Sparkle Eyes: Review of G9SKIN Pink Blur Hydrogel Eyepatches

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Has it really been since the middle of November that I last blogged? Shit. Well, I have the excuse that I moved (AGAIN) from Texas to southern California during that time, and then there were the holidays, but really I just hadn't been feeling as motivated and creative as I could have been. Today I actually felt like writing a blog post again, so here we are. I hope the impulse will continue!

I'm reviewing a type of product, gel eye patches soaked in essence, that is new to me, but is probably very familiar to K-beauty veterans. Patches that stick below your eyes aren't actually a new invention, and they're not strictly Asian in origin. I had these squishy patches from Klorane at least a decade ago, though they aren't drenched in liquid, and they cost more for just seven pairs than for the entire jar I'm reviewing here.

I picked these up because the change in environment between the Midwest and Texas seemed to be making the sunken area under my eyes more pronounced, and I wanted to see if I could plump it up a bit. (See my misguided attempt to use The Ordinary's serum here.) There are a number of eye masks or patches that claim to help with this sort of thing, but the G9 Skin Pink Blur Hydrogel Patches had the combined advantages of only costing about $15 for a jar of 120 (!) and being available from Amazon. (Possibly cheaper elsewhere, so shop around.)

As you can see, you get a well-sealed jar with a little spatula, and it's full of soupy essence. There are two different sizes of patches, so you can take your pick--or use the big ones below your eye and the small ones on your upper eyelid. The patches are gelatinous and very slippery, so you definitely need the spatula to scoop them out. They are sparkly and mesmerizing, but the glitter is part of the patches themselves, so it doesn't transfer to your skin (unfortunately?).

Here's how it looks on my face:

Since the patches are so wet, they tend to slide around a bit. I've had the best luck with them if I lie down on my back while they're on, but they still require occasional adjustment. (I've read some reviews of these things that claim they are very dry, which, as you can see from the photo above, isn't at all the case with my jar. Quality control issues?) Other than being slimy and wiggly and a little creepy-feeling, I find these patches comfortable. They don't irritate my skin or eyes. I leave them on for 20-30 minutes as recommended, and then remove them and pat or rub in the little bit of fluid that's left behind. I tend to add another moisturizer on top after everything has absorbed.

While these patches contain "8 kinds of berries" low on the ingredients list, which are supposed to brighten and "revitalize," the star ingredient here is really the glycerin. Glycerin is an excellent humectant, which can attract and hold moisture in the skin. That's really what you need for a plumping effect. (You can read the full list on CosDNA.)

Here's my under-eye area before and after using the patches for about 25 minutes. Apologies for the grainy photos, but this is the kind of thing I tend to do indoors at night, so I tried to at least get consistent lighting.

Before:

After:

Can you tell a difference? I think there is an ever-so-slight improvement in the lines under my eyes, which could result from the plumping effects of extra moisture. I will say that the skin does feel a bit bouncier and moister after using them, but all these effects are temporary, of course. They don't do anything for my dark circles, naturally--only concealer will help those.

Do you need these? I think if you have a moisturizer that you like using around your eyes, these patches aren't going to do a whole lot more. They are fun, though, and since they do some good and no harm, I've been enjoying them. And I have so many left that they're going to last a very, very long time.

Do you use any special products on your undereyes, or are you of the camp that anything that's good enough for the rest of your face is good enough for them too?

Gentle Clay: Review of Freeman Sparkling Pear Pore Cleansing Mask

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In my previous post I mentioned that I'm going to finish up my current clay mask before I repurchase my old favorite. The product I'm currently working on in the Freeman Feeling Beautiful Sparkling Pear Pore Cleansing mask, which is described on the tube as "whipped clay." When I googled this stuff to find the ingredients, I found that it's no longer available on ULTA or the other usual spots, though you can still find it on Amazon, and you can get the small packet version from Walmart. This is what happens when I take months to test something before reviewing it. But I took photos, so I'm going to post them, damnit! I'll try to keep it brief.

The texture of this mask is certainly lighter than most clay masks, and you can see in the photo below why. It's definitely "whipped"--there are little air bubbles throughout.

The texture makes it easy to spread, but it also means that I need to use more to get the same even layer I would from another mask. As a result, I've been going through this tube pretty quickly.

The lumps below are bubbles, not chunks.

