Skin Care Reviews: First Botany Cosmeceuticals French Green Mud Mask

Author:

Cynthia is a beauty enthusiast. She loves testing cosmetics, hair and skin care products and sharing her opinions.

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One thing I have always taken pride in is my appearance. For me, my motto for years has been, "Put your best face forward." It's a mantra of sorts I use to get myself going on days when I just feel like being frumpy. With or without makeup, I still always try to have a well-kept appearance. My skin is not without issues, so I do use a wide variety of skin care items from moisturizers, peels, and masks to try and combat the buildup of oils, acne outbreaks, and even to repair or avoid sun damage. A good mask is worth its weight in gold. I'm not saying that skin-care masks should cost a fortune—many lower cost masks are wonderful and do contain optimum ingredients you would want in a facial mask.

Despite a facial mask having the ingredients listed that we are looking for in a product, at times, they just do not live up to expectations at all. This was the case with a recent facial mask I purchased to try out. I was not impressed with my First Botany Cosmeceuticals French Green Mud Mask—it did not live up to my expectations for a skin-care mask. Before I tell you about my experience with the Green Mud Mask, I want to point out that since we all have different skin types, other people may very well love this product and find it effective for the skin-care concerns they use it for. However, it did not work well for me and I wanted to share why I will not be purchasing it again.

I did have to mix up the facial mask as it had appeared to separate and have excess water on the top.
Cynthia Hoover 2018

Packaging and First Impressions

I ordered my First Botany Cosmeceuticals French Green Mud Mask online, as I do with most of my skincare and cosmetics since the only local options we have are big box retailers with very little selection choices when it comes to skin products. The very first thing I noticed was the substandard packaging. This Green Mud Mask came packaged in a thin clear plastic container. When looking for a quality skincare product, you want a dark or amber colored container that blocks out light. When light can penetrate a container, it will deteriorate the products inside, making them less viable or potent. When a product has ingredients like hyaluronic acid for example, you want to see a dark container. In many cases, a dark glass jar is the optimum packaging.

This is a very thin plastic jar. During the shipping process, the bottom had became dented, and I was thankful that it did not bust (I was honestly surprised it did not). There was a thin plastic wrap seal on the lid, and a very thin foil inner seal. I always make sure seals are intact prior to using any products, it is a good practice to get into as a broken seal can mean possible contamination for your products.

After opening the seal, I was greeted with an off-putting fragrance. Not a heavy perfume but the best way I can think to describe it is that it smells like a very cheap generic crayon. So basically, it smells like cheap wax but a little worse. But as with anything I paid for, I decided to suck it up deal with the smell and still test it out. It would not be the first time that a product that smelled slightly bad had the potential to yield good results.

Usage and Lack of Results

After opening the seal on the green mud mask, I also noted that it was a tad on the watery side, so if you decide to try it out you may want to give it a stir first. The consistency is slightly thin making application a but messier than other facial masks I have used. Not something you would expect out of a mask that costs can run $15-$30 or more either. When you pay higher prices for skincare, you expect to get a certain quality.

I followed the directions exactly to ensure that I was testing the product for proper use. First, I want to mention what results this mask should have provided based on the product description:

Anti-aging (improvements to fine lines and wrinkles)
Pores minimized
Blackheads removed
Reduction in acne scars
Gentle facial cleanser

What My Skin Was Like After Use

While I did not note any of the results you should expect with a facial mask of this type I did notice a few things:

The skin on my face was very red for using a ‘gentle’ cleanser
My skin felt oilier than it had before I used the mask
A few of my biggest acne scars seemed to be even more noticeable after rinse the mask off
A tingling feeling while the mask dried

I do have many acne scars on my face, I have been battling constant acne for a very long time and continue to do so even as an adult. What I noticed first was a few of my larger acne scars seemed to have become the focal point of my face after rinsing the mask off. I also noticed an overall redness after removing the mask. I pat dry and never rub my face so with a gentle cleanser there really should have been no redness.

This is the first mask that had my skin feeling sort of like dull pins and needles while it dried. I have experienced many sensations over the years trying out products, but this was the first time I felt like my face was falling asleep. I still left the facial mask on for the duration called for by the instructions. This is not a mask I would ever recommend using if you have plans for the day. The overall flushed red look to my face lingered for several hours. I did re-read the ingredients and did not find anything listed that I have ever had an issue or reaction with. So the full on flushed face I ended up with I have no idea the cause behind.

Will Not Purchase Again

Overall, I was not at all impressed with my First Botany Cosmeceuticals French Green Mud Mask and will not purchase the product again. I did use it several times to see if this was a facial mask that would yield slower results over time. After using the product three times a week for over a month it still did not provide any results.

In my honest opinion, this facial mask is just not worth the cost to purchase. When you buy a mid-range to high end facial mask, you want results and for me this one just did not provide anything worth of the price tag.

As I noted in the beginning not everyone’s skin reacts the same way for all skincare products, so someone else with a different skin type than mine may have luck and a totally different opinion of this product. Though based on the packaging allowing the integrity of the ingredients like hyaluronic acid to break down, I would suggest looking for a more shelf stable packaged French Green Mud mask if you are looking to add one to your skincare routine.

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.