I’ve tried a lot of different mud masks to get rid of blackheads but this has to be my all time favorite purifying mask. I was browsing through Sephora back in January and they had a display featuring their top four recommended facial masks. Not really being one to splurge on mud, I went to the regular Sephora branded cosmetics and bagged a cheap seven dollar DIY moisture kit. It’s a pretty nifty thing and I might do a review on it later.

But of course I got wrangled in by an associate and was promptly lead back to the expensive mask display up front. There were a few that looked interesting, one that was made with fancy rose petals and whatnot, but if I’m shelling out $40 for some freaking mud I want it to be worth my while. So I picked up a pretty box with a product called WEI Golden Root Purifying Mask.

WEI Golden Root Purifying Mud Mask

This nifty little thing comes with an applicator brush and pre-filled mud pods good for eight uses.  This product promises to rid skin of impurities, minimize pores, refine skin texture, and diminish breakouts. Honestly, I ignored all of that and the first thing that caught my eye is that it is made without any parabens, sulfates, or phthalates. Well, that and the brush…it doesn’t take much to make me happy.

Just look at that awesome brush!

I didn’t actually use this until about three weeks after I bought it and I still have five pods left, I’ve found that there is actually more mud that what you would think is in these little things and each one is good for two facials. So the kit itself is actually good for about 16 facials total, which is nice considering that this bad boy runs for $42 a pop.

The mud itself spreads nicely with the brush and has a soft, floral scent. I would not recommend using this without the brush, your fingers wouldn’t get the product on smoothly and you would end up wasting product.  It has a dark brown hue and actually feels like you’re applying a foundation and when it dries on it gets darker. My mother actually looked at me once and said it looks like I had a bad tan!

Kinda dark but at least it isn’t that funky green color.

The directions state that you should leave it on for 10 minutes before rinsing off with warm water…but I’ve definitely napped in it…every time actually. It doesn’t give off that hard, crunchy feeling that most mud masks do when completely dry but it does start to tighten a bit. And my goodness, when I rinse it off my skin feels AMAZING. The softness is surreal and it really does minimize enlarged pores. The first time I used it, I almost didn’t want to use a moisturizer afterwards because I felt like I didn’t need it. It also helped to minimize a few pimples that I had popping up on my forehead. Too bad it doesn’t help with hyper-pigmentation or else I’d say that I found the Holy Grail of facial masks.

All in all, it’s a great mask and it really does what the makers claim. If you’re going to try to get two uses out of a pod, I suggest getting a small piece of foil and just sealing the top. The mud won’t dry out and I’ve left it that way for up to 2 weeks. Too bad the price is $42 a kit or else I’d make this a staple.