It doesn't feel bubbly or anything on the skin (i.e. no "sparkling"). It feels like your usual oil-absorbing clay mask, except it never quite dries completely, and you don't get that tight feeling in your skin as it dries as a result. On the plus side, I also don't get the sting in my eyes as the moisture evaporates that I get from many other masks. It's also easier to rinse than a really dry clay mask.

So the application is pleasant, but because it's not as dry, I haven't found it as effective as some other options. It does absorb surface oil and make me feel less greasy for a while, but it doesn't quite suck out the dark goop from my pores the way Freeman's Avocado and Oatmeal mask does, for instance.

It's also highly fragranced. I was expecting (i.e. dreading) a fake apple/pear scent, but fortunately for me, it smells more like rose. That might be a deal breaker for some, although the fragrance rinses away with the mask.

Overall, if you can find a tube of this, you might like it if you find most oil-absorbing masks to be too aggressive. Personally, I much more highly recommend the Freeman Avocado and Oatmeal clay mask (reviewed here), for the same price, to get more effective oil absorption and temporary pore minimizing, without drying out your skin.

Have you tried any new masks lately that I should know about?

Smoothing Smoothie: Freeman Banana Oat Instant Smoothing Mask

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I had a mini tube of REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask that I used up recently and loved. My skin doesn't really respond to what is supposedly the most powerful form of AHA (alpha-hydroxy acid) found in skincare: glycolic acid. That means that all of the Paula's Choice AHA products do nothing for me. Lactic acid, on the other hand, does work for me, and so that's why I think the REN mask made my skin feel so incredibly soft and smooth after each use. Unfortunately, it costs $55 for a full size bottle (or around $30 from Amazon, so if I ever do cave and buy it, I'll get it from there).

In the meantime, I had a gift card for Bed Bath & Beyond to burn, and after some responsible purchases like a shower head and a butter dish, I saw tubes of this Freeman Banana Oat Instant Smoothing Mask on the end of an aisle marked down to $2. Lactic acid is high on the ingredients list, so I picked one up. (For more info about how AHAs work, see this useful post from Lab Muffin.)

Before using it, I searched for some reviews. I discovered that a lot of people reported serious irritation and redness after using the mask. In fact, on the back of the tube, in very fine print, there are instructions to patch test the mask before use. I rubbed a little into the inner side of my elbow and left it over night. I didn't have any reaction to it, so I felt comfortable using it on my face the next day. I would highly recommend testing any product with high levels of chemical exfoliants or other unfamiliar ingredients before use, however. You never know what your skin might hate.

This mask comes in a fairly thick gel format, and it has an artificial banana fragrance. Unlike the obnoxious fake melon smell of Freeman's sleeping mask, however, this was mild enough that it didn't bother me, despite the fact that I usually dislike fake banana. The mask is easy to spread, and I haven't experienced any irritation when I use it. It does, however, make my eyes water, which is something that I have noticed on occasion with other masks. I think that as they dry and some of the ingredients evaporate, those sort-of fumes will sting my eyes a bit. But I am prone to watery eyes in general.

The instructions say to leave it on for "up to 7 minutes," and you probably shouldn't go any longer, since it's pretty potent. After rinsing it off and applying moisturizer, as instructed, my skin feels extra soft and smooth, and it stays that way for a couple of days. That lactic acid really does its thing. I've also used this mask a couple of days after my 1% retinol treatment, when my skin is extra flaky, and it does an excellent job of exfoliating away the flakes.

While the results from this Freeman mask aren't quite as dramatic as with the REN, I'm quite satisfied with it. It usually costs a little over $4, so getting something almost as good as that for less than a tenth of the price is pretty fucking fantastic in my book. I'll add the Banana Oat Instant Smoothing Mask to my list of other favorite Freeman masks, along with the Avocado and Oatmeal Clay Mask and the Charcoal and Black Sugar Polishing Mask.

Do you use any AHA products? What else is good out there?

Do I Need This? Overnight Masks or Sleeping Packs

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Welcome to the latest installment of my Do I Need This? series. In these posts, I offer my experience and opinion about whether or not I think a product or technique is worth it. Obviously, you don't really need ANY beauty products, so the answer to the question is always going to be no, to some extent. But is it going to change your life (or face)? Is it going to make things easier? Are you going to notice any difference at all? That's what I'm getting at. You may disagree with my verdict, because we all have different bodies/faces/brains/desires, but I'll try to offer a starting point, at least.

