Jelly Mask

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 In Korea, face masks are a significant part of the normal regime that both men and women use as a part of their daily self-care routines.  As a result, many people need a good mask that they can use at their convenience.  Lush already offers a wide range of different Fresh Face Masks for their customers but the new Jelly Face Masks are markedly different products with their own advantages and characteristics. Originally, these Jelly Masks were released as a part of the 2016 Showcase in London and were not even sold to the attendees.  Each of these lovely masks is named, in some, way after one of Lush's original founders too.  (Though somehow they were distributed to a select few). Lush Korea has just released this range of Jelly Face Masks and they are already flying off the shelves!

So, let's ask the first question: what is different between a Fresh Face Mask and a Jelly Face Mask?  There is one ingredient that makes these new masks unique from everything else and it might be more simple than you think: Jelly!   Lush uses Carrageenan extract that is harvested from Irish Moss Seaweed that is farmed by co-op farmers in Ireland and Scotland.  This ingredient is the leading role in a Jelly Mask and works as both a gelling agent and preservative!

"Water Activity" is a variable that measures the amount of water pressure in a product divided by the water pressure of pure water. Wait... huh?  It is a complicated idea but essentially it means how easily microbes and bacteria can reproduce in a product. In our Jelly Masks, Carrageenan extract is an ingredient that can capture and adsorbs our loose water and as a result, reduce the "Water Activity."

Have you ever opened a brand new, still cool, Fresh face mask like  Cosmetic Catastrophe or Cupcake and saw a small puddle of water inside your black pot?  That is a high "Water Activity" and that is why the Fresh face masks have such a small shelf life.  Our new wobbly Jelly Masks friends last much longer because of that lovely, "Water Activity" reducing, carrageenan extract!

Because these masks are not soft and spreadable like the Lush's Fresh Facemasks, they need to be worked a little bit before you can use them. Unfortunately, these masks vary in thickness and sometimes are so far jelled that they are impossible to use and they become quite annoying to work into a paste. Lady Bubble and Lord Fizz have both noticed that if you shake the pot in your hand, before buying it, you can either feel a very jiggly mask inside or just a pot of stuff that doesn't really seem to bounce.  It seems that the overly jiggly ones will be a little too gelled and hard to work into a paste. Try to avoid them!

Typically, 1 pot of Jelly Face mask can be used 6-8 times and should be worked into the palm of your hand like one of Lush's Fresh Face Cleansers.  You do not need to use any extra water though. Actually, you should not use any water at all,  It can be worked with a finger until it is soft and spreadable.  After you have worked it to a creamy paste, just apply it to your face like any other mask, allow it to dry for 20 minutes and then wipe it off with a warm clean towel.

Now, let's look at the different masks individually and hear about their scents, effectiveness, and overall appeal.

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Just to Clarify: This mask has a calming pale orange color and is decorated with small drops of jellied charcoal on the top.  It smells like a tropical citrus fruit that is a little bit hard to put your finger on. Lady Bubble finds this smell a little overwhelming and nauseating though.  It does have strong scent notes of orange and papaya but this mask also includes grapefruit and bergamot oil to brighten your moon.

Working to cleanse skin and eliminate excess oils, this mask has healthy helpings of both papaya juice and kaolin. This mask also uses ground bamboo stems as an exfoliant.  They feel like a fine sand on your skin and are definitely noticeable on your skin.  This is the only Jelly Mask that includes any ingredients to that work as an exfoliant.

After using this mask both Lady Bubble and Lord Fizz noticed a reduction in sebum and oils around trouble areas on the nose and forehead.  Redness and irritation around blemishes also seem reduced in the day following the use of this mask.  This mask could benefit a person with oily and congested skin.

It should also be said that the jellied charcoal on top of the mask doesn't seem to be in large enough quantities to work as either a face cleanser or an exfoliant.  They seem to be purely cosmetic. Also, this mask blended very easily in the hand. It did not take a lot of work to reduce it to a spreadable paste.

Rating		Lady Bubble	Lord Fizz
Smell	:	2/5	4/5
Effectiveness	:	3/5	3/5
Appeal	:	4/5	4/5

Bunny Moon: This mask looks lovely.  It is a light beige color with a dusting of gold mica glitter on top.  If you are lucky enough to get a perfectly made one, you might capture the circular reflection of a beautiful golden moon on the top of your mask.  It has a sweet a floral scent that is very calming and not overpowering at all.  The scent of honey, chamomile, vanilla, and benzoin resinoid can all be noticed in the smell of this mask.

