For the last month I have been using the Bl’eau Beauty Glacial Organic Clay Mask. The brand very kindly sent it to me to try out, but as always the opinions in this post are my own. while this mask can be used daily (or as needed) I opted for a Monday, Wednesday Friday approach o application. And after a month of such wear the jar is completely empty.

I tend to apply masks a little on the heavy side, but that meant that I had fourteen solid uses out of the jar. It was a very interesting clay mask and had a couple of atypical features for a clay mask. Which we will get to below. First I want to remind everyone what this mask is supposed to accomplish.

Sourced from ancient glaciers off the coast of British Columbia, our Glacial Oceanic Clay Mask gently exfoliates, soothes redness and irritation, and infuses thirsty skin with intense hydration. Boasting more than 60 minerals, micronutrients and rare elements that are proven to detoxify and replenish, this detoxifying botanical blend promotes a softer, brighter and radiant complexion. 

*NSF certified organic: Our Glacial Oceanic Clay Mask is committed to the NSF/ANSI 305 Standard. The NSF/ANSI 305 is an American National Standard written specifically for personal care products containing organic ingredients. 

Bl’eau Beauty

To wear this mask I applied it like I would any other clay mask. I used the provided spoon (which I have to say is the perfect shape, the slight curve in the spoon/spatula made it ideal for applying the mask. It was easy to maneuver around my face and while I applied it with one side, I then turned the spoon over and smoothed it out with the other side. The only minor flaw was that the angled edges of the spoon end left lines on occasion so I would have rounded those off a little more, but that is a vey minor complaint (and as the second pass with the spoon took the lines out, not really a complaint, it was simply the only potential modification I would make otherwise fantastic application.)

But this isn’t a tool review, it is a mask one.

The mask smoothed on well and very easily. It felt cool against the skin like a clay mask would, which was expected. The scent of the mask is fresh with slight floral and earthy notes and a slight oceanic tang. I know it sounds like I am describing a perfume. It is in no way perfume-y, but it is a very lovely scent. The scent fades after application so it isn’t overwhelming. To figure out the scent I kept opening the jar and sniffing. which is why my nose ended up with more masking on the end than any other part of my face. You mostly get the scent when you first open the jar. It did cause me to look over the ingredients to figure out what it was that created the scent.

Full list of ingredients:

Sea Silt, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice*, Glycerin*, Cetearyl Alcohol, C15-19 Alkane, Chondrus Crispus Powder, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Cellulose, Coco-Glucoside, Sea Silt Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Extract, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Flower/Leaf Extract, Vaccinium Macrocarpon (Cranberry) Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Cucumis Melo (Melon) Fruit Extract, Magnolia Officinalis Bark Extract, Propanediol, Aqua, Decyl Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, Glyceryl Caprylate, Pentylene Glycol, Alcohol.

* Organic ingredients

Formulated without parabens, sulfates, PEGs & mineral oils

Bl’eau Beauty

The lavender and Jasmine are where the slight floral notes come from I believe, but they ae very light and instead of dominating, they mostly help to lighten up the earthy/sea scent. There is also the trace of Aloe which is I think what my nose picks up as the fresh scent in this mask.

Over all though it is a fresh scent that dissipates quickly and smells nice while it lasts.

As per the instructions, I let the Glacial Oceanic Clay mask sit for fifteen minutes each time before removing it. Here is where it doesn’t behave like your typical clay mask. In fifteen minutes of wear almost every clay mask I have tried has hardened to a crispy shell. It is vaguely reminiscent of that ice cream topper that went from liquid in the bottle to a hard shell when it hit the cold ice cream. (Magic Shell was the name I knew when I was a kid, not sure if they even make that any more, but I digress.)

Then to remove the clay mask you have to chip through it to reveal the skin beneath. This mask never really hardened like that. In fact after fifteen minute of sitting, I was easily able to take a damp wash cloth and wipe the mask off of my skin. I then splashed a little water on my face to make sure nothing was missed and then patted my skin dry.

Occasionally I would use the mask in the afternoon while sitting at my desk. Most often it was a post dinner relaxation. while the act of simply sitting down with a mask on a regular basis was in itself calming, I found that after removing the mask I had little desire to put anything on top of it. My skin felt moisturized, so I didn’t need any moisturizer (which can sometimes happen after an intense clay mask, at least for me) and my skin felt soft and clean so I didn’t want to put makeup on after it. I ended up finding myself using the mask after I knew that i would not have to leave the house and put makeup on. Not that I couldn’t, I just simply didn’t want to.

However this mask had an interesting effect. The morning after applying this mask, I found that several of my deeply clogged pores had moved closer to the surface. In fact in the beginning, it was quite a lot of clogged pores rising, more than I actually thought I had to be honest. For the first week the clogged pores rose at a pretty rapid rate. It was as if my skin noticed things were clearing out and just sent clogged pores racing to the exit.

What I ended up doing was employing a Saturday exfoliation session. It cleared out a lot of the rising clogged pores and kept my face relatively clear. After that initial week, it was less noticeable as most of my pores were cleared out. There were a few more deeply buried clogs that slowly moved to the surface. The mass evacuation of the first week slowed dramatically in the second.

It was interesting to watch the deeper clogs being drawn out to the surface of the skin with each application. In the second week I ended up using my exfoliator Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and that did seem to help. In the third week my skin was getting back to normal and just began looking good. It was clear and fresh and I went back to the once a week exfoliation.

This week, the final week of the trial, was preceded by me consuming much more sugar, fat and salt than I usually eat. We had company and that is just what happens. Interestingly, the reactions to my skin after a week of indulgence usually would hit me in the middle to end of the following week and I would go into the next weekend vowing to eat better and take better care of my skin.

I don’t know if because my skin had so recently been cleared out or if it was the Monday use of the Glacial Oceanic Clay Mask, but by Monday around 11 pm when I was getting ready for bed, (I used the mask around 7pm) I noticed the break outs had arrived and while they were more than I would like, they were not as bad as I feared they would be at the end of the week. In fact now, when I would expect them to arrive and be planning a weekend of skincare domination, the break outs are clearing up.

Over all this was a very interesting mask trial. I would definitely use this mask again and it has certainly made it to the top of my to be repurchased list. I love the scent and the application, I love the way it doesn’t completely dry down but most of all I love that it really does detoxify my skin. (and yes I love the look of the jewel shaped box too).

In the future, I think this is a mask I would use when I know I have some time where I won’t have to go out in public for a few days. After applying it and rinsing it off, I don’t want to wear makeup so there is that aspect. Then the following day I would let things rise, and then use the exfoliator. I would always pair this with a gentle exfoliator. How often the exfoliator should be used will depend on your skin and what the mask brings up.

If I had a major event scheduled I would make it a month of masking prior to the event, because once the skin has a chance to clear out it looks radiant. It is a hydrating, and not a drying mask and my skin quite honestly loved it. This Glacial Oceanic Clay Mask from Bl’eau Beauty gets two thumb’s way up from me and it makes me not only want to repurchase, but to try out more items from the brand.

Currently Bl’eau Beauty has an Easter Sale going on. You can get 18% off site wide with the code EASTER18 until April 14th. In addition they have 20% off their Hydration Collection and Bundles until the end of the month. And the one thing better than great skincare, is great skincare with a discount code. Happy shopping!