Review: Freeman Superfruits Detoxifying Clay Facial Mask

I was incredibly excited to try the new Freeman's mask that I picked up during Thanksgiving weekend.

As you well know, I am a big fan of Freeman clay masks!

Ingredients: water, panthenol, hydroxyethylcellulose, glycerin, tetrasodium EDTA, propylene glycol, methylparaben, titanium dioxide, kaolin, polysorbate-20, carthamus tinctorius (safflower) seed oil, emulsifying wax NF, gyceryl stearate se, propylparaben, persea gatissima (avocado) oil, tocopheryl (vitamin E) acetate, retinyl (vitamin A) palmitate, bentonite, lycium barbarum (goji) fruit extract, euterpe oleracea (acai) fruit extract, punica granatum (pomegrante) extract, mangifera india (mango) fruit extract, garcinia mangostana (mangosteen) peel extract, vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry) fruit extract, morinda citrifolia (noni) fruit extract, vaccinium angustifolium (blueberry) fruit extract, blue 1, phenoxyethanol, fragrance.  

Ingredient ♥ Ingredient :(

Experience: It is a blue mask with a scent that reminds me of Bath & Body Works' Cucumber Melon scent. Lol, it seemed like every girl in middle school wore cucumber melon lotion. It dried quickly for a mask and I felt some light tingling, which was not uncomfortable.

As for the quality...To put it bluntly, I hated it! I was so shocked, since I had thought that Freeman could do no wrong. But this mask was absolutely useless. It did not detoxify as the name suggests. In fact, it doesn't  do much of anything. It did not suck the excess oil off my skin or minimize my pores or shrink my pimples. It didn't even moisturize that well.

From looking at the ingredients, I understood why. How could they call it a clay mask when there's more preservative than clay?! Usually a Freeman mask has kaolin (clay) as its 2nd ingredient, but this one lists kaolin as 9th most ingredient. And there's also more perservatives than the fruit extracts they featured.

Honestly, Freeman skimped on the ingredients on this mask and as a result, the quality suffered greatly. I'm not even sure what to do with the rest of the tube!

Cost-effectiveness: I picked this for $3.99, which is affordable for a clay mask. But for a useless clay mask, it's way too expensive.

Availability: I found mine at Ulta and Freeman's site sells it too.

Honestly, I hope this mask is not an indication of what's more to come from Freeman. I much prefer their other masks. Please, please, please don't cheapen the quality, Freeman!

Have you tried this mask too? Your thoughts!

Black Friday, Cyber Monday Hauls and Disappointments

I'm back again! Thanksgiving was hectic, as I was cooking all Thursday. I got to break my meat fast for a bit by nomming on some turkey. I hope everyone got to spend some time with other loved ones! :)

I didn't think I spent that much money until I tallied it all up just now, lol. 

Here goes: 
I didn't buy much on Black Friday. I am super scared of big crowds and the cold. Black Friday's for the true fanatics! I stayed warm all day and ventured out to my local stores just to browse around. I picked up the N.Y.C. limited edition rose glosses Rite-Aid. Learn more about the collection here. The collection never showed up in the East Bay, but they found their way to my hometown. I was so excited to find them, because it's been a while since they've been released. And there was still one of each! I felt soo excited... until I got them home and realized that someone broke the safety seal on one of them and swatched it. Gah, but I decided to keep it and sanitize it with rubbing alcohol on the surface. Check the safety seal, it should be on all unopened rose glosses!

After dinner, I check out the local Ulta. They stocked some new Freeman products, so I, of course, helped myself to a new clay facial mask. I glanced over the ingredients for this one and I see no parabens, woot! (EDIT: I didn't looked closely enough, it does. :/) I'll get a new review up for this one soon. 

When I got back to school, I proceeded to haul some L'oreal products that have been heavily discounted. Thanks Gianna and Lisa for the tips! Another thanks to Gianna for alerting me that the new Sally Hansen Nailgrowth Miracle nail colors were available at CVS.

CVS Haul

Here's the breakdown (yes, I made a chart)



I saved tons of money on the L'oreal sale, though I'm not a fan of L'oreal skincare or cosmetics. I've looked through the labels: way too much mineral oil/petrolatum and alcohol. But I'm pretty happy with my purchases nonetheless. Save even more money by printing out some L'oreal coupons. I found mine here. 

I kicked off Cyber Monday with e.l.f.'s 55% off sale on Sunday. It bugs me that it doesn't include free shipping, but $6.95 is manageable. Here's my forthcoming haul. 

