Monday 1 October 2012

A Less Than Glowing Review For GlamGlow



One of the things I enjoy most about my Sunday pampering routine is clearing out my skin with a good face mask. I noticed yesterday that Cult Beauty had 25% off everything (& will do until midnight tonight!). Considering GlamGlow is one of the many products they sell I figured this would be an ideal time to purchase the full size 50ml pot after hearing so many wonderful things about it. But I first needed to try out my sample tube I received at the Leeds Blogger Meetup. I've wanted to try this mud mask ever since I read Ruth's review. In fact I actually squeed out loud when I saw the display boards being put up at the meetup. I was overjoyed I was finally going to get to try this wonder mask without splashing out 50 quid beforehand. Fast forward to today and I'm really rather glad I decided to save my pennies.

GlamGlow is marketed as an instant facial in a tub. It contains volcanic rock, French sea clay and green tea leaf extracts that supposedly brighten, clear and tighten your skin after just 15 minutes. It is also supposed to leave your skin glowing for up to three days after application. Theres quite a few celebrities that have proclaimed their love for this mask which only added to my high expectations of this product. I eagerly applied this dark green mask in a thin layer all over my face. As I smoothed it over my face I could already feel some exfoliation occurring due to the bits of green tea leaves it contains. The green tea smell is really nice. It feels extremely tingly, almost uncomfortably so. I think it might be too much for someone with sensitive skin. It dries to a hard finish like most traditional clay masks so its quite fun trying to talk with it on.

After 15 minutes I removed the mask with a muslin cloth. Combined with the green tea leaves it gave my skin a good exfoliation and the congested areas on my nose & chin looked clear & felt smooth. Sadly thats where the benefits ended. My skin did not look particularly radiant or glowing. Certainly no more than when I simply wash my face in the morning with my REN cleanser and a flannel. And to my horror a small crop of spots had appeared on my forehead! I'm not saying that the spots are purely down to GlamGlow but it definitely brought them to the surface. That might not be a bad thing in the long run but this mask is supposed to make your skin look instantly better, not put all the crappy bits of your skin on display for the world to see. I'd be very disappointed if I were using this before a night out and I suddenly looked spottier than ever.

I really wanted to love GlamGlow but this product is just ridiculously overpriced and overhyped. I feel like if it were sold for about £20 as a regular clay mask then it wouldn't be such a bad skincare product. But considering the £50 price tag (thats £1 per ml!) and its claims of instant skin improvement & a three day glow, it just isn't worth it. It might have worked for others but even if it did work on my skin, it'd have to be pretty miraculous in order for the price to be justifiable to me. Try Liquid Gold instead.

18 comments:

  1. I definitely want to try Alpha H liquid gold, do you use the clay ren cleanser? I'm so tempted to get that too! x

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    1. I use the clay one at night & the mayblossom one in the morning. I think its a nice balance :) xx

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  2. I'm dying to try Liquid Gold! Really hoping when I get round to trying it it works wonders for my skin.

    xx

    wearenouvellevague

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    1. it'll do more for your skin than this, thats for sure! xx

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  3. £1 per ml is pretty expensive for something that doesn't do anything spectacular, I just don't understand such a huge price tag companies put on products but this must just be my inner scrimper.

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    1. i can understand high prices if something really delivers on its promises but with something like this you're better off buying a cheapy clay mask from boots xx

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  4. Aw man! Sad to hear this, I think I'll spend my pennies on the aesop parsley seed mask instead as I really want a new clay mask in my collection and was thinking about glamglow! but not anymore, trust your judgement Caroline ;)
    xo

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    1. love a good honest review. I'm so scared to put anything on my skin at the moment because it is so bad :(

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    2. yes i want to try the aesop one too! let me know how it goes :) xx

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  5. Ooft! Good thing you had a sample then because that is so dissapointing! Xo

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  6. oh such a shame it didnt deliver :( x
    thebeautyheroes.blogspot.co.uk

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  7. I found this realllyyy painful to use!
    I didn't have any problems with spots, and it did leave my skin really soft, but I wouldn't pay the price to buy it again!

    http://www.danielleyc.com/ xx

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  8. I hadn't heard about this brand before but good things I didn't because that's TOO pricey for me. I haven't found a good clay mask yet, is there one you would recommend?

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    1. the ren invisible pores mask is brilliant. i'd also like to try one of the aesop masks as i've heard their clay ones are really good xx

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  9. £50 for a face mask...just...what?!x

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  10. I actually really liked it but I can't justify that price tag.

    I think a bloggers event was the wrong place to market it at? we love bargains!

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  11. I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience with Glamglow because I swear by it! LOL it is a wonderful mask. Now, though it pulled impurities out of your skin and you didn't get an "instant glow", that doesn't mean it's bad. If you have impurities in your skin, something this powerful WILL pull them out, which is GOOD actually.

    From my experiences with using this for a number of months (replenished twice), I can tell you that my skin definitely is glowing once I take it off. It's a great product, but in all, everything isn't for everyone.

    ~sP

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    1. i do think it must work for some people because otherwise everyone would discredit it. it did pull out all my impurities but then it just left them on my face. if this was a good mask for me personally it would bring them to the surface as well as help to clear them. the price is probably the sticking point. i imagine for most people if they pay £50 for a product they would expect it to work miracles. i know most people have a hard time parting with money for skincare and prefer to stick to boots own brand so i just wanted to warn them that if they were to part with £50 for this mask, it might not work for them either xx

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