Project Clear Skin: The Aspirin Mask.

The Aspirin Mask

If you're a member of Makeupalley or any other beauty community site you've probably heard about the highly reviewed/talked about Aspirin Mask. I've always been curious to try it, so on my recent trip to Dollar Tree I purchased a bottle of uncoated Aspirin Tablets. 175 tablets for $1! Nice! I wasted no time when I got back home to try it out. (You can find uncoated Aspirin at any drugstore for under $5 a bottle)

I placed (3) tablets in the palm of my hand and applied a few drops of water onto the tablets and let them sit for about a minute. They should be fully dissolved into a pasty like texture. Then, I dabbed the mixture on the trouble areas of my face. Mainly where I had new pimples forming. I let it sit for 10 minutes on my face and rinsed it off. Then, I applied a little witch hazel to my face with a cotton ball as a toner. (I always use witch hazel after a cleanser)

The following morning, my face was almost completely clear!!!!! Today I was in the facial mood again, so I did my Queen Helene's Mint Julep Mask and the Aspirin Mask again. My face is feeling oh so good! :)

Update: My method now for applying the Aspirin Mask is slightly different. I still use (3) tablets with a few drops of water, but I also add about a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil to the mixture. Then, instead of dabbing it onto my face like I did previously, I'll rub it on my face like I would with an exfoliation scrub. Then, I let it sit on my face for about ten minutes. Then, I'll wet my hands and wipe the mask off my face in circular motions to do some last second exfoliation. Then, I'll completely rinse my face. It feels so fresh and incredibly soft from the Olive Oil. Then like before, I apply Witch Hazel to my face with a cotton ball. The following morning my skin looks so radiant and almost blemish free!

Tips:

• Since the Aspirin breaks up into a baking soda-like powder, its not going to stick that well to your face. The water will dry, and the Aspirin will turn back into its powder form and may flake or fall off of your face. So I just laid down for the 10 minutes. You can add anything you want to it to make it adhere better. I've read ton of reviews. Some people have used honey, Aloe Vera gel, oils (such as lavender, almond, coconut, olive, jojoba, etc), yogurt, lemon juice, etc. You can get creative!
• Don't add too much water or it may be difficult to apply

There are also tons of household items that can help clear up break outs. Some include:
Baking soda mixed with a bit of water.. and use it as an exfoliation scrub to remove dead skin cells that can clog pores, Lemon or Lime Juice has citric acid which will help fade old acne spots, Oatmeal will absorb the oils from your face and help unclog your pores, Aloe Vera will heal acne spots and fade marks & Toothpaste helps dry up your pimples. There are so many different remedies. I haven't tried any of these things yet.. But I definitely will. The Aspirin has me sold!

Here's a couple of pictures. I'm so embarrassed to post the before pic. My complexion has always pretty much been naturally clear.. but the past month my face has been breaking out like crazy. The pictures are super close and personal.. lol I snapped a picture of my worse cheek.



Have you tried the Aspirin Mask? Do you use it alone or do you mix things with it?

A couple follow ups/reviews!

As, you know, I purchased a few Ben Nye products [click here if you didn't see the post] and I've been using them all week. Let me tell you what I think of them.

Ben Nye Powder Blush in "Cool Pink". I really like this blush. It's a bright, matte, fuchsia pink. The texture is some what chalky. It's definitely not a smooth, silky powder. One thing I really like about it, because of its consistency, when I swipe my blush brush, you don't get a lot of product on the brush. That way, you can swipe the blush and brush it on your cheeks and go back for more if you need it.. instead of getting too much on your brush and putting a big blotch on your face by accident. I used this with foundation and without foundation. When I used it without foundation, it gave my cheeks an extremely natural blushed color. The color my cheeks would turn if I was exercising and my cheeks became a little flushed. That it something I really like about it. I absolutely love this.. I can't tell if its "Holy Grail" material yet, but It's a very good blush and worth the price. I will be buying more of these in diff. colors! Have you used Ben Nye blushes? What did you think? What colors have you tried?