The sale has been extended, so you still have a chance to get your haul on! Another way to save money is to spend over $30 on e.l.f., not including tax and not counting coupon savings. You'll then be eligible for a magazine. But if you forgo the magazine, you'll receive $12 rebate back. That's like super savings! Click here for more deets. 

Rants follow

Review: Freeman Mint & Lemon Facial Clay Mask

I'm back to review the latest clay mask from Freeman. As you know, I am a Freeman fiend!

When I saw it at Walmart this past summer, I had to get my hands on it.

Ingredients: Water (aqua), Kaolin, Bentonite, Titanium Dioxide, Propylene Glycol, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Citrus Medica Limonum (lemon) Fruit Extract, Mentha Piperita (peppermint) Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Montmorillonite, Disodium EDTA, Sodium Polyacrylate, Diazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Fragrance (parfum), Yellow 5, Blue 1.

Ingredient ♥ Ingredient :(

Experience: This definitely is a typical Freeman clay mask, in a good way. This is a greenish mask that features lemon and mint extract, though it smells more like Mountain Dew to me. I LOVE Mountain Dew, so I'm so excited to have this in my mask collection. This clay mask sucks up the excess oil from my face without drying it out, and leaves my face baby soft and smooth! This would help reduce the size of red bumps. It is soo gentle, certainly not harsh like some other clay masks I've tried. I fully recommend this. Take a look at my reviews on other Freeman clay masks here and here. 

Cost-effectiveness: I bought this for $3.27 at Walmart, which is around what you would pay for a Freeman mask (at most $3.99). This is way affordable!

Availability: This is available at Walmart and on the Freeman site.

Mega Haul / is there an item limit on addiction?

I swear I didn't mean for it to end up like this. I've been school-free for the past six weeks. Not of my own volition, of course. I dropped a class (though I managed to learn P(finding an upper division probability course too hard to take during the summer) ~ 1). The first few days were heaven, no school to be late for, no homework to toil and weep over. It was absolute freedom.

Which meant I got sick of it after two days.

I was so bored. As the saying goes, the devil finds work for idle hands. Well, my idle hands shopped! It was way too easy to shop with all the available time. Now I know what they mean by "retail therapy."
Bad mood? -> Wonder what sales are at Rite Aid?
Miss bf? -> I think I need more blushes.
I'm bored -> I really should get into painting nails.
And on and on. And blogs and vlogs only gave me more new products to try. This added up really quickly.

Here's what it looked like after hitting countless CVS's, Rite Aid's, Target's, and Walmart's.

Can you tell it took 20 minutes to arrange it so it would all fit in one frame?

Pretty scary, right? It looks like I emptied a drugstore shelf into my shopping cart (which wouldn't be too far from the truth). It's actually worse than it looks, because some products are hidden by others. If I expanded it, it would look insane.

It's weird. I'm more interested in skincare, but I have an absolute weakness for cosmetics. If I love a cosmetic blogger's taste, I will develop a lemming for her raved products like no other until I have them in my hands. I have absolute trust in other bloggers' take on cosmetics, because I'm so unfamiliar with it myself (not wearing any on most days).

In contrast, I will be more skeptical with skincare. I won't invest in a skincare product until I know its ingredients, no matter how many raves I see.

What are y'all's buying habits like? :)

I'll break this down by store I purchased it from:




Haha, I realize that making a spreadsheet is pretty neurotic, but that's how I am when I have nothing else to do. I love being detailed and crediting sources. :)

I didn't just buy beauty products either. After I read Elle's rave over Poketo for Target's collection, I went the very next day to get my hands on some. They were available in Target and online way before the August 10 release date.

My Poketo Haul
Further evidence of my inability to resist temptation. :P

I bought a laptop sleeve (which fits a bit snug for my HP TX2500, but would be perfect for small, super thin laptops), a pack of three bags (big one for my make-up, medium one for pencils, and wee one for camera/phone), and an umbrella (couldn't deny myself cute green bears = fail). The entire collection was all so cute that I applaud myself for not walking out of the store with it all (baby steps).

My out-of-control spending habits will hopefully diminish with the new school year starting in late August. I'll be too focused on school, clubs, etc. to buy things or go to stores. You won't see hauls like this anymore!

Well,

we'll see. ;)

Review: Freeman Pineapple Facial Enzyme Mask

I would like to share my thoughts on this raved mask, since I've given it a few tries now.

