LUSH Cosmetic Warrior Mask

Image Courtesy of LUSH Cosmetics

Last week, Atlanta had the 4th-worst snow and ice storm in the history of EVER. We got 6-8 inches of snow as well as ice on every conceivable surface. The ice wouldn't melt, either, because the flipping temperature didn't go above freezing for 4 days straight. This is unheard of in Atlanta. The entire city shut down, including highways, businesses, and, you guessed it....schools. For 5 days. Oh. My. God. We were literally snowed into our home together with no way out for 5 days. 

It was with the resulting case of cabin fever that the girls and I ventured out to the mall this weekend. I, of course, stopped in the Cosmetics department at Macy's. The girls wanted to go to Claire's to add to their ever-growing collection of cheap jewelry (sorry, I know that's mean, but I really can't stand Claire's). I sent them on their way and wandered around LUSH for a few minutes. 

So anyway, here's where things got dicey. I wandered around looking at things for about 5 minutes before the poor SA could say hello to me, because she had one of those horrid, demanding customers who think the world revolves around them. This woman had obviously already been there forever and was apparently determined to stay until closing time, and she wasn't going to be ignored! She also wasn't having any of me butting my little head in and asking some questions. This went on for another 5 minutes or so before I finally stepped right in front of her and politely asked for help. After all, I had kids roaming the mall without me. Someone had to protect the general public.

So I finally had an SA, but we were under the gun, because by now it had occurred to me that now that they had been set free in public for 15 minutes, it was entirely possible that my 13 year-old had found a way to live her dream, which is to dispose of my 10 year-old without leaving a trace behind. She's a very smart girl. Of course, so is the little one, and the little one is a scrapper, but still, you don't tempt fate.  So rather than going into my usual long-winded description of my skin type and concerns, yada yada yada, I basically looked at her, pointed at my chin, and howled, "Help me!" Seeing that she probably wanted nothing more than to go home and start drinking by that point, she just nodded, opened her little refrigerator, and yanked out a mask, seemingly at random. For my part, I didn't ask what it was, what it was supposed to do, who it was meant for...I just paid for it and went off in search of my kids.

Cosmetic Warrior Mask from LUSH

When I got home, I found out that I was the proud owner of the Cosmetic Warrior mask. It's chock-full of ingredients such as garlic, tea tree oil, honey, fresh grapes, and free range eggs, all in a kaolin clay base. Yummy. Ummmm...yeah. In case you were wondering, this is a pretty stinky mask. I would describe it as Eau de Tea Tree with a dry down of garlic. 

But we aren't really here to discuss fragrance, are we? No, we are not. We're here to discuss effectiveness. And this mask is definitely effective. First, there's the application. While it's rather stiff coming out of the pot, Cosmetic Warrior spreads fairly well (despite its chunkiness) and feels soothing when applied to the face. As it dries, it does give a tightened, drying effect...probably because it is meant for oilier skin and mine is dry (this is where I should have taken the time to tell the SA a little more about my skin). Regardless, by the time I rinsed it off (in less than the recommended 10 minutes), I had extremely tight, dry skin. It did diminish the size and appearance of my blemishes, which was wonderful. Also, I later found that if I only applied it to my problem areas rather than my entire face, I didn't have the drying problems I initially had. However, when all was said and done this was not a mask for my skin type.

So to summarize, here's what you should learn from all this. First, don't ever buy a mask without reading or asking a little about it first. Ordinarily I love LUSH masks, and I'm sure they have another mask that helps with blemishes that wouldn't have sucked the life out of my skin. Totally my fault, not the mask's. Second, if at all possible, smell masks before you purchase them. Using a mask should be a pleasant and relaxing experience, and that was a little difficult with this one due to the powerful, unpleasant fragrance. Third, don't automatically give up on a mask just because it doesn't work for your entire face. Try using it just on the rough areas. Basically, I feel this is a good mask being used by the wrong person. I think that for someone with oilier, sensitive, blemish-prone skin, this would be an absolutely outstanding mask. Unfortunately, that doesn't describe me. I do take points off for the fragrance, which I've never done before, but in this case it warrants it. Smell before you buy, people!

Grade: B-