Saturday Skincare: Face Masks - Save/Spend

It's been a while since I've written a Saturday Skincare post (see previous posts here) and after last week's Instagram Live topic of masks, I decided to write up my most favourite masks right now and am planning on doing more Save/Spend dupe style posts soon!
So this post is featuring my most used masks: the GlamGlow Youthmud Tinglexfoliate Treatment and The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask; read on for my thoughts on the two!

top swatch: The Body Shop Himalayan mask, bottom swatch: GlamGlow YouthMud

My Skin You can read about my skin/skintone in my FAQs, but at the moment, my skin is combination; I get pretty oily around my nose (a couple years ago I used to be completely dry!) but I still am slightly dry on the cheeks at times but not flakey anywhere really.
So bearing this in mind, I'm writing my review based on my concerns for the oiliness and sometimes small/little red spots I may get on occasions.
The GlamGlow YouthMud has been reviewed on this blog before, but in a guest post here if you'd like to read how it compares to my experience.
Review/Comparison Ingredients

The Body Shop Himalayan Mask ingredients

GlamGlow YouthMud mask ingredients

Similarities: As you can see in the pictures above of both products' ingredients taken from the brand's websites, they are very similar. They both have: Kaolin (white clay), Magnesium Aluminium Silicate, Camellia Sinensis Leaf (green tea leaves) and Pumice amongst some other chemical names.
In the picture I put together, I've listed the main ingredients mentioned by both brands and the one ingredient that they both have that makes them similar is the Green Tea leaves. GlamGlow's Trademark name "TEAOXI" technology is described as:  "an innovative time releasing technology that delivers antioxidants and squalene directly to the skin from the Green Tea Leave pieces."  I'm not sure how that works but it's said to increase oxygen flow, where the skin comes alive with a tingling sensation.
They both are clay/mud masks, however GlamGlow's mud is from France's Mediterranean Sea, whereas The Body Shop's clay is from Moroccan Lava. Clay detoxifies the skin by drawing out the impurities without removing natural oils, however when both masks dry I could see darker circle/spots around my nose on the surface of the dried mask that suggest the impurities have come up from the pores. Differences: Even though they both contain pumice, I feel like the GlamGlow pumice volcanic rock is more finer which gives a bit of micro exfoliation (you can almost see the difference in finer particles in the swatches above, particularly the dried one).
The Body Shop mask contains extra ingredients: Tea Tree Oil, Eucalyptus Oil and Aloe Leaf Juice Powder, which I couldn't seem to find in the GlamGlow mask. This would suggest that The Body Shop mask is better for fighting spots due to the Tea Tree, whereas the GlamGlow is better for exfoliating the skin and increasing oxygen flow/tightening the skin.
Consistency/Application
The Body Shop mask is far more wetter in consistency so it goes on fairly easier than the very dry consistency of the GlamGlow YouthMud (unless mine needs a bit of water added to it?).
They're both a bit tedious to apply because of the bits of Green Tea Leaves that can plop off your face if you're not fast enough to smooth it down with a brush!
Both have a "tingling" effect but I have to say the GlamGlow one is definitely more intense and almost a burning sensation on the skin, that it can make my eyes water slightly, however I have somewhat sensitive skin so this may not be the case with everyone. After looking at the ingredients now, I feel like The Body Shop mask may not have this burning sensation as it also contains Aloe Leaf Juice, which the GlamGlow does not.
They both take around 10-15 minutes to dry; as the mask dries you can feel your skin tighten along with it, but I feel like with the GlamGlow, there's more of a throbbing sensation if you like, whereas with the Body Shop mask its a tightening feeling. Both have a similar effect around my nose area (dark small circles suggesting oils have been withdrawn from pores).
Washing off the masks can be fairly messy so I'd recommend using a muslin cloth or strong paper towel so you don't have drops of dark clay water dripping down your elbows. I first start by placing warm wet hands/muslin cloth on every part of the dried mask and work to exfoliate the mask of gently in circular motions.
When washing the GlamGlow mask, you can feel the small micro exfoliation particles which feel great if you really have drier areas you need to work on. Both masks' Green Tea leaves get stuck to the face, but I find The Body Shop one slightly harder to remove.
Overall Effect
Both masks are ones I use when I feel like I want to "deep clean" my face; after using both masks, my skin feels super clean and soft-to-touch. I do have slight redness immediately after washing the masks off, but it tends to go within half an hour.
I do feel like the impurities have been drawn out of the skin but not sure if I feel like there's been a release of oxygen into my skin! I definitely need a moisturiser after using these masks as the clay does draw out the excess oil so my skin feels dry again and in need of hydration so if I feel up to it I would use a sheet mask (ideally with collagen) to leave my skin feeling even plumper and smooth.
I tend to rotate using these masks, but now that I've read the ingredients in depth for this blog post I'll be using the GlamGlow one when my skin is in need of a polish/the night before a special occasion and The Body Shop one when a few spots pop up.
The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying mask is £16 for 75ml/86g) available from The Body Shop directly.
The GlamGlow mask is £39 for this full size 50g (or £14 for the trial size 15g) available to buy directly from www.glamglow.co.uk or LookFantastic or now at Boots too!
shop this post:

GIVEAWAY! Safiyah's The Body Shop Himalayan Mask + Brush giveaway!