Ingredients: water (aqua), bromelain, papain, ananas sativus (pineapple fruit) extract, glycolic acid, lactic acid, camomilla recutita (chamomile) extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, butylene glycol, glycerin, cocamidopropyl bentain, sorbitol, PVP/dimethylaminethylmethacrylate, copolymer, polyethylene, PPG-5-ceteth-20, carbomer, potassium hydroxide, hydroxyethylcellulose, DMDM hydantoin, ethylparaben, methylparaben, yellow 5 (Cl 19140), yellow 6 (Cl 15965), fragrance (parfum)

Ingredient ♥ Ingredient :(

Experience: I really wanted to love this mask, since it is so cheap for a chemical exfoliating mask! I always try to find an American version for whatever skincare I'm into. But it's been especially hard to find any American beauty brands that sell products featuring hyaluronic acid or peeling gels that are affordable. This is the only affordable American version that I know of that tries to imitate the peeling gel that's so widely available in Asia.
However, it doesn't work exactly the same as a peeling gel. You can put this on a wet face. And there's a waiting period for the mask to work its magic, 10 minutes. Usually, I do all my exfoliation right before or during my shower, so residue doesn't stay on my face or get stuck in my hair.
I apply a thin layer on my face 10 minutes before I take a shower. The scent is light, but smell deliciously of juicy pineapples. The texture is gel-like and feels gritty, but nothing that can physically exfoliate your skin. When I rinse it off in the shower, my skin feels soft and smooth, but not tight. The dead skin is sloughed away gently on my nose and jawline. I follow it up with a scrub. Adding a scrub after sounds like overkill, but I have done it ever since I've read Babybubblz's advice. I've experienced no adverse effects from the double exfoliation. But don't do this if you have sensitive skin or if you don't need extra exfoliation!

Cost-effectiveness: Very affordable at $3.99. This is less than a third of the price of peeling gels I see in Asian supermarkets in the Bay Area, which start around $13. And you get a lot of product for your money, 6 oz!

Available: Not available at every drugstore, but it can be found at Rite-Aid and Walmart and online.

Reviews: Freeman Chocolate & Strawberry Detoxifying Mask and Avocado & Oatmeal Facial Clay Mask

I want to finish my reviews on Freeman mask packs and do a lil comparison between the three that I've bought.

First off is the chocolate and strawberry one.

Ingredients: water ( aqua), kaolin, bentonite, titanium tioxide, propylene glycol, magnesium aluminum silicate, theobroma cacao (cocoa) extract, fragaria vesca (strawberry) fruit Extract, butyrospermum parkii (shea butter), theobroma cacao (cocoa) seed butter, tocopherol, caprylic/capric triglyceride, montmorillonite, disodium EDTA, sodium polyacrylate, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, fragrance (parfum), yellow 5, red 4, red 33, blue 4, iron oxides/dimethicone copolyol

Experience: I was initially not expecting much from the mask. Beauty products that center around food themes always tend to be more about the food gimmick than the actual effectiveness of the product. But the ingredients looked good to me. They actually use real strawberries and chocolate! I'm always disappointed if the advertised bit is not actually in the composition, like when something is called "green tea" and then it's nowhere to be found in the ingredients, but it's just green tea scented. Happily, Freeman doesn't do that.

It also smelled diviine, like chocolate mousse with a hint of strawberries. The mask dried quickly with no irritation. My face was moisturized and the excess oil on my face absorbed by the clays in the mask. I had no major breakouts at the time, so I'm not sure what it might do for acne.

It's a wonderful mask, but I like the Dead Sea Minerals one better.

Cost Effectiveness: All Freeman mask packs cost $1.99. That's cheap for a once-in-a-while treat, but if you want to use this as regular mask, it's a bit much. A pro that DSM doesn't have is that this mask is available in tube form (6 oz.), which gets you more for your money.

Availability: the mask pack type can be found at Rite-Aid, and the tube form on the Freeman site.

I am also reviewing the avocado and oatmeal one.

They use and photoshop the same picture for all the mask packs, lol.

Ingredients: water (aqua), kaolin, bentonite, titanium dioxide, propylene glycol, magnesium aluminum silcate, colloidal oatmeal, tocopherol, persea gratissima (avocado) oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, montmorillonite, disodium EDTA, sodium polyacrylate, diazoidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, fragrance (parfum), yellow 5.

Ingredient ♥ Ingredient :(

Experience: It has the same clay texture as the previous two Freeman clay masks. The mask is a light green color with a lotion-y scent. I found it to be gentle, though for some reason, my eyes watered when I first put on the mask. The irritating feeling soon disappeared but I am not sure why that happened, if it was because of the fragrance or something else. I found it to be moisturizing but the effects weren't as good as it was with the other two masks. However, this is a good choice, if you're just interested in something that moisturizes.

