The Product

Avon Planet Spa Dead Sea Minerals Facial Mud Mask is normally priced at £3.50, and is available to order from the Avon brochure, your Avon rep, or online at avonshop.co.uk.


Why I Bought It

I have oily, blemish-prone skin, which needs a regular deep-cleaning treatment to draw out impurities and keep it in check. I’ve tried many different types and brands of face mask, but have yet to find one that I’d rate highly enough to keep me from looking round for a better one. So, when I saw this on offer in the Avon catalogue (BOGOF within the Planet Spa Range), I decided I may as well give it a go.


The Packaging

The product comes in a 75ml tube, which stands on it’s flip-top lid. The tube is grey, and the lid a clear plastic. On the front is the name of the product, in several languages, whilst the back has a bit of product information and directions, again in several languages. The lid fastens securely but the hinge feels rather flimsy and I’d guess it would be easily broken.


The Claims

The mask contains ‘mineral-rich Dead Sea Salt and Dead Sea Mud, known to detoxify and remove impurities to reveal fresh, new skin’. It is clinically and dermatologically tested, but does not claim to be hypoallergenic.


The Directions

The directions tell us to apply to clean skin, avoiding the eye and mouth areas, leave for 5-10 minutes, and rinse thoroughly. It is also suggested that it should be used weekly.


In Practice

The mask is a grey colour, very similar to the colour of the tube, and a fairly thick texture, though not as thick as many mud masks I’ve used. It has a fairly strong, fresh scent, but it does smell rather synthetic, and I’d guess it’s a highly perfumed product, so maybe not that suitable for sensitive skins (such as mine).

The slightly thinner texture of this mask allows it to be spread really easily, thinly and evenly over the face, something that is often impossible to achieve with the thicker mud masks. It has a really cooling feel when you apply it, and the texture is really soft, smooth, and soothing.

Whilst the mask is on my skin, it retains the same cool feeling that it had when I first applied it, but after a minute or so it does start to sting a little. It doesn’t feel bad enough for me to want to take it off, but is just a little uncomfortable. I usually leave it on for around 10 minutes, and the uncomfortable feeling doesn’t get any worse throughout. The scent is also not that noticeable while the mask is on your face. The mask doesn’t dry, so you do need to time it, rather than just waiting for it to fully dry as you can with some mud masks.

When it comes to washing the mask off, it does take a good bit of rinsing. It clings to the skin really well, especially around the nose and in the contours of your face, so you do really need to rinse it off in front of a mirror so that you can see when you’ve got it all off.

Once I wash it off, I can see immediately that I was right in thinking this may be too much for my sensitive skin. It leaves all the skin where the mask was a lovely red colour, not really bright red raw looking, but definitely noticeable. My skin does feel very clean, soft and smooth, and I’d actually say that, if you forget about the irritation it caused, this mask gives the best results of any I’ve tried so far. It deep cleans the skin (and is best used after steaming your face to open the pores as it can work deeper in your skin to draw out impurities), leaving my skin feeling cleaner and fresher, and my pores tightened and less noticeable. It also seems to leave my skin feeling less greasy.

It hasn’t really made a visible difference to my skin, but it certainly feels nicer, and it doesn’t bring me out in spots (though this could be partly down to the fact that i use mud masks regularly, and with regular use they do stop bringing you out in spots, as there are no more impurities left to bring out of your skin), like a lot of mud masks do, so it would be safe to use before a big night out or special occasion. The redness dies down after about 10 minutes, so I don’t have to walk around looking sunburnt either!

I’ve used this mask about 10 times now and still have over half the tube left, proving a little goes a long way, and making it well worth the £3.50 price tag.


The Conclusion

Overall I was fairly pleased with this product. It does the job better than a lot of more expensive masks I’ve tried in the past, and for those without sensitive skin I’d highly recommend it. For those with sensitive skin I would say use with caution, though don’t necessarily rule it out altogether. The irritation it caused me was not enough to stop me from using it, and I shall continue to use it until this tube runs out, then get back to my search for the perfect mask!