Hi there! Not too long ago Montagne Jeunesse launched its new 7th Heaven Charcoal Masque. And I picked it up for 85p at my local Asda.
I’ve now tried this face mask, and I regret that I have to say that I don’t like it. And here’s why.
When I applied the mask, it felt scratchy and unpleasant.
A quick scan of the ingredients on the back of the sachet revealed that this mask contains crushed walnut shell powder – which is OK for the body, but not for the face.
The reason is that crushed walnut shells (and crushed apricot stones) are too harsh for sensitive facial skin. They cause tiny cuts on the surface of skin – which is great for bacteria but not for your skin.
Anyway, now I’ve also noticed the walnut image on the front of the sachet – but unfortunately I missed it when I bought the mask. I can only guess that I was too distracted by the charcoal eyes…
OK, let’s get back to what happened when I used the mask… as it was scratchy, I had to take extra special care when I applied it. And I was extra, extra careful when I washed it off. So I didn’t get any exfoliating ‘benefits’ from this mask – but I also noticed that there were no other benefits. My skin felt super dry afterwards – and that was it.
Based on this I wouldn’t recommend this face mask. I wouldn’t recommend it if you paid me. If you want to know more about the abrasive exfoliants I mentioned, check out my friend Janine’s brilliant post about why she threw away her St Ives face scrub.
Oh gosh sounds awful. Thanks for posting, I didn’t know it could do that to skin z
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Glad you liked the post. Yeah, walnut shell powder and crushed apricot stones are not suitable for facial skin. If you ever had spots the day after using a scrub with these ingredients, they’re the reason. I used to think “damnit, I should have scrubbed a day earlier” – blissfully unaware that these scrubs caused the spots in the first place. And then I used scrubs more often, and I’d get spots more often… I used to think I had an acne problem – but thanks to Janine’s post (it’s awesome that she did the research!) I stopped using certain scrubs – and I haven’t had angry, red spots since. Sure, I do get the occasional pimple, and because of my dry skin these pimples sometimes take ages to (sorry) ripen (sorry again) and heal. But I no longer have exactly 3 spots at any given time.
I hope the cosmetics industry will come up with something better. There’s a reason walnut shell powder and crushed apricot stones were replaced with microbeads in the first place. Obviously, microbeads have become very unpopular, but I hope the manufacturers will come up with something else. I heard jojoba beads are awesome, so I hope the cosmetics industry can use these.
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I’ll keep this in mind when buying products. Shame they use stuff that’s harsh and not suitable for the face in scrubs masks etc. I’ll be paying attention in future when I buy stuff x
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X
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That’s a shame that they use such coarse ingredients in something that goes on your face.. Sounds like they should have used a moisturizing ingredient instead to make it worthwhile.
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I was shocked that St Ives Apricot Scrub was winning Best in Beauty awards when the shells are rugged and cause microscopic breaks in the skin. All i could think is… they paid for that recognition because the product is full of harmful ingredients plus crap that scratches and breaks the skin making it prone to bacteria and infections. BAD BAD BAD. I am not a big fan of Jeuennesse either or however you spell that! LOLOL.
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I used to use my St Ives scrub twice a week, and like you I was happily scrubbing away. But thanks to your post I stopped using this stuff on my face. And I saw quite a difference! I used to get spots the day after I used the scrub. And I often thought “damnit, I should have scrubbed one day earlier” – I was blissfully unaware that the scrub was causing the spots in the first place.
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One to avoid – thank you!
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My pleasure! 🙂
Always happy to be honest.
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Appreciate your honesty!
I’m always on the lookout for scrubs and unfortunately didn’t mind the St Ives one. Won’t be buying that one again!
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Thanks for stopping by and for taking the time to comment. I too used to love the St Ives scrubs. But thanks to Janine’s post I could beat my scrub addiction. 🙂 I used to get spots on the day after I’d given my face a scrub, and I used to think “damnit, I should have scrubbed a day earlier”. And I was blissfully unaware that the scrub caused the spots in the first place. After I’d ditched the harsh scrubs my skin recovered. Sure, I do have the occasional pimple, but I no longer have exactly 3 spots at any given time…
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Oh No! What a dud 🙂
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The ultimate dud!
Thanks for stopping by! xx
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hahaha it’s so hard not to get distracted by the faces on those Montagne Jeunesse packets… seriously, most of them look like something out of a horror movie! Thanks for the review, I’ll definitely remember not to pick this one up at the pharmacy!
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Thanks for stopping by and for commenting. Yeah, it took me a while to get used to the creepy ‘eyes’.
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Sounds dreadful and I must say the picture on the packaging doesn’t look promising.
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It IS dreadful!
Yeah, it took me a while to get used to the creepy eyes on the Montagne Jeunesse masks. I usually like their face masks but this one… never again.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
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I thought the packaging was hideous too. I thought, OMG, who on EARTH, would design that and then say “Yes, this is it. This is what we want on our package”. ????? YIKES
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The packaging is downright creepy, no doubt!
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TOTALLY! Who the hell would come up with that? They put that on the front and said “Yes, this is the shit! Let’s go with it” OMG! I’d like to meet that person.
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😀
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That walnut shell powder is super wicked! I’d love to look at it under a microscope!
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