have any underlying health issues before embarking on my clear skin routine. 

Alongside skincare I'm starting Blogilates tomorrow! It's a series of daily pilates workouts delivered online via Youtube and I'm seriously pumped to be embarking on the Beginner's Calendar tomorrow morning. Here's hoping I can handle a mere half an hour of exercise...! Don't laugh, PE was never my strong point!

Anyhoo, with skincare in mind I decided to make use of another Lush goodie this morning, Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face Mask (£5.95, 75g) which I picked up in a haul a few weeks ago. I used this once last week and had a few reservations as a result but thought I'd give it another go and see how it fared a second time around. Unfortunately this isn't a glowing review as I've found the mask to be rather drying, which is a real shame. 

Lush market Catastrophe Cosmetic as 'a deep cleansing mask... designed for regular maintenance to keep the skin clean and clear'. Over time 'regular deep cleaning can avoid spots occurring and keep skin in top condition' (is it me or should that say 'can prevent spots occurring  Hmm. Maybe I'm being pedantic!) Packed full of soothing ingredients such as calamine, rose absolute and chamomile essential oils, softening Irish moss gel and almond oil, Catastrophe Cosmetic seems like a gentle option for sensitive skin, as recommended to me by a Lush Sales Assistant upon hearing my combination/sensitive skin woes. The main ingredient, fresh blueberries, are chock full of antioxidants designed to help rid the skin of impurities, and talc is included to draw out skin clogging nasties. 

Sounds good, right? Want to see what it looks like on?! 

Yep, super attractive photo alert! This is certainly a far cry from the gorgeous makeup I was sporting yesterday afternoon! As you can see, Catastrophe Cosmetic is a rather sludgy looking grey blue colour, with chunks of blueberry skin visible in the pot and on the face. It smells pleasantly fruity and 'natural'. Lush masks generally have to be kept in the fridge, meaning they go on super cold which I love! I guess if you're a little sensitive to the cold you could take it out of the fridge fifteen minutes or so early and leave it to warm up a little. I sort of feel like the blast of cold could help boot my skin into action but who knows?!

The mask goes on quick thick and you could easily get at least four of five generous applications from the one little tub. I like to layer on masks quite thickly so I can be sure my skin is properly covered, and with Catastrophe Cosmetic you leave it on for about ten minutes to work it's supposed magic... It soon starts to dry and after the ten minutes is up I found that most of the mask removed itself simply as a result of me making funny facial expressions! Anyone else do this when wearing a face mask?! It flaked off in clumps (sounds lovely!) and then I dabbed at the remainder with a warm muslin cloth before splashing my face with lukewarm water and drying with a towel. 

The first thing I noticed was that my skin looked a little blotchy and red in places, which I'd noticed the first time but wondered if it was because my skin was going through a really bad patch at the time. Today, however,  I noticed it was definitely blotchy and I also noticed that my chin (acne prone area) in particular felt tight and looked dry. It felt sort of scaly and dehydrated rather than soothed, which wasn't really what I was hoping for. A little corner of sensitive skin next to my left eye felt quite sore and looked noticeable redder than usual, and I had to apply two layers of moisturiser all over my face to rehydrate my skin. After using it last week blemishes didn't feel soothed and they didn't appear particularly calmer either on the day or on the days afterwards. 

I really tend to stay away from masks that leaving any sort of drying effect on my skin as the last thing I need is for my skin to over compensate with bucket loads of extra oil. Having used this last week I didn't see a reduction in the severity of existing spots and it did make my skin feel quite uncomfortable on both occasions, unfortunately. Perhaps it's the inclusion of talc? I'm sure I've heard that talc can be quite drying. 

I'm quite dismayed, especially as the Sales Assistant in Lush was convinced that this would be the right mask for me as it aims to soothe skin while fighting blemishes, but alas, it just isn't right for me after all. I've read lots of great reviews from fellow sensitive skin bloggers so maybe I'm just unlucky in my experiences. 

It hasn't put me off trying other Lush masks as I've used and loved Mask of Magnaminty regularly in the past and found it excellent at tackling troublesome spots and blemishes, although it's a little too harsh for the rest of my face. I'd really like to try Oatifix for dry skin and Cosmetic Warrior for acne prone areas. I just won't be repurchasing Catastrophe Cosmetic as it seems to be doing a more harm than good. 

Have you tried Lush face masks? Which one is your favourite? Or perhaps you have a favourite mask from a different brand? I'd love some recommendations!

Baci e abbracci,

                                                       

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