Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Facial Mask

Apologies for the scant reviews lately, but they're coming--I promise! Today's review is on the Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Facial Mask. It comes in a sleek white plastic pump 3.4 oz bottle and retails for $52. You can purchase this at Sephora, the Bliss website, and any department stores that carry Bliss products.

I wanted to try this mask because I really loved Bliss' Peeling Groovy serum (previous review here) and I've heard good things about it from various beauty gurus like Pursebuzz, Phyllis at Makeupforlife, and Queenie at Youtube. Furthermore, Bliss reports that this mask is one of their best sellers, and it's been featured in countless other magazines. Tons of people love it!

You're supposed to apply this mask to a clean, damp face. As I pumped the product out, I noticed it looks a lot like a shaving gel (it's also a creamy orange color with a pleasant scent). It took quite a few pumps to get it covered amply all over my face and neck (I'd estimate about 10 pumps total). Basically, you slather it all over the skin just like you do with shaving gel on your legs, and it even foams up a bit like a shaving gel does at first. Then, the mask becomes more and more bubbly and frothy on the skin as time passes, and less like a thick foam. You wash it off after 3-5 minutes, and the directions say you can use this mask up to 3 times a week. (Not sure why you can't use it more often--perhaps your skin becomes tolerant to it.)

The product claims to "brighten" and "lighten" your complexion and help your face look less "dull or tired" with "the most active powerful form of Vitamin C available." Also, the oxygen bubbles are supposed to help deliver more antioxidants to the skin through "innovative Fluid02 technology." Since I'm a fan of anything with antioxidants or skin brightening and lightening, I was really eager to try it.

However, after I rinsed off the mask the first time, I felt like my skin felt pretty clean and smooth, but I didn't notice any difference. Unconvinced, the next time I tried it, I used it on half of my face to really test it out. Both sides of my face looked identical despite using the mask on only one side. So then I tried it on a single spot on the back of my hand. Nothing. My complexion was the same color in that one spot, and it didn't get lighter or brighter at all.

People rave about how this product is like a spa in a bottle, but I think the luxurious pampering feeling they get from it is an overly hyped, placebo-like effect. This mask really doesn't do anything for me. It's just like an expensive bottle of shaving gel for the face that happens to turn into foam. Maybe it does help with free radicals and cell damage, but I can think of a ton of other products out there (not necessarily masks) that do a better job. As for the (many) people who see genuine results after using it, I say good for them, but if you haven't tried this yet and are thinking about purchasing, I highly recommend getting a sample first to see if it even works for you. I have to say I'm very disappointed--I guess Bliss' products are either hit or miss.

Ingredients (as taken off the box):
water (aqua), methyl perfluoroisobutyl ether, sorbitol, cocamidopropyl betaine, methyl perfluorobutyl ether, sodium laureth sulfate, chondrus crispus (carrageenan), cyclopentasiloxane, glycerin, fragrance (parfum), cyclohexasiloxane, limonene, phenoxyethanol, benzyl alcohol, potassium sorbate, xanthan gum, coco-glucoside, sodium PCA, tocopherol, oryza sativa (rice) bran extract, camellia sinesis leaf extract, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, gynostemma pentaphyllum extract, panthenol, polyhydroxystearic acid, hydrolyzed soy protein, benzoic acid, PPG-1 trideceth-6, citric acid, tetrahedexyldecyl ascorbate, ethylbisiminomethylguaiacol manganese chloride, ethylhexyl isononanoate, mica, linalool, isononyl isononanoate, sodium cocamidopropyl PG-dimonium chloride phosphate, citral, titanium dioxide (CI 77891), yellow 5 (CI 19140), red 40 (CI 16035)

Bliss Peeling Groovy Serum

(OK, I know I should be working, but in my defense I typed up most of this review before finals anyway, hehe)

I have found my new holy grail exfoliant serum!

1 ounce costs $65...I almost cried when I purchased it, haha. Luckily, Bliss.com was doing a promotion in February where you received a full size Love Handler for free with any purchase which persuaded me.

You can purchase this at Bliss or Sephora. It comes in a thick glass bottle with a sturdy plastic pump. I hate products with crappy pumps, and I actually like that it's in glass because that means I can store the product longer (plastic packaging = chemicals leeching into your product and shorter shelf life).

I always assumed Bliss skincare products weren't effective because the ingredients never impressed me, but this product makes me understand why they have such a cult following. My former holy grail serum Estee Lauder Idealist stopped working for me early in 2009 (I think my skin became tolerant to it) so I was desperately looking for a similar product.

My skin was immediately glowing upon the first application and it looks absolutely flawless. I'm even brave enough to go outside with no concealer, foundation, or powder. My cheeks are also naturally blushing. Amazing!

This has helped all my other skincare products work better. Before I finished my Clinique Derma White products, I could definitely see the difference the Peeling Groovy Serum made. In only a couple weeks, my skin already looked brighter and lighter than usual. As someone who has tried the Clarisonic in the past, which similarly claims to make all your skincare products absorb more and thus work better, I say ditch the Clarisonic and just buy this if you didn't think the Clarisonic was anything special either. The Clarisonic didn't minimize or clean my pores as promised, but this stuff really works.

Unfortunately, the downside to this product is that it stings a lot when you first apply it to your skin for about a minute. Oily skinned, non-sensitive types may not feel anything, but I don't even have particularly sensitive skin and I definitely felt a burning sensation when I first started using it. At the time, I had super congested skin. Now, my skin has calmed down a lot and I don't feel any pain or burning at all. However, in the words of Singaporean blogger Xiaxue, to me the sting is "tolerable for beauty's sake," but I understand some people may not have as high a pain threshold as I do.

This product is not intended to moisturize. After properly cleansing and toning your skin, I smooth a couple squirts onto my entire face and neck, avoiding the eye area. A little goes a long way. Make sure you wait 3-5 minutes before applying any other skincare products, like serums, moisturizers, or creams. I think eye creams are fine to apply as you wait since you're not applying the Peeling Groovy Serum on your eye area. When I first started using this, I had no idea I was supposed to wait before applying moisturizer, but I still saw a difference in the texture and vibrancy of my skin. I do think it's important to wait a little bit, but if your skin starts feeling tight because the water that was absorbed while cleansing your face disappears, go ahead and apply your lotion; exfoliation is important, but hydration is even more so.

I first started using this product around that "time of month" and it did dry my skin out pretty badly. My skin has improved so much lately, and I hardly need to use this anymore. I'll probably only whip it out once every two weeks, or when I feel my face breaking out. Since my skin is doing so much better lately, it seems unnecessary for me to use this all the time. In the event that my skin does start acting up again (which will inevitably happen), I will update you and let you know how well this works then. But though this product costs $65, I have a feeling I won't even be done with my ounce bottle after a year.

This product has really piqued my interest in some other Bliss products I hope to add to my medicine cabinet eventually, like the Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Face Mask. Do you folks have any other Bliss recommendations? Let me know!