Ben Nye Banana Visage Powder This powder is great. I've been using it every day and I LOVE it. What I like about compared to Neutral Set, is the tiny bit of yellow/peach tint it gives. I typically use it under my eyes to set my cream concealer.. and because of the yellow tint, it conceals my dark circles a tad better. (Since yellow cancels out purples) I also have been using a synthetic haired kabuki brush and using it to buff my face after I applied my foundation. This is probably the best setting powder I've used. Some of my foundations are a tad on the pink side, and this really makes it look more golden. It blends in perfectly with my foundations. This is definitely a HG product and I'm so glad I decided to order it. And, it was only a few bucks!

I picked up a couple things lately that I haven't really tried until the past two days and I'm loving them. They are the Boots No7 Color Calming Makeup Base and Palladio Yellow Concealer. The Makeup Base I purchased from Target (it was on clearance for a couple dollars) and the Palladio concealer I purchased from Sally's for a few dollars.



Honestly, I freaked out when I put the green primer on my face.. it is GREEN. Like Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque green. And I put it all over my face and it gave my face and I ended up wiping it off because I didn't expect it to be so pigmented. Well, I tried it again yesterday. I applied a little moisturizer to my whole face. Then, since green cancels out red, I applied this under and around my eyes where there was red and on my cheeks and chin. I was really surprised to see how it removed the rosiness in my face and neutralized everything. I was pretty blown away that a primer could do that. And I used it again today, and I'm just loving this stuff. My boyfriend has rosy cheeks and he hates it.. and I told him "Hey!! I found something that can cover the redness on your cheeks and its not makeup!" haha so yes, if you have this problem too, this may be a product you'd like to check out!

And since I was doing all this color correcting, haha I decided to try out my Palladio Yellow Concealer. Since I canceled the redness under my eyes with the primer, the color left over was the purple.. so for that you need yellow. Its in a lipstick like form.. so I applied it under my eyes with the stick pretty thickly.. and I took a concealer brush and blended it evenly.. and my dark circles were completely gone. Here I've been searching for a new concealer to try out and I had this little tube in my makeup drawer unused. It is definitely quite yellow, but once I applied my foundation, you couldn't see it. So this is another drugstore fave! yay! I haven't tried much from Palladio, but I've heard great things.. I use their Wet/Dry powder and its amazing. I'd love to try more! :)

Here's a swatch of both products!



Today I used MAC Mineralize Satinfinish foundation.. and Its a foundation I bought a long time ago and it has been sitting in my drawer because It really wasn't one of my favorite foundations. It provided good coverage.. but I have been using other ones I liked better I suppose. I used it today because I'm running low on foundation, and my face looked FLAWLESS. Isn't it weird sometimes how you will apply your makeup one day and it will look amazing, and you'll apply it exactly the same way the next day and it looks like crap? I don't know if it was the primer or what. I notice when I don't have self tanner on my face, my foundation looks pretty bad. My face color without self tanner would probably be like a NC20-25.. and with tanner its a definite NC35-40. And I know the Mineralize Foundation (I have it in NC40) would look horrid and extremely yellow if I didn't have a good tan on my face. I find that its somewhat true for Fix Fluid too. I don't have that problem with my Estee Lauder Double Wear.. it always looks the same. The mineralized foundation is slightly dewy and pearly.. and gives wonderful coverage. I think the main thing I didn't like about it is that it's slightly more yellow/beige than Fix Fluid. I liked the more golden tone. Maybe If I tried this in NC37 it would be better.. but I think next time I go to the MAC counter I'll try out a sample because it really gave me an airbrushed look today.


Here's a comparison of foundations. they look almost the same but there's a slight difference.


I was laying down.. lol

I used MAC Mineralize Foundation in NC40, Palladio Yellow Concealer, Ben Nye Banana Luxury Powder under my eyes, Chanel Bronze Universel Bronzer on the hollows of the cheeks, Ben Nye Cool Pink Blush on the apples of my cheeks and MAC New Vegas msf for a highlight.


I planted tons of marigolds and only one grew :(


LOL, i always take foot pictures.. i think they're cute. these are my michael kors gladiator flats.. love em!

MAC Lipliner Swatches!

Chicory - Soft, muted peachy brown.

Lure- A muted, browned coral (LE).

Spice- Pink cinnamon stick.Cedar - A rich, rose-flushed brown (LE).

Stripdown - Creamy brown-beige.

Subculture - Underground pink.

Hover - Rich, caramel brown.

