Review: Forever Marine Mask

I was lucky enough to receive this Forever Marine Mask as part of a prize from Emma's Girls' Night In Giveaway over on her blog Beauty By Emma. According to the packaging, "Forever Marine Mask provides deep cleansing while balancing the skin's texture with natural sea minerals and conditioning properties of aloe vera, honey, and cucumber extract." I'm a massive lover of face masks so I was excited to try this!
I like the packaging, a sleek white tube with blue-grey and gold writing which looks classy and elegant. The flip-cap makes squeezing the product out really easy, and the inclusion of a hygiene seal makes me happy as it's always nice to know that no-one's had their sticky fingers in your face mask! I also like the fact that there's an expiry date on the tube, as it can often be hard to know how long products like this are okay to use.
The directions recommend that, "After thoroughly cleansing your face, spread Forever Marine Mask generously in an upward and outward motion over the entire face, avoiding the eyes. Let dry for 15-20 minutes, then removed with warm water and a soft cloth. Use at least twice a week for optimal results."

Ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Stabilized Aloe Vera Gel), Water, 

Bentonite, Glycerin, Honey, Kaolin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Algae Extract, 

Macrocystis Pyrifera Extract, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, 

Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E), 

Ascorbic Acid, Retinyl Palmitate, 1,2-Hexanediol, 

Caprylyl Glycol, Methylparaben, Fragrance.

So, with the exception of the Methylparaben (a preservative) the ingredients list looks pretty good to me, with Glycerin and Honey being excellent moisturisers, Kaolin being great for extracting impurities and cleansing the skin, and the Tocopherol (Vitamin E) and Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) being nice additions for brightening the skin. The mask is a creamy greige when squeezed from the tube, and has a creamy texture which is easy to spread over the skin. It has a light, skincare-esque scent but nothing too strong or noticeable, so I wouldn't have thought it would irritate sensitive skins. It tingles slightly on application which feels nice, whilst also feeling cooling and soothing on the skin.

Once on the skin, it dries within about 15 minutes to an almost invisible finish, tight due to the kaolin but not so tight as to be uncomfortable. I tend to remove in the shower where it rinses off pretty easily under the water, with no rubbing and scrubbing required. In the short-term, it leaves my skin feeling soft, smooth, toned and hydrated, and helps to calm down redness and any nasty red blemishes. In the longer term, I do think it's calmed my skin down and reduced the number of blemishes I get, although as always it's difficult to be sure what changes in my skin are down to! Nonetheless, it's pleasant to use and something I'd consider repurchasing.

Forever Marine Mask is available to purchase direct from their online store, priced at £18.36 for a 113g tube. I think that's quite a reasonable price for such a lovely product, especially on a cost-per-use basis - I must have used it about eight times and there's still at least half a tube left. It's similar in price to Origins masks and the tube is quite a bit bigger, so I honestly think it's good value, although it's unfortunately more than I can afford to spend on skincare currently.

Have you tried any Forever Living products? How much do you think is reasonable to pay for a product like this?

xo
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