
There is something utterly fabulous about reaching the end of a difficult week and taking a short break with a face mask. It isn’t a spa visit or a sea side vacation, I know. But it is a few minutes carved out at the end of the week to just sit back and breathe. Not worry about if someone is going to take the wording of your e-mail wrongly, not worried about phone calls, or even what’s for dinner, just ten to fifteen minutes of nothing.

It is amazing how recharged I feel after just the short break. I suppose I feel it more because while this week was hard, getting back to a normal schedule and catching up for the things that didn’t get done last week, for the past few weeks I haven’t really taken that time. A lot of my face masks have been worn at my desk while I sorted through e-mails or made lists of calls. A couple of times I have put on a mask with the intention of taking a break and then remembered something and spent the ten or so minutes running around the house getting it done. I attempted relaxing with a mask Monday but I just ended up falling asleep. Which was useful, but not really the same thing.

Today I made an effort. I pulled the Claydate mask from The Dew Of the Gods out of the skincare drawer, mostly because it was the last one added and thus the one on top. I decided rather than rummaging, I would start with it today.
When I visited the website to look up the mask I found this description of the $42 Claydate mask…
Omg, pink clay? This mineral-rich, luxurious mud of the gods is meticulously extracted and formulated into a creamy, rich base for the ultimate hydrating & healing mask. Claydate is infused with rosehip oil, aloe, coconut oil and hyaluronic acid to purify, heal, tone and remineralize your skin. With clean skin and a clear mind, generously lather onto your face and neck with your fingers or a dry mask brush. Wash off with warm water after 10 minutes.
Dew of the Gods

I don’t know why the word lather threw me for a bit of a loop, but I suppose it is because lather isn’t a word I associate with clay. It is definitely a clay mask, and Omg it is pink clay. I’ve actually used pink clay masks before and they have turned out well. The color of the clay isn’t that pig a deal. I’m sure there are specific minerals that make it pink and that are good for the skin. If I end up using this for a month of masking, I’ll do a deep dive into the ingredients, but for now, bring on the clay mask.
The container has an inner plastic lid, which is necessary for clay masks. The inner lid keeps it from drying out. It is clay after all. The scent is vanilla with a playdoh undertone. Which actually smells quite nice. It is a little odd but I kind of like the scent. The vanilla isn’t too sweet or heavy and it makes the playdoh scent a little less playdoh-y. I kind of dig it actually.

The pink clay is a light enough consistency that it spreads onto the skin easily, much more easily than many other clay masks. Because of this I found myself using less product than I expected. Which is not a bad thing. Once my face was covered in a coating of pink, I set the timer for 10 minutes and lit the candle by my bedside. It is in it’s last use phase. The candle is cinnamon and I am reminded that once again I forgot to look at summer scented candles. Still this is the last time it can be used and then the wick will be no more. The last of the wax will be taken out, the inside clean and I’ve decided to use this particular glass candleholder to hold makeup brushes in it’s second life. Partially because I need something to hold makeup brushes and it is the right height.
But it does mean that I really need to get in my summer candle order. I know, I have been dithering about it. Part of me wants to order the La Playa candles I ordered last year from Paddywax. They ae just the perfect summery scents. The ones I picked up were in the citrus line and really made the house feel summery fresh. The other part of me wants to try a candle subscription. I’ve been looking at the Wickbox candle subscription for a while now and I’m thinking that may be the way to go. As this is the last hurrah for my last winter candle I will need to make a decision soon. The problem is of course that I want both.

But that is a conundrum for later. Today, there is a cinnamon scented cloud for ten minutes of relaxation.
Except that this is not an entirely relaxing mask to wear. It is the kind of mask that feels a little stingy. It isn’t a bad sting, but it is definitely a prickling of the skin. This is not a face mask you can forget that you are wearing. It started stinging just after it was applied and remained stinging the entire time I wore it. Now i will say this is a first use for me of the claydate Mask, so there is the possibility that with repeated use it will end up stinging less.
But again, that it the subject for a future post.
I was a little nervous about the constant stinging and when my timer went off I fairly jumped up and headed to the bathroom. In ten minutes, the mask dried all the way down and lightened in color slightly. I was worried that such a dry down might make it difficult to chip off as clay can sometimes be a pain to remove. However I used a damp wash cloth and the mask simply wiped off. It was super easy to remove, no jackhammers required.

After patting my skin dry, I have to admit, It looked pretty good. My skin felt hydrated and soothed. And I don’t know if you can see this or not, but in the area where I tend to get clogged pores (along my lower orbital bone) I had a few clogged pores brought closer to the surface. I know dragging clogged pores up isn’t really part of this mask’s description but it was a bonus for me. They’ll be annoyingly bumpy for a few days and then they’ll clear off. As I have a quiet weekend planned I don’t really mind.
In fact I really liked this mask. The prickling made it a little less relaxing than I hoped but I have hopes that as my skin gets used to repeated use the stinging will fade. I do like this mask enough to make it the mask for a month of masking. I just need to figure out how often I can or should use it. I think three times a week should be fine, but i want to double check before I decide that it will be my Monday, Wednesday, Friday Mask for the next month. It seems like something I should find out first. In the description it had a paragraph about the mask being blessed by Buddhist monks instead of listing how often it could be used.
While fun, it is a little less helpful than I like in my description. However the fact that it is blessed by monks is familiar which means I have probably tried a product from this brand before. I just can’t remember what it was. So a files search will soon be needed. Especially if I’m using this for a month. I’ll let you know Monday what I find and if it makes the cut, for now, The Claydate mask from Dew of the Gods is a mask I enjoyed using and am looking forward to using again.