|REVIEW| Lush Face Masks: Cosmetic Warrior Mask Review

Here comes the fresh-ingredient mask that everyone has been raving about. No matter how much I tried to resist the temptation, I've eventually given in and bought two tubs of the mask, Cosmetic Warrior and Ayesha when I travelled to Japan. If you've read my story about my journey to Japan then you know how I feel about these new masks that I just bought (and finished). But if you haven't, click here to read it!

Since these masks were made from fresh ingredients, they have short shelf lives and therefore expire quickly, typically within a month. I bought the mask for ¥1,000 (RM39.20 or US$8.95) in Tokyo and according to the Japanese tax law, because I wanted to get it tax free (price reduced to ¥926), I was not able to use it until I left Japan. That means a week went by without me using the masks. Hence when I came back to Malaysia, I have less than 2 weeks to finish up the products and I don't particularly enjoy using wash-off masks every day because I have to wash it off every time after masking. Nevertheless, I still used them diligently on a daily basis because sigh I bought them and they are not cheap for such a small tub.

Lush is famous for its natural-leaning products and how it does not test its products on animals. It also does not buy from companies that carry out, fund, or commission any animal testing. From what I found out, to ensure their products are actually usable before they are sold to the public, they test them on human volunteers instead. In case you didn't know, the brand was around since 1995. However the brand has only risen to popularity recently due to its increased presence on social medias such as Instagram and YouTube.

Don't judge me but I've once spent 15 minutes watching a YouTube video of the bath bomb dissolving in a bath tub. It's fun to watch and all the swimming colours in the bath tub is really beautiful. Imagine bathing in that. AHHHHH~ WHY DON'T I HAVE A BATH TUB? WHY?

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History aside, let's get into the review of the mask itself!

Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetic: Ayesha and Cosmetic Warrior

Today I am focusing on the Cosmetic Warrior mask because I used up this mask first and I can't wait to talk about it.

I chose this mask because the shop assistant recommended me this when I told her I have acne prone skin. She said this can not only be used as a mask but can also be used as a spot treatment whenever I have acne. I loved the idea of using it as a spot treatment because I was in need of one. However when she pointed out to me that the mask would only last until 3 January 2017, my heart plummeted. Eventually I still decided to buy it to see if it would do any difference to my skin in that short two weeks that I would be able to use it.

It comes in a little black tub with descriptions written on both the cover and the bottom. It has a screwing lid and once you open it up the smell of the mask hits you directly as there is no protectant lid that covers the mask.

What I disliked about the packaging is that it does not come with a spatula to help scoop out the mask. If there is anything that can help me get the mask out without me scraping it using my fingers and getting some mask product stuck in my nails, I'd totally welcome it. The opaque tub is also not very good for gauging how much product I have left. Due to that I was unable to estimate the amount of product for each use which ended up in me using it past its expiration date. Otherwise the packaging is definitely simple and practical.

On a side note, the containers that carry the Lush products are recyclable. I was told that if I bring five of them used Lush containers back to any Lush store, I will be able to get one free item of my choice! Isn't that lovely?

Ingredients

(Skincarisma)

The Cosmetic Warrior mask is made from Kaolin, Fresh Green Grapes (Vitis vinifera), Fresh Free Range Eggs, Honey, Cornstarch (Zea mays), Glycerine, Fresh Garlic (Allium sativum), Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia), Limonene and Fragrance.

According to the Lush website in the USA, tea tree oil and garlic clear up troubled skin by gently leading it down the path to salvation. It is perfect for people with congested skin as tea tree oil helps keep skin clean and clear. The moisturising egg whites and honey in the mask also help smooth and tighten pores to give you a fresh and clear face.

The mask is gentle yet effective because natural ingredients like cleansing garlic and honey defeat offending parties that cause acnes without irritating the skin.

I have combination skin and it did not irritate my skin when I used it. Many users who reviewed on the product also mentioned that this mask is a must have to combat acne problems despite the heavy smell that it comes with. One of them even strongly suggest to not judge it based off smell because this mask works wonders.

Let's find out shall we?

This is how the mask looks like.

