Mud Wrestling: 3 Clay Masks Tried,Tested & Compared ft Voya, Skinician & Glam Glow

Being an avid beauty junkie it's very natural that I can get caught up in obsession with certain products or treatments. More often than not it's make up, lip gloss or nail polish but this past couple of months it's been clay face masks. 

Thankfully for this new obsesh there happens to have been a couple of press launches of late that have allowed me to test out some of the best. Behold, beauty lovers, Voya's Get Glowing, Skinician's Purifying Mask and Glam Glow's Tingling and Exfoliating Mud Mask. 

Voya's Get Glowing Illuminating Clay Mask: €38

I'm a big lover of home grown products and the organic, sea weed based brand, Voya is right up the top of that list. Their newest beauty offering, the Illuminating Clay Mask is over 70% organic and made from hand harvested seaweed. 

The scent of clay is infused with rosemary and patchouli and of course seaweed. This mask never fully hardens, instead it feels as though your skin drinks in it's organic goodness and after ten minutes washes off to leave a seriously luminous visage. (The ideal mud mask to answer the door in and not risk inadvertent heart attacks)

While my pores were sparkling and skin brighter than before, a word of warning for sensitive skinned ladies here: I had a brief slight reaction (read lobster chops) so I'd recommend a patch test first should you be considering this for easily agitated faces. 

Skinician Purifying Mask: €27

Skinician, the new skincare range from the makers of He-Shi is showing serious promise so far. The Purifying mask is just the first product I've trialed and I'm genuinely impressed. 

Designed to balance sebum production, tighten pores and reduce fine lines, this one would be my recommendation for the oilier ladies amongst us. With green clay, shea butter and Japanese seaweed, this is one of the most moisturising clay masks I've used. 

Again the Purifying Mask didn't set on the skin as most clay masks tend to. It's a creamy, smooth texture that leaves a slight tingle on washing off but the difference on my schnozz pores was definitely notable and has meant that I'm not reaching for primer as often when using it. Very handy. 

Glam Glow Tingling & Exfoliating Mud Mask: €40 for (.5floz!)

Much like it's Super descendant Glam Glow Super Mud that I reviewed here  Glam Glow Tingling & Exfoliating was designed to be a 10 minute wonder mask for the Hollywood elite before they faced the cameras. 

Designed and suitable for all skin types, Glam Glow is the grittiest of the three, with actual pieces of green tea leaf visible in the mud. This mask dries solid, leaving you with limited gurning abilities and limitless scaring possibilities for the ten minutes it's in situ. (I had the kitten terrified) (That could have been the jumping out with jazz hands). 

Made with volcanic rock, French sea clay and active green tea leaf, you'll get the biggest bang for your buck with this little black pot. The brightening and tightening results are much more exaggerated and if it weren't for Glam Glow Super Mud, this would be the pinnacle of my current clay mask stash. 

All masks are available now online and the links in the photo captions are the cheapest I could find them at the time of publishing, though do please let me know if you've seen 'em cheaper and I'll amend. 

Are you a clay mask lover? Are there any others I should be casting my beady eye over? 

The Irish Blog Awards are Back!

Can you believe it's been a year since the Irish Blog Awards 2012? I certainly can't! I was a judge last year and the quality of the nominations and eventual winners was phenomenal! 

Well this year I'm going to do something a little bit outside my comfort zone (that makes me a little shaky) and ask that, if you enjoy this little corner of the interweb, that you might consider nominating moi? 

I've already made my nominations on this page and it couldn't be easier! 

If you do feel like being a blahhdy legend today then here's the info you'll need: 

Email: Cherrysuedointhedo@gmail.com

Name of Blog: CherrySue Doin' the Do

Web Address: http://www.cherrysuedointhedo.com/

Of course if you're looking for further inspiration you can look to your right at 'Blogs I be Lovin' and consider showing those ladies some love too. 

I'll finish by saying regardless of nominations and awards I've been absolutely blown away by the support from lovely readers and bloggers alike and I honestly consider myself hugely lucky that people like to read what I love to ramble about.

Thank you very kindly. 

Monday's Moments: 17/06/13

Morning, All, is it just me or did that weekend whizz by? We mightn't have had the glorious sun from last week but we did have gorgeous sunny spells and that'll do me A-OK. 

How about some Moments to chase away the Monday blues and ease us into this week then, hmm? 

1. Forest Fairies FTW

It's been quite a while since I've found sheckles but while out on my lunchtime walkies this week, what did I find? 

The park was abandoned so I can only assume the Forest Fairies left this for Moi. At first I thought it was a Boots voucher. Then I turned it INTO a Boots voucher. (& surprise Subway for the lads). 

2. New Weekend Plans! 

It was going to be another weekend of tidying le shack and catching up with blogs and videos until I got a phone call from FM104. Apparently everyone that had texted in that week was entered into a VIP Taste of Dublin draw and yours truly came out top! 

The Sis & I were treated to dinner in ely (ehm not recommended :(), a night in the Camden Court hotel, VIP tickets to Taste of Dublin and passes into the G.H.Mumm tent where the cocktails were flowing. 

It. Were. Awesome. 

3. Guess Who's Back.. back again.. 

Kirstie's back..Tell a friend! 

It was with HUGE delight that I arrived home after a manic few days to realise that the long awaited Frillseeker.ie had officially launched. Not only is the site beautiful to look at and a cinch to navigate but it's already chock full of fabuloso content and ridiculously good comps.  

The brains behind this inevitable internet sensation is Kirstie McDermott of Beaut.ie fame. There's no doubting her interwebz Midas touch but that's 100% down to hard work, determination and a cracking personality. 

