Trying out the MAC Volcanic Ash Exfoliator and Thermal Mask!

I think I've mentioned before, that I'm extremely excited about the Style Black collection but there's more to the collection than black eyeshadows and lipsticks!

The Volcanic Ash Exfoliater is being re-released along with the Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask!

Since my counter already received their Style Black stock, I had the opportunity to sample the two skincare products, and I tried them out last night before going to bed :)

Both products are black, so they do look quite funny on my super pale skin. Here's what I look like with the mask on!

The exfoliator:

This product has been very popular on the internet makeup communities since it's first release last year but unfortunately I never got to try it the first time it was around.

Looking at it, it isn't necessarily something most people would want to put on their face! It is completely black and looks a bit... dirty, I guess? However, even though some people probably find this product gross-looking I find the black colour different and interesting and it was honestly one of the things that made me want to try the product, haha :)

The concistency is like many other exfoliators. Easy to spread evenly on your face and neither too liquid or too dry.

The smell is probably the only thing I don't like about this scrub so far. I'm really bad at describing scents, but this is just not something I enjoy. I might get used to it tough, since I know a lot of people love the scent!

My skin felt extremely smooth after using this! But honestly, any decent exfoliator should get rid of the dead skin cells and make my skin feel like that. Whether or not this particular scrub does more than remove dead skin cells, I don't know yet, but I'm excited to find out!

I only tried the product on my face so far, but I'll give it a try on my body as well, since I did find it a teeny bit rough for my face, so I imagine it will be great for the body.

How to use it:

Like any other exfoliator, this product is really easy to use. Apply to damp skin and rub gently in circular motions for a couple of minutes. The product foams up a little, but not very much. The exfoliator rinses off easily with water and leaves your skin ready for applying either mask or moisturiser. As with any exfoliator, this product is not intended for daily use. It's recommended to use it 1-3 times a week.

The thermal mask:

I have to admit, that I was a little worried about applying a black mask to my face. Not because of the way I would look while the mask was on (hey, one of the fun thing about masks is the way you look when you have them on!), but because I didn't know what I would look like after taking it off!

If you've ever tried painting your face black with any kind of face paint/eyeliner/eyeshadow, you probably know how hard it can be to get all the black colour off - at least if you have any kind of visible pores on your face ;) On me, the black colour settles into my pores and it looks like I have 1238985701 blackheads on my face!

Luckily, this mask was super easy to wash off and didn't leave any colour residue behind.

The concistency is fine, but I found that I had to use quite a bit of product to cover my whole face in an even layer.

The smell is different than that of the exfoliator. I don't think this scent is as strong so I like it a bit more, but I don't love it.

My skin felt incredibly soft after using this mask! Probably softer than it has ever felt before! I'll have to keep using it to see if does anything more for my face, but even if it does not I will probably keep using it since it makes my skin feel so fantastic!

How to use it:

As said, I found this product a little bit hard to distribute evenly but I guess it's okay. After all, masks don't have to look perfect while on, haha :)

I'm not sure how long it is recommended to leave the mask on, since it isn't one of those masks that dry on your skin. I left mine on for about 10 minutes and it felt fine.

I rinsed the mask off with water and it left my skin feeling really soft and clean and ready for moisturiser! ;)

I used it after exfoliating my skin, which should give the best results, since the exfoliator removed all dead skin cells prior to application of the mask.

Please keep in mind that these are just my initial thoughts on the products, since I've only tried each product once.

The MAC Volcanic Ash Thermal Mask is being released with the Style Black collection on September 24th in the US+Canada and internationally in October.


I forgot to mention:
The packaging of both products is similar to the packaging of MAC Microfine Refinisher and MAC Creme wash, which is definitely an improvement since the last release of the exfoliator! This kind of packaging is really easy to use, doesn't leak and I find it pretty easy to get all the product out.