[REVIEW] NEOGEN Code 9 Glacial Magic Pore Mask

Behold – my first ever carbonated mask! Yes, I know I am very late to the game – but if you don’t know, there recently was a fad on these “carbonated” types of masks. You might have seen some YouTubers, IGers, etc. blogging about these masks that bubble/foam up. If you haven’t seen how these mystical masks work, check out the Elizavecca Milky Piggy Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask (TheBeautyBreakdown). I am seeing a shift in the trend towards FULL face peel-off masks now though, but I will probably pass up on those!

Disclaimer: This product was purchased with my own money and I am not being paid to write this. My review, images, impressions and thoughts are all my own, unless stated otherwise. While this product may or may not have worked for my skin, it may or may not work for yours – remember, your mileage may vary (YMMV)! 

Links: Affiliate links will be marked with an **. I currently do not have any affiliate accounts anywhere yet. 

Now, being me I really wanted to try one of these babies, so I ended up buying the Sunday Funday Box from Memebox (didn’t do an unboxing, because of many frustrating reasons but will do an overall review of the box later). The Sunday Funday box came with the NEOGEN Code 9 Glacial Magic Pore Mask.

Evaluation

PACKAGING	8/10
INGREDIENTS	7.5/10
APPLICATION	8.5/10
HOW IT FEELS	5/10
EFFECTIVENESS	8.5/10

Total rating out of 5: 3.75

Price (subject to change)

$25USD from Memebox

Quickie (for people like me who look things up at the store)

The Good

Effective, Fast, Instant Results, Fun, Left skin smooth and soft

The Bad

Itchy/Tingly feeling when bubbling, Drying, Skin felt rough when rinsing through water, Effects are not long-lasting, Contains A LOT of ingredients

Will I buy it again?

No. The bubbling process, and washing the mask off felt unpleasant and uncomfortable so I’ll pass on this one. #sohype

Description

‘Feel absolutely free in your skin by removing all dead skin cells, excessive sebum, impurities and blackheads away from your skin with Neogen Code9’s Glacial Magic Pore Mask’

Obtained from Memebox

Packaging

One thing I wish I knew about this product is that you have to turn the lid in order to open it (well you probably already knew lol!). Something that bugged me was that I found out that this product expires on October 24, 2017. That’s a year away – I don’t know if I can finish this tub in one year. I know things that come in boxes can’t always be trusted, but I knew what was going into my box and I definitely was not expecting a mask that would just expire within a year. If I could see the manufacturing date, then it might be better? The ingredients probably can’t last that long? Hmm..

What this mask does

According to the card that came with the Sunday Funday Box, this mask is supposed to “bubble gently while exfoliating and purifying the skin for a glowing, poreless complexion”. On the box, it says that it is contains an absorptive formula that instantly eliminates excess sebum and wastes, blackheads, makeup and dead skin build-up inside pores leaving skin tingly clean and refreshed. It also contains high levels of natural minerals to moisturise and smooth skin for glowing perfection.

The Good/Bad Ingredients

Water, Kaolin, Glycerin, Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, Methyl Perfluroisobutyl Ether, Potassium Hydroxide, 1,2-Hexanediol, Betonite, Canadian Colloidal Clay, Carbonated Water, Buytlene Glycol, Coptis Chinensis Root Extract, Saccharum Officinarum Extract, Maltose, Carbon Dioxide, Sodium Hyaluronate, Allantoin, Beta Glucan, Aristotelia Chilensis Fruit Extract, Gardenia Blue Color, Oldenlandia Diffusa Extract, Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Solanum Melongena Fruit Extract, Cassia Obtusifolia Seed Extract, Porphyra Tenera Extract, Fagus Sylvatica Seed Extract, Dictyopteris Membranacea Extract, Allium Sativum Bulb Extract, Prunus Mume Fruit Extract,  Polygonum Fagopyrum Seed Extract, Rubus Coreanus Fruit Extract, Mirabilis Jalapa Seed Extract, Sepia, Charcoal Powder, Aronia Melanocarpa Fruit Extract, Euterpe Oleracea Fruit Extract, Sambucus Nigra Fruit Extract, Morus Alba Fruit Extract, Rhus Semialata G all Extract, Cinnamomum Cassia Bark Extract, Rose Extract, Inonotus Obliquus Extract, Anona Cher imolia Fruit Exract, Theobroma Cacao Extract, Coffee Arabic Fruit Extract, Vitis Vinifera Fruit Extract, Corthellus Shiitake Extract, Piper Nigrum Seed Extract, Black Sugar Extract, Passi flora Edulis Fruit Extract, Psidium Guajava Fruit Extract, Chrysanthemum Sibiricum Extract, Swiftlet Nest Extract, Honey Extract, Sarcodon Aspartus Extract, Laminaria Japonica Extract, Angelica Gigas Root Extract, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Lepidium Meyenii Root Extract, Aristotelia Chilensis Fruit Extract, Malva Sylvestris Extract, Garcinia Mangostana Peel Extract, Mangifera Indica Fruit Extract, Malt Extract, Chaenomeles Sinensis Fruit Extract, Musa Sapientum Fruit Extract, Caulerpa Lentillifera Extract, Ledebouriella Sese Ioides Root Extract, Angelica Dahurica Root Extract, Atractyloides Japonica Rhizome Extract, Lilium Tirinum Extract, Ribes Nigrum Fruit Extract, Cornus Officinalis Fruit Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Extract, Achillea Millfolium Extract, Opuntia Ficus-Indica Extract, Acer Saccharum Extract, Pinus Densiflora Extract, Oryza Sativa Bran Extract, Argania Spinosa Kernel Extract, Linum Usitatissimum Seed Extract, Angelica Archangelica Root Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Forsythia Suspensa Fruit Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Flower Extract, Schizandra Chinensis Fruit Extract, Cucumis Sativus Fruit Extract, Hibiscus Esculentus Fruit Extract, Laurus Nobilis Leaf Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana Leaf Extract, Citrus Junos Fruit Extract, Lithospermum Erythrorhizon Root Extract, Magnolia Liliflora Flower Extract, Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract, Dioscorea Japnica Root Extract, Acorus Calamus Root Extract, Cnidium Officinale Root Extract, Asparagus Cochinchinensis Root Extract, Averrhoa Carambola Fruit Extract, Uncaria Tomentosa Extract, Cocos Nucifera Fruit Extract, Chenopodium Quinoa Seed Extract, Salicornia Herbacea Extract, Plumeria Rubra Flower Extract, Hydrolyzed Coral, Amber Extract, Laminaria Digtata Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Agaricus Blazeii Extract, Tremella Fuciformis Extract, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance

