L'Oreal Pure Clay facial masks | My Thoughts

Hi my Loves,

I hope that you all had an amazing weekend! Usually either every Sunday night or Monday night I like to do a little pamper session and maybe scrub off tan or apply some, use a nice body butter and do a face mask; and this is actually what prompted me to do this post!

For the past two months I have been trying out the L'Oreal clay masks - I have the Pure Clay Detox mask and the Pure Clay Glow mask. The Pure Clay Purity mask didn't appeal to me as it is aimed towards people with oily skin which is an issue I do not suffer from - I'm quite the opposite to this!

First off lets go through what each mask claims to do and I'll discuss my thoughts. These masks are aimed at the whole multi masking concept by the way, hence why if you've seen the ads you'll of seen some of the models with one or two on their faces.

On the L'Oreal website the description says:

Detox Mask: 

"Enriched with Black Charcoal which acts like a magnet to draw out impurities.

The creamy texture of this deep cleansing face mask detoxifies the skin’s surface and works deep into the pores, leaving the skin looking clarified and beautified."

Glow Mask:

 "Enriched with Red Algae extract, known for its brightening properties.

Finely milled apricot seeds gently exfoliate dull, uneven skin to reveal your natural glow.

It has a beaded, creamy texture which illuminates tone by exfoliating your skin without drying it out."

I just want to state I am a huge L'Oreal fan; L'Oreal is one of my favourite drugstore brands - I think they are leaps and bounds ahead of other brands you can get in Boots or Superdrug; however these masks just didn't do it for me unfortunately and I'm so sad to say this because I had such high hopes!

Something I feel drugstores/or chemists etc. brands lack is good face masks so when I heard about L'Oreal releasing masks, I basically rushed to get them. I got them on offer so I'm pretty sure I paid maybe €7 or €8 for each one but they usually retail at about €11.50.

Sadly though I am not a fan. The Detox one seemed very promising - I was hoping for a dupe of the GLAMGLOW super mud - but no.

(The thing I want to mention about detoxifying clay masks; GLAMGLOW supermud included is that they actually are meant to make your skin worse before it gets better. However I don't think companies divulge this correctly - in order to clarify your skin, they work by bringing impurities to the surface - so please do not use a detox mask before the weekend as you will most likely have some spots appear from nowhere. If you are very strict and use these types of masks ritually they work as there should eventually be nothing to bring to the surface but as a once off these are not recommended as a Friday night weekend prep mask.)

To start, The first two times I used it I didn't notice anything super positive or negative - my skin felt and looked clean, but a good cleanser can do the same. However, after the third time using it,this specific mask made my skin so bad. Bad like I've not seen it so bad since I was in school. I broke out in tiny little spots all over my forehead, t-zone and around my mouth - my skin was NOT happy and I want to point out I don't have sensitive skin nor has a detox mask done this to my face before. I found it to be super chemically, the smell alone gave that away. I know so many drugstore masks have chemical ingredients obviously but this one just seemed particularly so, and I didn't like that.

As for the glow mask, whilst this didn't break me out anymore - it irritated spots I already had and made them worse. And again the chemical smell of this was so unappealing again. The only thing I did like about this mask was the little beads which allowed for a gentle exfoliation and did make my skin a little brighter, but nothing to write home about sadly.

I have read quite a few reviews of these L'Oreal masks and going by these I was expecting these masks to be amazing, and I'm not trying to call myself a skin care expert or anything like that - but from my experience these are sadly not really what I would classify as wow amazing.

In my opinion, if you're on the look out for good, reasonably priced masks you are better off trying a 'Lush' face mask - both of the results these masks claim to give can be easily achieved through one of their face masks at a similar price but using fresh natural ingredients which actually do fulfill the products claims unlike the chemicals which seem like they should do something but really don't. 

I love you dearly L'Oreal , but sadly the Clay face masks are a miss from me.

With Love from,

Rebekah x

Yo Tea 'Teatox' Review

Hi my loves,

I want to start off with long time no chat, which I hate - I have these M.I.A habits I need to kick and I am trying! I'm always so active over on Instagram and even Snapchat so if you ever need a fix you know you can find me there.

Today we are going to chat about the Therapie Clinic exclusive Yo Tea teatox. This product was sent to me to try out, however I am choosing to do this review of my own accord because I like keep you all informed! This will be a very in detail review.

 I feel particularly for heath products in detail reviews are good ways of seeing breakdowns and results but also answering questions that you cannot find on the products website.

Yo Tea is sold in packets of 30 individually teabags (super handy if you need to throw some in your handbag) meaning ideally you will take 2 cups a day (morning and evening) for 15 days. The product claims the results of detoxifying your body, boosting your metabolism and increasing energy levels. You take this tea in combination with a healthy balanced diet and regular exercise (this means no McDonald's unfortunately..)

