My Dirty Secret.. (Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask)

Member Name: BestMum

Product:	Boots Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask
Date:	03/10/02 (1216 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Leaves skin feeling soft and smooth, Good value for money as only a little is required for each application

Disadvantages: Quite watery, each time you open the tube you're greeted with a big blob of green gunk on the carpet, Will scare children and pets if you don't give prior warning

Well knock me down with a feather if I didn't stumble on a bit of a bargain a couple of weeks ago. Venturing into my local Boots to see if there was anything worthy of living on my very exclusive B&Q bathroom shelf, a nice surprise greeted me when I'd finally made my choices and made my way to the checkout.

"Yer get £5 off ov vis stuff if yer buy more than £15 on uver stuff." Which quickly translated from teenage blurb, means that Boots were offering a £5 voucher against a selection of bodycare brands, when you spent more than £15 in the shop. What a cracking idea! I went back three more times that week!

Anyway, not particularly wanting to spend any extra, I went to look at the Boots Botanics range of products as they were relatively inexpensive compared to the likes of Roc and Olay, which were the other choices. And a cracking range they had too. I struggle to find time to pamper myself with two babies to look after - a demanding toddler and a big baby of a husband! So this gave me the perfect excuse for a little alone-time. Now I just had the dilemma of choosing from so many possibilities.

There were quite a few under £5 but for my first freebie, I chose Botanics Conditioning Clay Mask. At £4.19 for 120g it was easily within the voucher value. Feeling pleased with myself, I rushed home eager to get a little mucky - which for a change would not involve dirty nappies, finger paints and any food I put in front of my darling daughter.

*****The Product*****

A rare, mineral-rich, electrically charged oceanic clay; this conditioning clay mask contains a negative electrical charge, which acts like a magnet, helping to draw deep-rooted impurities out of the skin without drying. It has hydrating, oil absorbing properties too, to leave the skin soft, smooth and refreshed.

*****How will I recognise it?*****

It comes in a transparent 'natural' looking tube (the picture at the to
p of the screen is of the old-style packaging). And being transparent, you can see that the product itself is a rather attractive dark green muddy colour. Lovely. Quite handily, it sticks out like a sore thumb next to the white moisturisers too.

*****Ingredients*****

Oceanic Clay
Sodium
Hydroxymethylglycinate (spell check anyone??)

Dermatologically tested. Made in Canada.

*****How do I use it?*****

After cleaning away all traces of make-up, apply the clay evenly over the face area, avoiding eyes and mouth, as the skin is a little too sensitive in those areas. Then allow to dry for 20-25 minutes.

The recommendations for frequency of use are:

Dry Skin: every 10-14 days
Normal Skin: 1-2 times a week
Oily Skin: Up to 3 times a week

*****Step into my bathroom.....*****

The eager beaver that I was, and Rachel being fast asleep, I couldn't wait to try out my new product so off came the cap, and to my dismay my lovely clean trousers were covered in a mucky coloured watery excess from the tube. Thankfully a few dabs with a sponge later, my trousers were as good as new.

*Tip: Keep the tube upright as you unscrew the lid to avoid any spills. The same thing happens each time I take the lid off; you could try holding it over the sink as you open it.

So, I squeeze the tube gently and more watery excess emerges first which I needed to tip away and then came the product itself, in all its mucky glory. It had a very raw, chalky feel to it, not at all what I was expecting. I was waiting for a thick sticky goo to emerge from the tube, but when I began to apply this to my face I found that....yes, it was quite watery! Not at all what I was expecting.

Because it didn't have the texture of a cream, it was quite hard to apply, as it didn't really rub-in very well. So I just slapped it on in the hope I was doing it right.

Without a
ny instructions on how much of the product you should use per application (ie apply liberally, or apply sparingly), I just covered my face in a fairly transparent film and hoped that would be enough. Once it begins to dry it's quite hard to add more.

Speaking of drying, it begins to dry very quickly - within a minute of looking like something from the X-Files I had turned a much lighter and less offensive shade of green, and as a result was finding it hard to make any facial expressions as it held my skin firmly in place.

And so, product in place, I went in search of the computer for 25 minutes worth of reading and rating reviews on DooYoo, trying to bypass any that were likely to make me laugh, for fear of causing myself permanent injury.

Ten minutes into the treatment, and I could hear Rachel waking. I went into her room to check on her, only to frighten the life out of the poor little girl and she screamed and screamed, having been confronted with a strange green-faced monster when she opened her eyes. When I eventually managed to calm her down, it was time to remove the tight film that was on my face.

*Tip: Warn all family members before application. Send children to the grandparents and lock pets safely away!

Using a little arm water I rinsed my face and found that I only needed to do this once to remove the entire product, which made a nice change, and also meant that my lovely white towel wouldn?t have to go straight into the wash.

So, studying the results afterwards, and I was pleased to find that my face looked and felt clear of grease and grime and was glowing, silky and soft. It felt tight and toned too, like it had had a little half hour workout; I believe that's because a clay mask tightens pores. My skin is usually a little greasy and this removed all traces, and the results lasted throughout the day. It also left me with a good clean base for applying moisturiser and make-up, and

it lessened the need for powder.

*****A couple of handy tips*****

After using a deep cleansing mask of any kind you should really use a moisturiser after to counteract the drying effects of the mask.

If you suffer from really dry skin, a drying clay-based mask probably isn't for you. You may find you achieve better results with a moisturising mask.

Make sure you marry a man who will worship you for the goddess you are, cook for you, do all housework (any housework will do), and spend a fortune on weekend pampering breaks so you don't have to spend a fortune on products like this one; I went wrong somewhere - oops.....did I say that out loud?!

*****Conclusion*****

So, all in all, I'm thrilled with my little treasure in a tube. You don't need to use very much, so it's good value for money. And the results are just super. After the second application of the week I developed a few spots but I suppose that's just evidence it's working. Gosh I didn't realise I was so dirty!

Speaking of value for money, it's on a 'three for two' offer at the Boots website at the moment (3/10/2002), woo...hoo.

Now, where does hubby keep his credit card..

Boots: www.wellbeing.com


Thanks for reading! :o)

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