After a hectic work week, relaxing with a soothing face mask sounds like a great way to unwind, right? I certainly thought so.
I had picked up a packet of Star Dust Brightening & Hydrating Peel-Off Mask Treatment during a Dollar Tree run earlier this week, an impulse buy, figuring “what the heck, it’s a dollar”. Now, I know some people might say “What do you really expect from a Dollar Tree face mask?”, but I have found some surprisingly great beauty items at Dollar Tree and thought this would be the same. Plus, it is purple and sparkly. What more could I want?
After I washed my face last night, I tore open the little packet and started spreading the mask on my face. My first warning sign, in hindsight, should have been how thick the mask was. I have used peel-off face masks before, and they are a gel consistency. This one was very thick and difficult to spread out, like paste.
I got an upper body workout, getting the mask spread out on my unsuspecting face, then kicked back in the living room for 20 minutes to let it dry, ignoring the chuckles of my husband once he saw my star-spangled purple face. When time was up, I headed to the bathroom mirror to peel off the mask.
There was one little problem: the mask wasn’t coming off. It wasn’t budging. I tried peeling from the edge, and it clung to my skin like I welded it on. As I lifted the edge of the mask, my skin came with it.
Have you ever seen the movie Alien? Remember the face hugger creature that attached itself to its victim’s face, and no one could get it off? Yeah, that is what this face mask reminded me of. Not exactly the peaceful, spa-worthy, self-care ambience I was going for.
Well, no matter what, I needed to get this glittery purple parasite off my poor face. I tugged at the edges, winced, danced around the bathroom on my tiptoes in pain, yelping “Ooooh! Ouch! Son of a bitch!”, questioned my sanity for putting this torture device on my face in the first place, then tugged again. I repeated this delightful sequence of events as many times as it took to tear off a chunk of this dastardly face mask.
I tried splashing warm water on my face to soften the mask. Instead of rinsing off, though, it just turned to gooey purple concrete on my face, like glittery tar. I lathered up with face wash and scraped at it to get it off.
Finally, panting with near exhaustion, I had pried, scoured, or ripped every bit of that face mask off. My face, instead of brightened and hydrated, was red, raw, angry, and blazing hot from the assault it had just endured. I tenderly dabbed hydrocortisone cream on my cheeks and begged my face to forgive me.
As we were climbing into bed last night, my husband said, “You have glitter on your cheek.”
I grunted. If there was any glitter from that damn face mask left, it is now a permanent feature of my face, never to be removed by mortal hands!
It probably goes without saying, but I absolutely do not recommend this face mask. Luckily my face isn’t showing any scarring evidence of the trauma I inflicted upon it last night…except, of course, that stray piece of purple glitter!
Sweat & Sparkle 