Using the Cosmetic Warrior Mask

When I first opened up the mask, my first thought was: eww how come it smells so much worse than I first smelled it in the store? I totally forgot about the fact that I had to leave it on for 10-15 minutes during which the smell constantly got worse when I decided in store that the smell wouldn't bother me. It was at this point that I started questioning myself of my purchase decision. 

As it was made from fresh ingredients, the mask had to be stored in the refrigerator to keep it fresh and this is a plus point since I like my masks cold. In spite of that, I am still not a fan of the Cosmetic Warrior mask because putting it on was too much work. Due to the thick consistency, the mask did not glide on easily. But in a way that was good because it does not dirty the whole place during application and you don't necessarily have to lie down when using the mask. Hence it is a good mask to use when you still need to study or do work and you really feel like putting on a mask.

However, since it lacks a spatula, if you are thinking of using an old foundation brush to help you apply the mask, toss that idea. The mask consistency is very thick that brushes will not be able to pick up nicely. The tea tree leaves (I assume those leaf-like things are the tea tree leaves) in the mask can also get caught up between the brush hair which can make the brush real difficult to wash. I suggest you to go with your bare hands like I did. Just make sure you clean them well to avoid contaminating the whole tub. 

To use the mask, all you have to do is scoop it out, smooth it all over your skin and wait for 10-15 minutes before rinsing off with warm water. You can massage your face too as you go. Another thing I do not like about it is when I washed it off, it left these white residues everywhere on the floor and the basin. It was just creating too much trouble for me to like it because at the same time I had to wash the floor and the basin after masking.

In case you're still curious about the smell, it smelled heavily of egg and tea tree oil. I have a high tolerance to bad smell and it was really unbearable to me at first. So what I did was I tried to avoid spreading it under my nose and instead I left that area out when I applied the mask. That was not a problematic area for me so it was okay to do so. But if it is for you, and you strongly dislike the smell of egg and tea tree oil, you might want to consider again before committing to buying the mask.

Maybe because I wasn't using it enough, the mask did not show any observable good effect on my skin. It might have calmed down the red acnes a little but the effect was barely noticeable thus I am unsure if it was actually the mask working or just my inner soldiers doing their job. I needed something stronger that can help kill the bad bacteria and help me reduce, if not eliminate, the skin woes that bother me so much. Therefore, unfortunately, this does not work well for me.

If you are interested in natural masks, this is it. This is available in many of the European countries as well as America and certain Asia countries such as Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. You can check out this link to find out if it is available in your country. Malaysians however, this is not available here so you might want to grab it while you're overseas or get someone to help buy it.

¥1,000 (RM39.20 or US$8.95) is slightly pricey for a product that can only last for four weeks and is so small in size (only 60g or 2.1oz). It gave me around seven to eight uses so each use costed around RM4.50 to RM5.20 (US$1.30 to US$1.12). (Forgive me for this, I am an accounting student. *SOBS*). This in my opinion, is not worth my money since it did not do anything to improve my skin.

p.s. I don't applied it to my whole face as I mainly focused on my problematic T-zone and a small part of my affected cheeks.

But I would give credits for its handmade specialty and the use of natural ingredients to create the mask. In terms of solving my issue I would not say it was effective but I am certain this depends on skin types because many claimed that it helped them with their skin issues. I might have to be more persistent as well in using the mask to get more noticeable results. However I would not repurchase the mask because it was simply too troublesome to use and I really dislike the smell that accompanies it. 

So this is it, my review on the Lush Cosmetic Warrior Mask. After reading this, will you consider buying the mask? Or are you already using the mask? Leave a comment below to let me know about it! I'll be more than happy to learn about your experience and how you feel about the mask. If you have any questions regarding to this, feel free to ask me in the comment section below as well and I'll try my best to answer them if I could.

Thank you for reading, see you in the next post!

I bought the mask myself and the review is strictly based on my personal opinion of the mask after personally trying it out. Please make sure you consult the Lush store assistant and try out the mask in store before purchasing. Don't forget to 'smell' the products before buying as it is a must to make sure you can tolerate the smell.