glamglow - worth it?

by no means is my skin perfect. it is probably not as bad as i think it is, as i am the type of person who tends to focus on detail. however, i am well into my twenties at this point, and i still get breakouts from stress and hormones. i love using masks, and i'd like to share my experience with the 3 glamglow masks, including which ended up being my favorite.

about a year ago (perhaps a year ago exactly), i received a sample of the glamglow masks from sephora. there were two - a white mask in a black container (the sample was in a packet), and a black mask in a white container. the black container, 'youthmud,' was for all skin types and was supposed to refine and perfect. the white container, 'supermud,' was meant to help clear acne.

i didn't notice much of an impact after the perfecting mask (which, if i recall, had a finer texture and was more exfoliating), but the acne mask intrigued me. i felt like it definitely drew a lot out of my pores and definitely softened my skin. i liked the sample enough that i considered purchasing it. i went to sephora's website, noted that the price was $69 for 1.2 ounces, and promptly closed the browser. i wanted to try the mask again, but... not for THAT price.

sephora is very generous with samples. they never give out samples of products that are so-so; they tend to give out high ticket items that really work well, so that you are impressed by them after a few uses and want to purchase them in the end. sometimes i can justify paying a little more for something that works really well, or contributes to my overall skin health... but ~$70 was pushing it. beyond pushing it, honestly. it was already pushed.

i considered trying to find a discounted one somewhere, but amazon marketplace and ebay are rife with counterfeit cosmetic items, so i quickly abandoned that idea. i picked up a sample again before my wedding in october, but just decided to wait until some opportunity to either buy a smaller amount or something came along.

in december, sephora introduced a skin cleanse set which included the glamglow supermud mask, as well as many other skin care items i wanted to try or had already tried. it retails for $45, which i COULD justify, as it came with a variety of different things. 

this is the size that is included in the set. i am quite pleased with it. as you can see, the dry mask turns a bluish gray after a few minutes on the skin. the area over the pores is still dark, almost black. the smell reminds me of licorice for some reason, and the mask has bits of something that resembles tiny sticks. it definitely feels like it works on blackheads. i would recommend using it only once or twice every week. i was a tad overzealous when i got the mask again, and combination of overusing the mask and the subzero temperatures and wind really dried my skin out.

i really do love this mask. at this point, i have tried samples all three of the glamglow masks: the supermud, youthmud, and thirstymud, which is a new hydrating glamglow treatment released earlier this year. to be honest, i was really only impressed with supermud. youthmud was absolutely nothing special. i tried thirstymud with high expectations, as i was so impressed with supermud, but it definitely fell flat. the sample provided enough for a few uses, so i tried it overnight as recommended, and once as just a mask. the results were eh. i expected a mask, but it was more of a very thick lotion. it had the texture of a thinner pudding. it actually irritated my skin a bit because it was a little dry, and didn't do anything that any other moisturizer would do. one plus was that it smelled really nice, but it reminded me of some other lotion that i had at one point.

i can't speak to the effectiveness of the glamglow eyemask, as i haven't tried them, but as someone with fair, sensitive, and oily skin- supermud is the one worth trying. perhaps if you have mature skin or skin that generally has a drier texture you'll like the other masks, but they weren't for me.