It has both kaolin and honey to work as antiseptics and cleansing ingredients.  Honey is also a potent moisturizer and works to put back some of the moisture that the kaolin might adsorb.   Bunny Moon also has rose oil which is an effective PH balancer and both chamomile and marigold infusions to work as gentle cleansers and soothe your skin.

This is a very gentle mask and would be well suited to people with sensitive complexions.  However, Lady Bubble and Lord Fizz both found very little noticeable difference in their skin after use. This is undoubtedly due to their problematic skin needing more powerful ingredients.

In the instance of this particular pot, there was a lot of jiggle and not a lot of spread.  While this mask smells great and looks beautiful it worked much more poorly than some of the other masks from this range.

Rating		Lady Bubble	Lord Fizz
Smell	:	4/5	3/5
Effectiveness	:	3/5	3/5
Appeal	:	4/5	4/5

1,000 Millihelens: This pale green mask is not going to win any beauty contests with
looks alone.  However, the smell of this mask....oh the smell!  It is made with the amazing scent combination of fresh apple juice and Matcha green tea powder.  Among our little Lush kingdom, this mask is the sovereign of smells.

Apple juice and Matcha do not only work in the smell factory though, they have two jobs.  Working to feed their families.  Apple Juice contains malic acid which works as a gentle defoliant and cleanser. Also, Green tea has an astringent in it that tones an tightens your skin.

Someone with oily skin might find more benefit from this mask than some one with dry skin.  As both green tea, apple juice and witch hazel are astringent and oil controling ingredients.  However, like most of their jelly masks, this is very mild, so it would not cause any ill effect to someone with a different skin type.

This is another mask that was hard to apply or us.  It did not make a paste very easily but it does smell lovely!

Rating		Lady Bubble	Lord Fizz
Smell	:	5/5	4/5
Effectiveness	:	4/5	4/5
Appeal	:	4/5	3/5

FOMO: Ah, the smell of calamine!  A smell that we can remember all to well. Having
being smothered in the stuff, many times, after a camping trip. It is hard to know exactly how but this mask smells almost exactly like the calamine lotion used by mothers to calm wild-borne rashes or itches.  Sadly, this pale white mask does not smell very nice to either Lord Fizz or Lady Bubble.  Conversely, it does work well.  It works very well. 

Calamine powder is made of two minerals, Zinc oxide and Ferric oxide.  It works as an astringent and antimicrobial to clean and tone your skin.  This product also includes rose oil and neroli oil.  Rose oil is known to balance skin acidity and neroli oil is proven to make you happy!

This mask seems to suit a wide range of complexions.  Both Lady Bubble and Lord Fizz found that it worked well for both of them.  However, it shoild be said that Lord Fizz had a sizeable blackhead before using this mask and it was cleared after removing this mask.  Wow.

The smell of this mask is not especially enjoyable for us but it is not a bad smell.  It works very well and had a great consistancy for us.  It went from gel to paste very easily.

Rating		Lady Bubble	Lord Fizz
Smell	:	4/5	3/5
Effectiveness	:	3/5	3/5
Appeal	:	4/5	4/5

Birth of Venus: Here it is, the obligatory "lavender product." Lush does use lavender a lot
but let's be honest, they use it well!  This sea foam green mask smells great and works well!  It has lavender oil, chamomile oil and lovely laudanum that all work together to produce a godly smell.  It is floral and strong, earthy and uplifting! 

This mask has sea water as its main active ingredient.  The salt and other minerals work well as a strong toner and a ph balancing.  Giving you firm and healthy skin.  This mask also has chamomile, lavender and rose oil to calm iritated skin.  A powerhouse trio!

 This might be one of the strongest jelly masks that Lush has made and while it is still overall, very gentle, it does seem to suit the oily complexions better that the dry.  Lady Bubble and Lord Fizz both enjoyed this mask and their skin did too but Lord Fizz seemed to find more benefit from it than his partner did.

Our Birth of Venus mask was very hard to use but we imagine it was just our specific batch!  We struggle just to get a small piece to reduce to a paste.

Rating		Lady Bubble	Lord Fizz
Smell	:	5/5	4/5
Effectiveness	:	3/5	3/5
Appeal	:	4/5	3/5

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Overall, jelly masks are a hit! They are a milder mask than their Fresh Mask counterparts but they are still effective.  They also all have that powerhouse of a skin softener carrageenan extract to leave your skin baby fresh and feeling new again! However, they do have a major drawback and that is their difficulty of use. They are not always easy to spread and sometimes to an annoying degree.  Remember to check how wobbly the jelly is before you buy!