LUSH Cupcake Fresh Face Mask Review

When I discovered that LUSH made a whole line of handmade, fresh face masks, I knew that I was going to have to try them all.  I'm silly like that.  I love trying different skin care products and the Bio-Fresh Masks sounded right up my alley.  One of the first ones that I purchased and used was their Cupcake mask.  I first used it about three months ago and recently bought another pot of it.  It's just as good as I remembered!

LUSH describes Cupcake as a mask to treat oily and broken-out skin.  It contains rhassoul mud, mint oils, talc, glycerine, sandalwood oil, linseed infusion, vanilla absolute, and cocoa powder to absorb oils and cleanse skin.  Interestingly, this mask also contains cocoa butter which one would think would only exacerbate an oil problem.

Cupcake is a very thick brown mask with a chocolate-mint fragrance.  It has to be kept refrigerated which means that it can be challenging to apply this cold, extra-thick product.  Honestly, there's no way to apply just a thin layer.  Each pot of product contains enough for at least 8 applications which you will have to use up within 3 weeks because it does expire quickly.

I'd suggest applying this mask when you are home alone because, well, you'll look like you have poop smeared across your face.  My boyfriend gets a good laugh when I'm using Cupcake even though he's seen me with it on my face many times before.  The good news is that, due to the high mud, talc, and cocoa powder content, it dries very quickly.  You'll be able to rinse your face off after about 5 minutes.  Be forewarned that this mask can be extremely messy during the rinsing process.  I suggest using a wash cloth soaked in warm water to wipe it off rather than trying to splash water onto your face with your hands.  Trust me on this.  The water-splashing method requires like 2 minutes and will result in brown, muddy water on your floor, shirt, and sink.  Just wipe everything off with a wash cloth and you'll be done within 30 seconds.

The first thing you'll notice after rinsing and drying your face is that your skin feels soft and almost dry.  Cupcake does an excellent job of absorbing excess oil.  I have overdone it in the past and used this mask two days in a row which produced bonafide dry skin.  I wouldn't suggest using it any more often than every other day.  I do occasionally notice blemishes a day or two after using this mask but I attribute that to its deep-cleansing properties and don't get upset about it.

A 3.5 ounce pot of LUSH Cupcake Fresh Face Mask costs $10.50 and is available only in company shops.  LUSH.com has a complete listing of stores in the US and across the globe.  The closest shop to me is an hour south in Atlantic City, NJ.  My sister went down last week to gamble and stay overnight so I gave her a shopping list of items to pick up. 

This mask can be a real pain in the behind to use but there's no denying its effectiveness.  It absorbs excess oil, deeply cleanses, and leaves skin feeling soft and smooth.  I would recommend it to anyone who has to deal with oily or combination skin or frequent breakouts.