So I've had both of these masks for a while now and thought it was about time I shared my opinions with you guys on both, and put them up against each other just for the heck of it.

First up is AVON's Clearskin Pore Penetrating Black Mineral Mask. This caught my attention in an AVON book because I had been looking to try Origins's Clear Improvement Charcoal Mask for a while, but didn't want to drop the $24 for it. Upon first impressions, the packaging design isn't my favorite. I know, I know, it's not about the packaging but rather the product inside, but being an advertising major it's part of my job to critique packaging (or so I like to think). Anyway, on to the mask. The active ingredient in it is salicylic acid, and a very small concentration of it at only 0.5%. I have found that other treatments have worked better for my skin as far as skin clearing so I was a little skeptical of how it would work. After a few uses, I noticed that it was helping the few spots I had — they were getting smaller and looked less red and irritated. It also helped to make my pores shrink which is always a huge plus for me. One tip I have about using this: do not leave it on for longer than it says. The first time I used this I lost track of time and left it on for longer than the recommended 15 minutes and my skin was red and irritated. It was all clear by the next morning but slightly terrifying to remove a mask to find your skin bright red. Eek. My favorite feature of this mask was that it applies as a dark grey color, but dries as a light grey so you can see when all sections of your face are dry, no guess work here. This mask retails for $6.99 on AVON's website.

The other mask I've been rotating in my routine is Formula 10.0.6's Pores Be Pure Skin-Clarifying Mud Mask with Strawberry and Yarrow. This mask claims on it's front packaging: "Berry boosters go straight to work on clogged pores, strawberry and rosemary eliminate impurities, while yarrow clarifies skin for instant complexion perfection." I'll admit I adored this mask at first. Then during a late night skin care evaluation inspired by Caroline Herrons from BeautyMouth.com, I discovered that this little gem contains mineral oil (cue cries and a screech of horror). Now, I haven't always been super strict about my skin care and the ingredients, but I have started caring a bit more. That being said, I do still use this, just not nearly as often as I did when I first purchased it. The packaging of this mask is A+, I don't know if it's just because it's pink or I really enjoy the font choice or both. In either case, it's great. As far as the actual mask goes, I didn't notice huge differences in my skin on weeks when I did or didn't use it, though it does smell really nice. This mask retails for $5.99 at Ulta.

Now for the showdown. If I had to choose one mask to repurchase, it would be the AVON mask without a doubt, even though it's more expensive for less product, not using mineral oil on my skin is a huge thing to me. That was a big factor for me, as well as I felt that my skin reacted better to the AVON formulation over Formula 10.0.6's.

xx
Tessa