Skincare Review: Youth to the People Age Prevention Superfood Mask

In addition to my regular skincare regime (which I'll go over in a future post), I have an enormous collection of masks, or as I like to call them, magic. It does a soul good to slather on some beautiful mud/cream/gel and relax in the tub with a bath bomb and some wine. I try to do at least one mask a week, but if I'm feeling extra fancy or particularly virtuous I'll do several.

This mask is a new one, and I received a small version of it in a set. The regular sized version retails for $44 in a 2 oz. jar.


Youth to the People Age Prevention Superfood Mask -

From the brand's website - Packed with superhero supergreens from land and sea, this age prevention mask uses the power of spirulina, bioactive microalgae, and our proprietary superfood blend to speed cell turnover and nourish skin with age-fighting phytonutrients. Crosslinked hyaluronic acid drenches skin in intense moisture, freshening your face with its plumping, hydrating benefits.

A little about Youth to the People - they use 100% vegan products and 100% recyclable packaging, and their products are squeaky clean. No fragrance, parabens, animal testing, or added color. Their ingredients are natural and extremely nutrient rich. 

Nice!

Without further ado, let's get to the good stuff - TESTING. 

Before:

I used micellar water (Garnier brand) to completely clean my face of any traces of makeup or skincare. My skin type is very dry, with redness in spots and visible pores around my nose. Several wrinkles beginning to show around my eyes and mouth. Sad times.

No makeup, clean skin

The products: 

I used a face mask brush by The Body Shop to apply this. A small touch that makes a huge difference in how luxurious a treatment feels - I definitely recommend this as an investment (linked below in caption). The mask itself felt surprisingly smooth and creamy; I was expecting more of a traditional, drier texture as you would find with a clay mask. This felt quite emollient, moisturizing, and spread very easily upon application. Scent was little to non-existent; a very slight herbal scent could be detected, but nothing heavy.

Mask brush by The Body Shop

During:

I swatched on my cheek to test the texture, and found that I could spread it quite a bit thinner while keeping the same feel. You could load this mask on if you wanted to, but there's no need. The middle picture shows the mask after a fresh application, and the picture on the right shows the mask after drying down (this was taken at the end of the recommended fifteen minutes). Bonus: if you have green eyes this mask is the bomb. Will this fact help you in your everyday life? Probably not, unless you mask on the go, in which case I salute you. 

After: 

The brand recommends leaving this on for ten to fifteen minutes before rinsing with warm water. I used a washcloth to remove this (it would be quite difficult to remove with water alone). On to impressions! My skin, as previously mentioned, is very dry. I always hope for a moisturized feel after a mask, but it's rare for me to get that result. This did not give a particularly moisturized feel. I did feel that the mask improved the clarity of several parts of my skin initially - the picture on the left was taken immediately after removal with some residual redness, but I do feel that my face looked brighter overall and a bit firmer as well around the jawline. The picture on the right is after applying my daily facial oil as a moisturizer, and I feel like my face looked slightly redder than usual but also had a nice glow. The true test came later in the day after applying and wearing light makeup - I could tell that my skin was in better condition tone and texture-wise, and it did end up feeling slightly more moisturized than usual. 

After mask, before moisturizer (left) and after mask, after moisturizer (right)

            

After with makeup:

Conclusion:

I can't classify this as a must-have for my skin type, unfortunately. It was a nice, easy mask that had some definite benefits, but not enough to justify the $44 price tag in my opinion. If you have a chance to sample this and you have skin that tends to be less dry, I would absolutely give it a go - it is a good basic upkeep mask, particularly mixed in with other products that have more potent ingredients. I'll discuss some of those products in upcoming posts, so stay tuned!

As usual, let me know if you have any questions or personal experiences with this mask (or other masks to recommend)!

- Taylor