Masks are having a moment. There are masks out there that claim to do just about anything you could possibly want. They come in creams and clays and sheets and gels and who knows what else. There are even masks for your hair and lips and various other body parts. One of the types of masks that brands are really pumping out right now is the overnight mask, also called a sleeping mask or sleeping pack--the latter especially from Asian skincare brands.

Do you need a sleeping mask?

Short answer: No. There are some nice ones out there, but you probably already have products that you can use in a similar way.

My cheap favorites: the best skincare for $10 or less

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Here is the long awaited (by me) sequel to my cheap makeup post: skincare. As with the makeup, these are all things I've tried and repurchased because I liked them so much. Trusty and reliable! There are other good cheap options out there, of course, but I'm not going to vouch for anything I haven't used. Please leave your suggestions in the comments, though.

Some categories, again, are missing, because I don't use that type of product (e.g. toner), or I don't have a current favorite, or my favorite is a little more expensive (e.g. targeted products like retinol, or exfoliants, or my favorite sunscreen). And because I like to experiment with new things, I don't have all of these products on hand to photograph at the moment. You should keep in mind that I have combination-oily skin that is not particularly sensitive, and that I don't usually like fragrance in products I put on my face. If you have a different skin type, your results may vary (though you may find some of these things effective anyway).

That's enough preamble and disclaimer. Here's the list:

Favorite Cleanser: I'm using some Paula's Choice face wash at the moment, but my favorites are from Neutrogena.  I especially like the Redness Soothing Gel Cleanser and the Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser. They do a great job of removing oil and makeup without drying out my skin. The latter comes in a really big bottle for $8-10, so it's an especially good value.

Favorite Facial Wipes: I try not to use these too often because of the waste, but a few times a month when I'm too tired to wash my face properly or when I'm traveling, they are handy. I've tried a lot of brands, and my favorite are the Simple Cleansing Wipes. They are unscented and they remove makeup effectively without causing dryness. They also have a very soft but durable texture (make sure you get the regular ones, not the exfoliating variety). The cheapest place to get them online is in a pack of two (50 wipes total) from Amazon for about $7 (and right now there is a $1 off coupon).

Favorite Makeup Remover: I don't use actual makeup remover on my eyes most of the time (only when I end up with a free sample somehow). Although dual phase formulas can be very effective, I don't like the oily residue they leave behind. It tends to cause milia around my eyes even if I wash it off. Instead, I wash my face first, and then I spread a small amount of Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion (about $10) on my upper and lower lids and wipe it off with a dry tissue or cloth. It removes all the makeup residue and--bonus--my eye area is left moisturized. If I have a lot of waterproof mascara caked on my lashes, the lotion doesn't remove it instantly, though it does clean up any that has transferred to my skin. And I have a huge bottle of decent, gentle moisturizer that I can use for whatever other purposes I want. (You can also use moisturizer like this as a cleanser in a pinch--or if you find most cleansers drying. Apply it to your dry skin and massage lightly, splash on water and massage some more, and rinse.)

Favorite Daytime Moisturizer with Sunscreen: This isn't my sunscreen. As I said above, the everyday facial sunscreen I use costs more than $15 (though a bottle lasts me a year). But I work from home, and some days I don't get out of the house until after dark. On those days, I like to just use SPF in moisturizer for a little protection and one less step in the morning. I'm a big fan of the Simple Protecting Light Moisturizer SPF 15. I tried to go without it when I finished my last bottle, but I really missed it, so this is my second. As the name suggests, it's not fancy, but it does a great job of moisturizing and absorbs quickly. It doesn't burn around my eyes like lotions with higher (chemical) SPFs tend to do. This is the theme here: it does what it's supposed to do very well and doesn't do anything I don't like. It's cheapest on Amazon, where it's around $8 (I've seen it in stores for up to $14).

Favorite Acne Spot Treatment: Lots of people like benzoyl peroxide for acne, but I tried to get it to work for years and it never did anything for me other than bleach my sheets and towels. I've found tea tree oil more effective. I dip a q-tip in it and dab it on individual zits. With oils like this, there's a lot of variation in strength (even though they all say "100%" on the bottle, they are actually diluted), so look for good reviews. I've been using the Mason Natural Tea Tree Oil ($8) for a few years with good results.

