Review: Skinfood Bitter Green Clay Soothing Mask

Hello Budget Beauty Stash readers! After a long hiatus, I'm back hoping to bring more helpful reviews for you to read while you stand in an Ulta trying to decide on what to get... that's not just me right?

For my return, I'm going to start with reviewing one of my current favorite masks- Skinfood Bitter Green Clay Soothing Mask. My skin tend to be combo/oily so clay masks have always been a good refresh for it. Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask is a great go to for me currently but I'm always on the hunt for new and improved masks. The description from Ulta for the Skinfood mask reads:

SKINFOOD'S Bitter Green Clay Soothing Mask is a soothing and hydrating clay mask that absorbs oil and calms skin irritation, promoting pure, healthy skin. A hypoallergenic anti-dust and detoxifying cleansing line featuring Bitter Green-5 complex that helps discharge toxins -Ulta Website

Skinfood Bitter Green Clay Soothing Mask

It reads like a lot of clay masks with buzzwords like detox, calming, oil absorbing. I've use Skinfood products before and have had good experience (my current favorite is the Egg white Pore Foam) so I was eager to try it...



If you're familiar with standard clay masks like the Origins one, it typically goes on smooth and dries down to a hard-ish layer before washing it off. The Skinfood Bitter Green mask has a very mousse-y consistency- not running at all. 

Mousse-y consistency

It's nice because there's no concerns of dripping down your face and it gives you the ability to layer as thick or thin as you need like BUT I have gotten ambitious and scooped too much onto my Elf Pore Refining Mask Tool  and dropped some precious product so... be careful. It smells AMAZING-like every spa I've been to.

First application

My favorite part of this mask is actually the small physical exfoliants in the mask. They don't feel like beads- more like small pieces of Loofah...? I'm not a big fan of physical exfoliants since my skin is on the sensitive side but the mask was not irritating and very gentle- I like that I could get a little scrub action in when I'm washing off the mask. Because there's an exfoliant in it I would not use this more than once a week- as with most clay masks since they tend to dry skin out.

I like to leave it on for about 15 mins (the max recommended time according to Ulta's website) which allows it to dry most of the way down. I felt that my skin was a little taunt but not uncomfortable.

After 15 mins of drying time

Rinse with warm water and apply moisturizer after- on days when I have more time aka #selfcaresundays I like to follow with a moisturizing mask and then call it a day but that's an extra luxury that I like to treat myself to, not a necessity. 

Key takeaways: The mask is a mousse-y consistency with a soothing smell and is easily layered on your skin. There IS a physical exfoliant in it, which I thought was very gentle and non-irritating. However if you are sensitive to physical exfoliants, make sure to keep your receipt. 

Overall, I will absolutely repurchase this mask once I run out. My skin always feels calm and clear after using it and the the smell is amazing. This mask retails for $21 at Ulta and you can find it on Skinfood's official site.