There are a variety of health and beauty aids on the market today, and then there are fun products made to pamper yourself. Montagne Jeunesse product packages seem to bring the best of both worlds–beauty and pampering–together in their product line. I first discovered the Montagne Jeunesse products at my local Wal-Mart, of all places, and I was immediately attracted to their colorful and creative packaging, but I wondered if the products would actually provide any benefit other than emptying my wallet.
Fortunately, Montagne Jeunesse seems to understand a woman’s concern about paying for products that may or may not perform as advertised, so I quickly discovered a display box of one-use sample sized Montagne Jeunesse products, at less than a dollar per sample. I figured, what the heck, I can waste much more than a buck at the local coffee shop, so why not give it a try?
I must admit I’m not a very ‘girly’ girl in that I don’t usually do the pampering routine. I hardly wear makeup, and I’m not much into going to spas and salons and doing the whole beauty routine, but every once in awhile, I do like to try a new product and have a ‘girly’ pampering night with my daughter and her friends.
That’s just what we did with the Montagne Jeunesse sample sized products. My daughter and three of her friends and me decided to sample the Montagne Jeunesse facial masques, so we each picked one from the following choices: Zen Flower Sensitive Masque, Apricot & Almond Oil Hot Masque, Red Hot Earth Sauna Masque, Peach Kernel & Walnut Exfoliating Masque, Cucumber Purifying Peel-Off Masque, Dead Sea Mud Pack, Strawberry Gel Masque, Aromatherapy Masque.
The first thing we noticed about the packaging, other than the bright colors, was the fact that on the top right corner of each package was text indicating what type of skin the product was best used for. For example, the Red Hot Earth Sauna Masque says it’s best “for normal, oily and t-zone skin”. Also, since I have sensitive skin, I was pleased to see a sensitive skin masque too.
After we purchased our products and came back to the house, we pulled our hair back, essential for using facial masques, and we each torn into the brightly colored Montagne Jeunesse facial masque foil packages. Being daring, I decided I wanted to try the self heating therapy clay masque, while one of the girls tried the peel-off masque, another tried the mud pack masque, and my daughter tried the oil hot masque, and her last friend tried the exfoliating masque.
So two of us had self heating masques. Following the instructions, we washed our faces, leaving them slightly wet, and then we applied the masque evenly to our face and neck, avoiding the eyes and lips. My masque was a rich, reddish color and the other heating masque was yellowish in color. The cream like substance of the masque spread evenly, much like applying a pudding or mousse to your face.
Shortly after we began rubbing the masque into our faces, the warming sensation was pretty obvious. Honestly, it was a unique feeling when the masque began to heat up, and it almost felt as though the masque was melting and dripping from my face, but it didn’t budge. The instructions said we were to relax with the masque on our faces and wait five minutes. My face tingled slightly and was a bit itchy, but it was not uncomfortable.
While we waited our five minutes, the other girls tried their masques. The colors of the product inside were nearly as vibrant as the colors on the packaging. We had red, yellow, light green, and blue. We all felt rather silly sitting around with brightly colored faces, but it was all in good fun.
The mud pack masque was probably the most difficult to apply. It was not as creamy as the other packages were, and had a lumpiness to it. However, all said and done, the mud pack masque probably felt the best and showed the best results after it was removed of all the masques we tried.
Our least favorite was the peel off mask. A woman’s face has very fine hair on it, and this masque hardens into a thin layer of plastic feeling substance, similar to dried glue. While my daughter’s friend said it felt very cool and smooth while applying the masque, she nearly had tears in her eyes when we began peeling the masque, and it pulled those fine hairs on her face. The peel off masque smelled wonderful, but it left her face red and splotchy, and she said it hurt to take it off.
Everyone else really enjoyed their Montagne Jeunesse masques though, if only for the fun of getting together for a masque party. The exfoliating masque appears to have crushed walnut shells (a common ingredient in facial scrubs) and seems to provide a greater facial benefit when it is washed off and the face if lightly scrubbed than when sitting with the masque on the face.
Montagne Jeunesse touts their masks as also being aromatherapy, and can be used for de-stressing. The masques do smell wonderful and contain exotic and common essential oils. While I probably wouldn’t use these masques on a regular basis, I do believe that I would purchase this product again, for a nice pampering session, while enjoying a relaxing, hot bath.
Final analysis: the product doesn’t seem to provide much benefit in the way of repairing or improving appearance, but they are fun to use and do feel good while wearing them. I do believe the product can provide some stress relief and pampering. The Montagne Jeunesse facial masque products are priced right for what they provide.