Favorite Facial Oil/Anti-Aging Treatment: I love rosehip oil. It does all sorts of wonderful things for your skin, no matter what skin type you have. (Read more about it from Lab Muffin.) The only downside for me is that I have to avoid my eye area with it, or at least use it sparingly there, because my eyes don't like oils and again with the fucking milia. You also have to read reviews of this stuff, because the quality and potency will vary between brands. And make sure it doesn't smell like roses--it's not made from rose petals. In fact, it usually smells a bit like cooking oil. I've had good luck with the Aura Cacia Rosehip Oil ($7) and Life-Flo Rosehip Seed Oil ($6). You only need 2-3 drops for your entire face, so a bottle lasts a long time, at least until it spoils.

Favorite Mask: Hands down, Freeman Avocado and Oatmeal Clay Mask. Reviewed here. It really absorbs oil and helps to clear pores without drying out my skin. Love it, and it's $4 for a huge tube that never ends. I've tried more expensive clay masks. This is better.

Favorite Lip Balm: Palmer's Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick ($2-4). It looks like a glue stick, smells subtly like white chocolate, and keeps my lips super soft all winter. My favorite, forever. This enormous tube lasts a long time, as you can tell from my beat-up photo. Do not make the mistake of buying the teeny Palmer's lip balm with the sunscreen in it! That one is bitter and a fraction of the size for the same price. If you can't find the giant Swivel Stick with the other lip balms, look next to the Palmer products in the lotion section (or at Shopper's Drug Mart in Canada, sometimes it's with "ethnic hair care"). Or get it from drugstore.com for less than $3.

Favorite Hand Cream: I love, love, love Caldrea Hand Balm in the Ginger Pomelo scent. It's way better than the more expensive hand creams I've tried (ahem, L'Occitane), though it might be a tad splurgy at $10 a tube. But it smells amazing, and moisturizes extremely well while still absorbing quickly and not being greasy.

Favorite Foot Cream: O'Keeffe's Foot Cream ($5). Reviewed here. Put a very small amount on your feet before bed and they will be softened up significantly by morning. In a few days of using it, all the rough skin will be gone. It's really good. I don't recommend using it on hot and sweaty nights, because it has a slightly greasy feeling, and I think that's gross when I'm already sticky.

These are the best of the (cheap) best in my opinion, but I'd love to hear about any other affordable skin care you'd recommend--especially if you have a different skin type, since I can't really evaluate things that don't suit mine.

(Note: The title originally said "under $15," because when I started writing, I thought that the Simple moisturizer was over $10. But everything on the list can actually be found--in the U.S.--$10 or less. Excellent!)

Weird Shit I've Bought

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I'm the kind of person who always wants to try new things. I have a hard time ordering the same meal when I go back to a restaurant, even if I know it's the best. (The exception is pizza margherita at my local Neapolitan-style pizza place, because why bother with anything else?) Sometimes this leads to fantastic new discoveries, and sometimes it leads to my trying to choke down mango-flavored Pepsi on a second date while a guy side-eyes me. Pepsi? Good. Mango? Good! Mango-flavored Pepsi? Very bad. The two of us met up with a friend later that day, and when I told her about it, she said, "Yeah, that sounds like the kind of thing you would buy." But I didn't scare the dude off, at least. We're still together 3 years later.

When it comes to buying what I will broadly label "personal care products," I do tend to be more systematic and cautious. I research things and read reviews; I look for sales; and I try to disregard fishy sounding marketing bullshit. But sometimes I betray my own principles and buy some crap in the hopes that it will make my life better, even when part of me suspects it's nonsense. It's rare, but it happens.

The things on this list aren't really super weird and quirky, but they are certainly questionable, because I bought them with some uncharacteristic optimism, ignoring the fact that they would probably do nothing.

Freeman Facial Revealing Peel Off Mask (Pomegranate)

I got a sample of a different peel off mask in an Ipsy bag once, and it was so fucking satisfying to use, that I bought this one too. But I used the sample half a dozen times before it ran out, so I've only just got to this one. I think this enormous tube will last a decade.