This mask contains A LOT of ingredients. I did a CosDNA on this product, because with that many ingredients I’d rather be safe than sorry. The ingredients to watch out for are Stearic Acid, Myristic Acid, and Butylene Glycol which had a score above 0 on CosDNA and is something that can potentially cause acne/breakouts.

Canadian Colloidal Clay/Glacial Marine Soil – has a pH that ranges from 6.5 to 7.3 which is fairly neutral. This type of clay is notable for its ability to improve circulation, detoxify, and exfoliate dead skin cells. It also tightens wrinkles and leaves the skin feeling smooth and soft. (information obtained from SaltsClaysMinerals)

Potassium Hydroxide – Scoreda 3 on CosDNA,  for safety. This base is used as a pH adjuster and is supposed to balance out the pH within the products; however, if its in a large amount if can be a huge irritant for the skin.

Bentonite – Scored a 2 in termsof safety. Causes a drying effect on the skin and has been linked it skin and eye irritation. (information obtained from truthinaging)

Appearance, Smell, Texture

The clay is light gray, mainly from the Canadian Colloidal Clay, looks soft and spongey, and when you grab some product with your finger/spatula it feels sponge-like as well. However, when you apply this product, all the air squishes away and it applies like a normal clay mask. The fragrance is quite strong, it has this clay smell mixed with a ton of herbs, fruits and plants. If it was any stronger, my eyes would probably tear up/sting. It’s got this cooling/minty feeling to it when you touch it.

When and How to use

After cleansing and toning (optional), make sure you skin is dry and apply a thin layer (1mm). Wait 5 to 10 minutes until the masks starts bubbling, carbonating. Wash off with luke warm water. The frustrating thing about this mask is that if you don’t have a thick enough layer, it will not bubble (that happened to me, see above photo). The box will tell you to “massage gently” until capsules burst – DON’T, just leave it on, wait a bit and let oxygen do its thing.

If it has a thick enough layer, then it will bubble up properly in certain areas. I couldn’t get every single area to bubble up, but that’s due to my uneven application. The thinner layers produce no bubbles, whereas the thicker parts do.

Don’t forget to moisturise, moisturise and moisturise after using this mask. Clay masks are quite drying to the skin and if you have purely dry skin, it can feel unpleasant. This would probably work best for those with oily/combo skin. Also, don’t use if you are allergic to any of the billions of herbs, plants or fruit extracts that are included in this product.

How it feels

Oh boy. How does this feel? When you apply the mask, it feels cooling, and refreshing as does any other mask. However, when it is working its magic.. it tingles to the point that it’s itchy. Not the allergic type of itchy, but you feel like someone is light holding a feather and moving it back and forth on your face and you just want to scratch that part. The fragrance at this point was quite strong too, it cleared up my nose and made my eyes tear up just slightly (not a lot!).

The part that I disliked the most was when I washed the mask off. My face actually felt extremely dry, to the point that while you’re rinsing it off with water your fingers would stick to your skin (a rough feeling?). After I dried my face, my skin felt quite soft, and smooth which was unexpected since it felt so unpleasant in water..

Results

This mask does live up to its promise in that it will clean/minimise your pores. It definitely left my skin feeling smooth, tingly clean, but I wouldn’t say it felt moisturised though. However, compared to other clay masks, my skin didn’t feel as dry after washing the mask off. I’ve been trying this mask for a while, and I have to say that the effects are instantaneous, but not long-lasting. In the before/after photo, my pores do look smaller, cleaner/less obvious. That was not the case when I woke up and I was back to where I started. I’d probably use this in the morning instead so that I can have this effect throughout the day, but ain’t nobody got time for thaat.

In Summary

While this product does what it promises and delivers results, I would like it just a bit more if it was long-lasting (ie, if I woke up and my pores were still relatively non-existent). It is one of those quick and easy products that don’t take a lot of time, but can feel pretty uncomfortable. The smell may or may not bother you, but it is strong. The ingredients list is massive, which is what led me to using CosDNA. I also find it weird that you need a certain thickness for the mask to bubble, and not every single area of your face will bubble up – which differs from what you would you normally see from other carbonated masks. Keep an eye out for any potential ingredients in that list that you may be allergic to. It is a fun product to have when you’re bored with the regular good ol’ sheet masks, sadly I will not be repurchasing this because the process, the rinse and everything in between doesn’t feel great at all.