If it weren't for this lady, her inspiring work and her generosity of time & advice I'd never have started CherrySue in the first place so do please pop across and show her some love before Frillseeker goes stratospheric, ja? 

4. New Baby!

source

We had some fabulous news this week from across the water. Our eldest Broseph and his be-a-utiful wife are to welcome a little Evil Kenevil into their Evil Kenevil fold. 

He/She will be their long awaited first and I couldn't be any more thrilled for them but if that Baba doesn't come out with a helmet already strapped on I'll be shocked. 

Congrats, you loons! <3

5. A Smurftastic Adventure

I've been sitting on this little nugget of info for quite some time but this being the last Monday's Moments before the off I thought I'd share: 

I've been chosen by Sony Picutes to represent the our masses this weekend in Europe (Brussels and Paris) as the Irish Ambassador amidst Ambassadors from the world over! I couldn't be more exited for the off on Friday so do keep an eye on both the Instagram account and the Twitter machine and I'll be sure to share all the Smurfy fun as it happens. 

SQUEEE!!

So c'mom, what's chasing your Monday Blues away? I'd love to hear! 

Cherry Pick of the Week: Roisin Murphy - Overpowered

This weeks Pick is a throwback courtesy of the shuffle button on my phone choosing this choon while I was out walking during the week. 

Occasionally I forget how awesome Ms Murphy (of Moloko fame) is but then I remember. 

Do yo'self a favour, if you're not already a fan, and check out her back catalogue. Gal is ridiculously talented. 

What's been on repeat in your noggin this week then? 

Man Of Steel - Movie Review

(A Teenage Gorgebag's Review!)

 Who's in it?

Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner

What's it about?

Man of Steel chronicles Superman's origins, his birth, where his powers come from, and how he got to earth. It follows his quest to find out who he is, who his real parents are and where he is from. It also has him face off against General Zod, leader of the Kryptonian army and make a decision between his own people or the people he grew up around.

Any Good?

This film is produced (and co-written) by Christopher Nolan, or as you should know him, the man that made Batman actually cool again. It is also directed by Zack Snyder, who directed my second favourite hero film (after the godsend that was The Dark Knight), Watchmen. Being the (unashamed) huge geek that I am, you can imagine the enormous nerdgasms I had at the mention of these two working together.

R U SRS?!?!

Now I've never been into Superman in all honesty (Marvel > DC for me), but this movie has me wanting to rush to my favourite comic store and buy as many Superman comics as I can afford!! Nolan has done with the Man of Steel what he did with Batman, he made a huge icon in the nerdosphere human, relatable and overall attractive to me who always thought he was too overpowered to like.

Say that again?

Henry Cavill WAS Superman, everything from charisma to muscles to even his voice was perfect. But even though this film was about a superhero, there was a legend right behind him that matched his incredible acting. Kevin Costner played Jonathan Kent, Clarke's (human) father. He actually blew me away with his performance, the chemistry between himself and Dylan Sprayberry (teenage Clarke Kent) was incredible, it was as if they actually were father and son. Overall the acting in this movie was stellar in my eyes, from Russell Crowe's Jor-El moving from hammy-acted scientist to his excellent return as the guide for Clarke, Laurence Fishburne playing the well-meaning editor of the Daily Planet perfectly and even down to Cooper Timberline as 9 year old Clarke.

Oh, stop.

One thing I was delighted with is one of my favourite actors actually getting a role his deserves, Michael Shannon. I fell in love with him as an actor in Boardwalk Empire and as General Zod he showed that he deserves better roles than he is usually given. Another thing I loved was the pace of the film, watching the early trailers had me groaning because I'm not a big cinematography guy and it looked like these trailers were just pandering to those types. This pace made the action absolutely phenomenal, it had me following the action (as best I could with the fact I'm as blind as a bat at a distance), but where it held one part of the film to near perfection, it let another fall down. For me, the quick and seamless editing from current time Clarke/Superman to past Clarke really let a film of this magnitude down due to the 'wait, he's young again?' thoughts. Not to say those scenes were bad, they were the best in the film in my eyes.

Did someone say confusing time skips?

The effects really stood out in this film, the Kryptonian armor like a mix between Mass Effect 2's Collectors with the head of a District 9 Prawn. That leads me to talk about Superman's Kryptonite weakness. I always found that a rock beating the most powerful being around (excluding Marvel's Galactus of course) was ridiculous, but Man of Steel answered the 'WTF' question that was in my mind all my life perfectly. All in all the effects were mind-blowing, they even made Tony Stark's workshop look like something out of a SyFy channel film.

Right, Shepard was too good for us, instead lets kill Superman!!

Right, I've gushed and proved that I'm a total nerd for too long, I think I should just give you all a break. This is THE Superman film, most fans will adore this, and even me, an adamant anti-Superman person, loved it and have a new found interest in his lore. What you will love is the effects I mentioned above, the acting perfection and the final fight scene that was just, if not more, tense as the final fight scene in The Raid. It starts as a cliched action film but moves on to be something really special. I was warned against doing a long review but a film this Super (wink wink) needs a Super review, so I couldn't help it.

And for those that couldn't be bothered to read that (don't blame you, I wouldn't), my TL;DR is GO TO SEE THIS MOVIE!! It's everything a Superman movie should be with the dark Nolanverse mixed with a few cheesy lines. Again, GO TO SEE THIS, you'll thank me, the writers and director, and yourself for watching a movie on par with the legendary The Dark Knight.Rating:    


Signing off as this for fear of an elbow the likes of something from the top of the ropes in WWE, 

The (sigh..) Eldest Gorgebag