Cost-effectiveness: same as Chocolate & Strawberry, see above.

Availability: The pack form is only available at Rite-Aid, though Freeman online, Rite-Aid, CVS, and other drugstores carry the tube form.

Comparison

Showdown!

Experience:

1. Dead Sea Minerals seemed most effective at getting rid of and reducing whiteheads. My skin had the best reaction to it.
2. Chocolate & Strawberry
   
3. Avocado & Oatmeal

Cost-effectiveness:

1. Chocolate & Strawberry and Avocado are tied for first, as they both have a tube version.
2. 
   
3. Dead Sea Minerals

Availability:

1. Avocado & Oatmeal wins, since it's available at multiple drugstores. It's nice to be able to break the monopoly of Rite-Aid in Freeman products. :)
2. Dead Sea Minerals and Chocolate & Strawberry tie, as it's only available at Rite-Aid or online.
   

Best Overall: Chocolate & Strawberry

Review: Freeman Dead Sea Minerals Anti-Stress Mud Mask

I'm super pleased that my Rite-Aid offered so many varieties of Freeman products, unlike CVS and Walgreen's. It carries a TON of Freeman masks. And I was able to buy some of the masks in packet form. I like this better, because I can try a bunch of different types of mask without getting stuck with a crappy mask in tube form. I am reviewing the Dead Sea Minerals type.


Ingredients: water (aqua), kaolin, bentonite , titanium dioxide, propylene glycol, magnesium aluminum silicate, macrocystis pyrifera extract , sea salt , lavandula angustifolia (lavender) oil , citrus aurantium bergamia (bergamot) fruit oil , tocopherol , caprylic/capric triglyceride, montmorillonite , disodium EDTA, sodium polyacrylate, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben , propylparaben, methylchloroisothiazolinone, methylisothiazolinone, fragrance (parfum), blue 1.

Ingredient ♥ Ingredient :(

Experience: When I ripped open the mask, I was shocked by how blue it was, like electric blue. It had a fruity scent. It totally brought back memories of blue raspberry ICEE's. It looked and smelled like one.

Bet it doesn't taste like it though. :P SO blue!

I put a thin layer over my entire face, avoiding the eyes of course. There was no irritation at all, which is surprising for a clay mask. I liked the ingredients, though I didn't know what to expect. After I rinsed off the mask when it dried, I was pleased to find that the pimples on my cheek had reduced in size and their redness dramatically diminished. My skin also felt softer and smoother. I loved it!

Cost-effectiveness: At $1.99 each, a packet (.5 fl oz. or 15 mL) has enough product for two uses, though in my opinion is still not very thrifty in the long term. It does deliver some pretty incredible results. Most Freeman masks in packet form also come in a 6 oz. tube size, which just costs two dollars more.
From looking on the Freeman site, this doesn't seem to be the case for Dead Sea Minerals. Still worth trying!

Availability (to the best of my knowledge): Rite-Aid

Virgin Post: Be gentle!

I first wanted to post a haul, because this haul is significant to this blog. I had promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything after too many rounds of buyer's 'morse. Haha, prior to that I spent way too much money on something I basically wasn't sure I wanted. I've definitely been a shopaholic way before I regularly read beauty blogs, but reading glowing reviews on unfamiliar products is super enabling! ;)
So I resolved to stop shopping for six months....that lasted two days! Because I walked through Rite-Aid and saw this.

Temptation calling

I am a huge Freeman fan! They use some really lovely ingredients. I am always wary of skincare products when they seem to be composed mostly of fillers. But Freeman doesn't seem to do that. I've seen a good selection of Freeman products only at Rite-Aid. Perhaps they're better stocked on the East Coast?

Anyway, my bf reminded me of my ill-timed no-buy pact. But he said I could buy it if I wrote a review of the products on my blog. He's so sweet to encourage my blogging! Procrastinator that I am, this haul was from May 30. But I'm here now! :D

I bought:
Freeman Pineapple Facial Enzyme Mask ($3.99), thanks to raves from Muse and Jean
Freeman Chocolate & Strawberry Detoxifying Mask ($1.99)
Freeman Dead Sea Minerals Anti-Stress Mud Mask ($1.99)
Freeman Avocado & Oatmeal Facial Clay Mask ($1.99)
N.Y.C. Blushable Creme Sticks in Plaza Pink and Big Apple Blush ($3.99)

Swatches

Natural Lighting: Big Apple Blush (Top) Plaza Pink (Bottom)


With Flash: Big Apple Blush (Top) Plaza Pink (Bottom)

I've tried most of these products already, so expect to see reviews coming soon!