Also: I'm pretty sure these masks don't actually do much for your skin. (More on that here.) It provides the same enjoyment that you got from peeling glue off of your hands in elementary school. That's because it is, literally, glue - or at least a non-toxic, water-soluble polymer that is sometimes used as an adhesive (polyvinyl alcohol/PVA). This mask also contains some good things like humectants and anti-oxidants, but I don't know how much they actually absorb into the skin during the short period of time you use it. What it's really supposed to do is exfoliate a bit by taking some skin and debris with it when you peel it off. But I have used peel off masks over flaky skin and they don't tend to pick up much. It's almost purely recreational. This one was only $4-5, so I don't really regret paying that much for what will obviously be years of peely fun.

Badger Balm: Stress Soother and Focus Balm

I bought these aromatherapy balms when I was writing my dissertation, even though I don't believe in aromatherapy. Grad school will drive you to all sorts of crazy things. It could have been worse than aromatherapy, I guess. I suppose I do believe to the extent that I think your mind can form strong associations with certain scents, so I thought at least I might be able to train myself to associate the Focus Balm with getting shit done and the Stress Soother with relaxing. I'm not sure how successful I was. I still open up the Focus Balm tin when I sit down at my desk at home, and I put some Stress Soother on my wrists and in my cleavage when I do yoga. They both smell really lovely.

You're supposed to rub them on your temples, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me. I assume it's the massaging of your temples that relaxes you more than anything else. Obviously the balm isn't absorbing directly into your stressed or unfocused brain. That would not be good. When I first got these, I made the terrible mistake of applying the Stress Soother directly below my nose. I thought that would be efficient - get the smell right in there. It burned like a motherfucker on the outside of my nostrils for an hour. DO NOT DO THAT.

The tins are a little inconvenient because, if you apply with your fingers, you'll need to wash your hands afterwards lest you touch your eye or something by mistake. These days they come in a more useful stick format, which I wish I had. So while I don't believe in aromatherapy, per se, these are wonderful, sort of greasy, solid perfumes. I enjoy them, even if they don't perform any magic.

Yoga Toes

If I remember correctly, I saw these recommended in a comment thread on Jezebel, which is not my usual source for reliable information. I don't even remember what the person said these were supposed to do for me, but I got it in my head that I needed them. They're squishy silicone things that you put between your toes to stretch your feet. They are supposed to help with foot problems, like hammer toes (which I don't suffer from), and to help your posture and balance and make your feet and legs and back feel better and cause you to spontaneously develop the ability to teleport. Well, maybe not the last one. I have had them for 6 months now, but I probably haven't used them frequently enough to really notice a difference. I should use them right now, in fact . . . okay, there, I'm using them while I type out the rest of this thing. I don't know. This may have been a stupid purchase. But if I learn how to teleport, I'll report back. My feet do feel kind of nice when I take them off.

Pure silk pillow case

I don't have a photo of this, but it looks like a pillowcase. Sleeping on a silk pillowcase is supposed to completely stop you from aging and give you Disney princess hair, it seems. But the evidence to support its actually being effective for skincare is slim. I think that it maybe prevents creases on my face a bit, because when I roll over or adjust my position the skin on my face doesn't get scrunched up against the pillowcase too much. I don't know if that has any actual effects on wrinkle prevention. It's probably a little more useful for preventing tangled hair or frizz than for doing anything to the skin, because it's so smooth. I've heard some people complain that silk pillowcases are too slippery and their heads slide right off of them, but I've never had that problem.

I'm not going to tell you to buy a $20 pillowcase like I did, because that's obviously ridiculous. It won't turn you into a princess. It may, however, make you feel a little bit like a princess, especially if you are a front or side sleeper, because it's so smooth on your face. Okay, it feels fucking amazing and I love it, but still. It's a $20 pillowcase. Not my wisest investment.

(Maybe get a silk shirt from a secondhand shop and sew your own?)

Aqua Notes Waterproof Notepad

This one is a little bit different in that it seemed like a genius purchase at the time, but in practice it hasn't worked out quite so well. First of all, it was hard to get the suction cups to stick to my shower wall, which is in an apartment where the tiles have been painted over multiple times and are pretty rough. The pad eventually stayed in place, but the pencil never did. Second, if you rub your hand against the sheet when it's wet, the writing will smear off. So you have to be careful.

Most annoying, but in retrospect least surprising, is that the humidity in my bathroom caused the pencil to split so that it can't be sharpened. Not surprising, because it's a wooden pencil, and changes in humidity cause wood to expand and contract like crazy. This set really should come with a pencil encased in plastic, like some eyeliners. I mean, I can always find another pencil for cheap - it's not a special one - but chances are it will keep happening.

