Well I haven’t written a Lush review for quite a while now, have I? I don’t actually know why I went on some sort of hiatus with it, but I’m sure I have my reasons. When I think about it, I’m sure it’s because the majority of products I own at the moment are exclusives from Christmas… I can’t imagine how many Lushies are jealous of me right now.
I finally have a review for you all though today, one that is sadly an exclusive to Lush Oxford Street store, but I do hope deep down that it’ll be available all over the UK soon. Quite frankly this face mask is too damn good for just the Oxford Street store to keep away from so many people!
I recently went to London to pay my friend Sophi a visit, and do some shopping! One of the last places we went to was Lush and I knew from the moment I booked the train tickets for London that I would be going into the store and picking this up. I didn’t actually pay for this face mask, as it was free with my five black pots that I returned to the store! I’m already saving up my next lot of five to take back and get another face mask.
The face mask I picked up was the Prince Of Darkness, and over the month I’ve owned it, it has become my favourite face mask EVER. I didn’t know that I would like it so much, even after the member of staff tried it on the back of my hand in the store. It has just made such an improvement to my skin in so many ways. I noticed I didn’t have any blemishes a week after I started to use it, and due to it containing sea salt, it helped to give my skin a good scrub and left my skin feeling really soft.
As you can see from the image above it’s described as, “We’re on a crazy train, heading for scrubbed up skin with charcoal and sea salt packed into this mask”.
Like all the fresh face masks this only comes in one size, 75g which costs a shocking £6.95! I say shocking because for how much you get, both in size and shelf life it is a rip off to be honest. I did feel like I needed to use this mask more than I would do a normal face mask because I worried I wouldn’t get my monies worth! This being said, it is now over a week since it’s sell by date and I’m still using it. Due to it being a fresh face mask, you’re also meant to keep this in the fridge… Which I only did for a couple of days. Other than that I kept it on the side of my bath, and I didn’t find any issues came up with it. It didn’t cause my skin to break out, nor did it grow mold or change the product itself.
I know this is probably Lush covering their backs, or just suggesting to keep it in the fridge so it feels nice on the skin. I get that! But for anyone who worries that they don’t keep it in the fridge, or use it after the expiry date then don’t panic. If the product doesn’t seem right, then chances are it isn’t. I know from face mask samples I have had in the past Lush have told me they’ll be good for up to three weeks. Within a couple of days in the fridge they went moldy! GROSS!
Anyway, onto the product itself now! As the title (in my mind) suggests, this product wasn’t going to all pretty and pink, it was going to be dark. I thought it might be purple when I first heard about it last year when it was released, but alas it’s black. This is due to one of the ingredients being charcoal, which of course is black. I didn’t know until I tried it out in the shop that this also contained sea salt, which is good for scrubbing the skin. Due to this being s mask that helps to cleanse and scrub, it is great for all skin types, especially people who suffer with greasy skin… So teenagers. 😛
The first thing I noticed about this mask when I first applied it to my skin is the smell, it smells very much like Vicks VapoRub which has a strong eucalyptus scent to it. It doesn’t actually say that it contains this in the ingredients so God knows what I can smell! It also has a slight warming sensation to it, which I found to be nice, and reminded me of what you would get at a spa treatment. However, I know a lot of people who have commented on this factor, and stated how it put them off using the mask. Oh dear! One final thing that I really liked about this mask is how it doesn’t dry, it stays wet, even after 20 minutes of wearing it. This means it won’t flake and crumble everywhere if you decide to walk around the house wearing it.
The consistency of the mask itself isn’t thin, but it isn’t super thick either. It could be slightly in between but with a bit of a thicker side to it, which I really like as it feels like a little bit of this goes a really long way. Of course due to the sea salt it is grainy so don’t be alarmed when you apply this onto your face.
I like to wear this face mask either before or during a bath so that when it has had its 15 minutes on my face I can get a bit of water on my hands and start to exfoliate my skin with the mask before washing it off. It feels like a real treat when I do this, and leaves my skin feeling baby soft afterwards.
Not only have I used this as a face mask but also as a face scrub in the shower too. I grab a good chunk and just rub and scrub it all over my face. The mask itself is so thick that you can get away with doing this. I use it on dry skin so that it really does give my skin a good scrubbing. As well as my face I’ve also used this on the tops of my arms, thighs, and my bum to try and see how it works as a scrub. It didn’t quite have the same affect as it did on my face, but it did the job and was a nice treat.
I leave this on for 10-15 minutes, sometimes 20 if I fancy watching some YouTube videos in the bath for a while, or playing a game on my phone. It never feels like it’s burning my skin, and as someone who suffers from sensitive skin, this is a good thing!
So why is this face mask so good for you? Well charcoal is great for basically pulling out any muck and crap in your skin, especially blackheads. I have noticed mine have gotten smaller a tad since using this mask, which is good! Charcoal is also great for greasy skin, and as I suffer with an oily T-zone I have also found this section of my skin improve, which is amazing! The sea salt has helped to remove any dead skin, so this mask is great for all sorts really.
I didn’t actually expect to love this face mask as much as I have, and I really wish that Oxford Street was closer to home so I could pick this up every month or so to use in my weekly routine. Alas, this isn’t the case sadly… If you are lucky enough to be near that store (or at least traveling to London anytime soon), then I suggest that you go and try this out soon! Whether you buy it, or get a sample, I do suggest you give it a go.
Will I be attempting to get my hands on this again soon? OH HELL YEAH! It is worth every penny, and the next time I’m down in London I’ll be picking up enough to last me until the end of the year!
Have you tried Prince Of Darkness? Make sure to let me know what you think of it! Maybe you didn’t have a good experience with it like I did? Then please make sure to let me know about that too.
Until next time all, take care and have a great weekend!
There Might Be Coffee 