I want to first discuss the ingredients of the tea with you guys. The tea contains 100% natural ingredients. This being said, before I list the ingredients I want to stress how important it is to have a google of ingredients (webmd.com is usually very informative) or speak to a doctor if you are taking any medication before taking health supplements or alternatives of any kind. In most cases there is no issue, however some can cause bad interactions and I always believe you are better to be safe than sorry.

        The ingredients are:

• Oolong green tea
• Lotus Leaf
• Poria
• Alisma Rhizome

Oolong green tea

This tea is rich in antioxidants - the reason for this is that it is actually a tea that is blend between both black tea and green tea (the difference is purely in it's processing). Oolong green tea is mainly used to improve mental awareness, prevent heart disease, treat obesity and promote weight loss, lower high cholesterol and treat skin issues like eczema.

Lotus Leaf

Lotus leaves are used to: increase blood flow & encourage a lowering of blood pressure, reduce anxiety & stress levels, help with weight loss by increasing your metabolism, detoxing your body and used for anti bacterial functions. It also helps to slow the absorption of carbohydrate and fat.

Poria

Poria is used mainly for its diuretic effect - this aids detox. It also helps to lower your blood sugar levels.

Alisma Rhizome

Alisma Rhizome can lower blood pressure and stabilize. blood sugar levels.

My Results:

So first off my reasons for taking this tea were not for weight loss as such, basically I believe I am possibly gluten intolerant so I wanted to detox out my body and start a gluten free (ish) diet after the 2 weeks. My main reason was therefore to use this tea as a detox tool. Also, if you know me personally you know that I suffer from a right shoulder injury that restricts my movement and effects my nerves, this leads to me not being able to exercise or really use my right arm at all - this leaves me extremely sluggish and very blah - not being able to release energy is frustrating and can take a toll on your moods in a negative manner and can also negatively impact on your metabolism and energy levels. BASICALLY, I felt my 'Get-up-and-go' had got up and gone!

 So my 3 reason were:

1. Detoxing

2. Improving my energy Levels

3. Increasing my metabolism

I want to point out that I was of course skeptical about this product working as I am with all products that promise me a flat tummy - I'm the type of person I need to try things to believe them! I have tried MANY weight loss, metabolism boosting, appetite suppressing health products; I'm a big believer in natural remedies and some have worked and others have not. Not everything works the same on everyone.
After 2 days I noticed a huge difference is both my mood and my energy levels. I had more energy than I'd had in months and I felt I had so much more get up and go in me. I also felt a lot more at ease and calmer; in general I felt better. This effect remained the entire teatox and also has remained now that I am finished it. For me, this is enough to sing the praises of this product!

Bloating was also something I noticed a marked difference in - again after 2 days I looked as though I had a flat tummy which is something I'm not used to seeing on myself! Clothes fitted better and my stomach felt like it was working some what smoother and better by about day 6. I did notice the laxative effect taking place around the 6 to 8 hour point for me BUT only if I ate bad or junk food, if I was sticking to the healthy balanced eating then I had no issues with it. I learned this after the first week and then at the second week I tried to really make a conscious decision to eat good!

Final Thoughts:

I would highly recommend Yo Tea to you if you are suffering from any of the things or similar that I listed above. Even if you are perfectly happy with your weight this tea is great to just give your body a kick and help you to feel all round better - who doesn't want to feel 100%! I also think that this would be great to reduce bloating if you have a big event approaching and would be great to help kick start a weight loss journey if you want to lose weight. You do see marked results and I think that this is essential if your are trying to lose weight.
Taste wise this tea is very easy to drink. If you like Green tea you will have no problem with this - it is actually not as strong as basic green tea making it very easy to drink. You can sweeten it if necessary however.

If you are interested in buying Yo Tea, you can get it from Therapie Clinics nationwide and also from www.therapieclinic.ie. It retails at €29.95 for your 15 day supply!

If you have any questions that I have not answered, please leave them in the comments below and I will try to answer you as best as I can. Alternatively, call any of the Therapie Clinics with any questions; they have the most lovely staff and they will be able to help you with any queries!

With Love from,

Rebekah x

IMPORTANT TO NOTE

The ingredients above and combined help to promote a detox or a cleanse of the system if you will. This said a cleanse and a detox usually involves a laxative effect which as stated on the back of the packet takes place 8 hours after consumption. Now, I am not a doctor but I do want to touch on the subject of taking this tea with birth control pills, if you are concerned about the laxative effect interfering with your pill please speak to your GP or a Pharmacist even. I myself take birth control tablets so I obviously researched this topic heavily. Birth control pills are absorbed into your system after 6 hours therefore if you ARE on birth control pills the best way to take the tea along side it would be as follows: Take your first cup of Yo tea at 8 am and take your second cup at lunch time as opposed to bed time so around 1 pm; as the tea has a delayed laxative effect of 8 hours by 10 pm on you will have no issues in safely taking your pill and you can be reassured that there will be no interference. I am obviously being very pedantic about this but it is important to take note of these things if you are taking any product with a laxative inducing effect.