The notepad itself is certainly useful for writing down all those ideas that only come to you in the shower and that you forget as soon as you towel off. But it's not perfect.

So that's about it. All of the other purchases I've ever made in my entire life have been carefully thought out and not at all regrettable. Yep.  How about you?

Slippery and Scary: Review of Freeman paper masks

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I've never been particularly excited about sheet masks, because I don't really get the point. Why not just apply the serum/moisturizer directly to my face? I guess the idea is that it won't dry up/absorb as quickly, so you can let it sit in its wet state on your skin longer, in order to . . . do something. Absorb more, I guess? But I got three of Freeman's paper masks a while back in an Ipsy bag, and I thought I'd review them here, because (1) I love Freeman's Avocado and Oatmeal Clay Mask, and (2) they're pretty damned cheap at $2 a piece.

The three I got were the Feeling Beautiful Rose Brightening Facial Paper Mask, the Feeling Beautiful Blue Agave Hydrating Facial Paper Mask, and the Feeling Beautiful Star Fruit Purifying Facial Paper Mask. I tested them, in that order, over the course of several weeks.

The ingredients in these masks are actually not bad. The Rose mask has niacinamide as the second ingredient in the list, after water, and also contains AHAs. The Star Fruit mask also contains lots of niacinamide, but it has a significant amount of witch hazel as well, which is not great. The Blue Agave one has glycerin, aloe, allantoin, and hyaluronic acid, which are all good for moisturizing. I just wish that Freeman was selling these things as little bottles of serum instead, because the masks are really fucking annoying to use. They do have one really valuable function, however: terrifying any people you happen to live with.

No review of a sheet mask is complete without a horrific photo.

The photo above is of the Rose mask, which is the first one I tried. I had the same problems with all three masks, which are the identical size and shape: the eye holes were way too fucking close together. I don't actually have a gigantic face and my eyes are, in fact, a bit more close-set than average (judging from my glasses-shopping experiences). The nose and mouth hole placements are fine, as is the overall width of the mask, so I think it's just poorly designed. The eye holes should be wider. It seems like it was designed for a cartoon. Putting one of these masks on my face seriously impedes my range of vision, as well as locating the mask's fluid uncomfortably close to my eyes. You can actually see in the photo about that my eyes are tearing up a little. That might just have been from the evaporation of the stuff on the mask, but it probably would have been less of an issue if the mask wasn't partially covering them. My eyes were definitely stinging. I also a little worried that the liquid would run into my eyes, though I don't think that actually happened.

And that brings us to the second problem with the masks: they're way too fucking wet. I recommend opening these over a sink, because they will drip all over the damn place. The slippery wetness also makes them very difficult to unfold and place properly on your face. They feel extremely soppy and gross once you've got them on. I couldn't really keep my face properly upright without the mask slipping, but I also didn't want to lie down in case that caused some of the goo to drip into my eyes. The slimy feeling of these masks sliding around my face was too much for me, I'm afraid, and so I only kept the first two on for 3-5 minutes total, instead of the recommended 5-15. (I also find wearing damp clothing horribly uncomfortable, so this might just be something I am particularly sensitive to - but not all sheet masks are this soggy.) After removing the mask, you're supposed to rub the remaining liquid into your skin and not rinse it off.

Commenter boopmynose gives a shout-out to Freeman's Goji Berry Hydrating Mask

If you have dry skin, there's another cheap mask to try! Sounds great. See the comment here.

Wait, a mask that actually does something for oily skin and blackheads? Review of Freeman Feeling Beautiful Avocado and Oatmeal Facial Clay Mask

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So, I really just bought this shit on a whim. I was trying to pick out enough stuff to get free shipping on an Ulta order when I was buying some gifts for my sister and mother. I figured I'd compare it to Queen Helen's Mint Julep mask, another cheap clay mask, which I actually really don't like.

As you may know, the Mint Julep mask is a sort of cheap cult favorite. I was really disappointed with it, though. First of all, the mint is pointless. It's just there to make your skin tingle, so that you think you can "feel it working", when actually it doesn't do you any good. It just causes low-grade irritation (or burning, if you're sensitive), which damages the skin. Beyond that annoyance, it didn't do anything for me. My skin didn't look or feel any better after I used it. It just felt tight and dry and needed moisturizing.