From Left to Right: MAC Chicory, Lure, Spice, Cedar, Stripdown, Subculture and Hover.

My most worn are Stripdown, Hover and Spice. Chicory and Lure are a little too red toned for every day wear and subculture is the exact same color as my lips, so it really doesn't do much.

View all shades on the MAC website here.

Overview: MAC Concealers! (MAC Studio Finish, MAC Select Cover Up, MAC Moisturecover & Studio Stick) Lots of Swatches!

I'm going to briefly go over MAC concealers and which are my favorites...

MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer - A luxurious, blendable moisturizing concealer in a tube with a doe-foot applicator. Has a natural satin-smooth, ultra-moisturizing finish. Layers for added coverage. Line-softening, Skin-perfecting.

MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer - Liquid camouflage for the skin. Texture-free, virtually invisible. Comes in a tube. Blends in. Brightens and lightens dark areas, erases spots, evens-out skin... Makes skin flaw-free. Use pre-foundation, or on its own. Don't reveal it, conceal it!

MAC Studio Finish Concealer - A lightweight, creamy, discreetly opaque concealer. Provides a smooth, long-wearing invisible coverage for all skin blemishes. Water-resistant, fragrance-free and non-acnegenic. This emollient-based, lightweight concealer is so concentrated that a tiny amount can provide opaque coverage of the skin's imperfections and discolourations. It effectively covers dark circles, blemishes, moles, tattoos and birthmarks. Enriched with antioxidants (derivatives of Vitamin A and Vitamin E), it also contains Silica to help adsorb the skin's oils. Concealer has an SPF of 35 and is available in a wide range of colours. It can be applied with a medium to firm fiber brush (try the 242 Brush), a latex sponge, or the fingertips.

MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer - A creamy concealer that provides full coverage with a natural matte finish. Brushes on with enough blend time to conceal any size of blemish. Rich formulation allows you to use a micro-amount of product to even out skin. Water-resistant and long-wearing.

MAC Studio Stick Concealer - Discontinued.

MAC Studio Touch-Up Stick - Discontinued.

Overview: My favorite concealers from MAC remain to be MAC Select Cover-Up & MAC Studio Finish. MAC Select Cover-Up is your basic liquid concealer that gets the job done. It has a good medium coverage which you can build to almost full, and it conceals blemishes very well. It also lasts me throughout the day and doesn't seem to cake and settle in my fine lines. I've been using this concealer since 2006 and continue to repurchase it every time I'm out! MAC Studio Finish concealer is my favorite full coverage concealer. For a lighter coverage, I use my finger to apply it.. and for fuller coverage.. I like using a concealer brush and patting it under my eyes. I recommend moisturizing your under eyes before applying this so it's easier to spread. Despite the fact that this is a creme/cake concealer.. it's not too thick under my eyes and doesn't feel heavy. It's quite possibly my favorite concealer of all time. I like MAC Select Moisturecover, but I think the color is terrible and is probably the main reason I don't use it. I purchased a NW25, because it's my shade in all MAC concealers.. but in Moisturecover, it's very dark (darker than my skin) and very orange. I would like to try it in NW20 and see if I like it better. The coverage is a light/medium and has a nice radiant, satin finish. I don't find it to be long lasting though. MAC Studio Sculpt Concealer is an alright concealer.. The coverage is similar to Studio Finish, but the consistency is completely different. Studio Sculpt is much more creamier. But because of the creaminess.. when I build it to my desired coverage it tends to cake. MAC Studio Stick (discontinued anyway..) is an okay concealer.. I didn't find it to be anything special. I would compare it to any stick concealer you'd find at your local drugstore. You may be able to still find this at a CCO.

Swatches (indoors, flash)

From Left to Right: MAC Select Moisturecover Concealer NW25, MAC Select Cover-Up Concealer NW25, MAC Studio Stick Concealer NW25 and MAC Studio Finish Concealer NW25.

Moisturecover is definitely the darkest and most orange of the four, Select Cover-Up and Studio Stick are almost identical peachy toned and Studio Finish also comes very close to Select Cover-Up and Studio Stick except it's a touch more yellow.

Unfortunately, I misplaced my Studio Sculpt Concealer and is not included in the swatches.

I hope you found this post/swatches helpful!