Glamglow YouthMud Tinglexfoliate Treatment

Perhaps a better name for this product would be YouthMud Burnexfolitate Treatment because a strong burning sensation is my biggest take-away from this product.

Well, that and mild disappointment. I say “mild” because I was just using a sample that I’d received for free as part of a Sephora bonus. Had I actually paid for this self-described “10-minute professional ‘facial in a jar’,” “mild” would be replaced with “extreme” as this mud mask runs $70 a jar. For that price, I want to truly be wowed. But I wasn’t, not in the slightest.

It’s not that this is a bad product. While it did make my face feel like it was on fire for a few minutes, it didn’t damage or irritate it. And once this mask was wash off, my skin did feel and look better. It was undisputedly softer and smoother feeling, and it also looked brighter and healthier.

YouthMud makes a ton of claims about this product and some of them I agree with including: “Leaves skin noticeably radiant and glowing,” “provides gentle resurfacing exfoliation” and “helps to provide a more youthful appearance.”

But I didn’t notice “provides tighter skin texture and tighter pores” or “absorbs impurities without removing natural oils” that I have no idea if these claims, “helps to protect against free radicals” and “activates moisturizing collagen synthesis” are accurate.

More importantly is that the effects this mask did have on my skin weren’t much different than what I get when I use a $2 Balea mud mask. And actually, those cheaper masks are more relaxing as they don’t make my face feel like it’s on fire and they have a better texture. While Glamglow is a mud mask, it’s quite thin feeling. It also contains pieces of real green tea, which, while supposedly beneficial, initially made me wonder if my sample was going bad. This mask goes on and comes off easily enough but it doesn’t deliver that rich, luxurious feel that I want from a mud mask.

Of course this product is likely much “healthier” for my skin than any of the Balea masks.  Those pieces of tea are part of some proprietary ingredient that “is the ‘magic’ behind our powerful anti-aging and anti wrinkle results.” But while the green tea might be healthy, it wasn't that effective. While this product did freshen up the look of my skin, it had no impact on my forehead lines.

Also included in this mask is mud from the south of France, volcanic rock and a ton of plant-based ingredients. Based on that list, I can see why this isn’t a cheap product but I also suspect that the high price tag is to make this product seem more high-end. Glamglow boosts that this mud is designed for “behind-the-scenes use in Hollywood’s Entertainment, Music, Fashion & Award industries, for immediate camera- ready glowing skin.” That very well might be the case but then major productions have the budget to blow on this kind of item. I don’t. Thankfully, getting fresh, bright skin doesn’t have to cost $70.

Would I buy this product: No.

Should you buy this product: Only if you have money to burn.