Herbivore is a brand that I have seen crop up more and more in many a beauty article and Instagram picture over the past few months and with it's modern clean image, stunning colours and wonderful sounding ingredients, it is a brand that has intrigued me. I was kindly offered the opportunity to try one of their best selling products from the range so I could see for myself what the brand was all about. 

Herbivore is a natural skincare brand brought to us by husband and wife team Julia and Alex, who created Herbivore Botanicals out of their Seattle Kitchen in 2011. They developed products that are safe, non-toxic and highly effective making every 'active' ingredient included in each product, there for a specific therapeutic reason. Tested on real people instead of animals (big hooray to that) all products are organic, high quality and food-grade ingredients. Their ethics and philosophies certainly got my attention making it a brand I most definitely wanted to get on board with. 

So on to the product that has won me round to Herbivore Botanicals, Blue Tansy AHA/BHA Resurfacing Clarity Face Mask. For those of you who are scared off by exfoliating masks because you know your skin is too sensitive but you need to clean out those pores and get rid of the dead skin cells, then this is your answer. A natural, gentle resurfacing mask for all skins ... and it works. 



Lets talk ingredients ..... 

• White Willow Bark: A natural BHA high in salicylic acid which works by gently shedding the top layer of skin to decongest and unclog pores. 
• Fruit Enzymes: Natural AHA including papaya and pineapple work gently to exfoliate the skin and to rid it of dead cells to leave the complexion smoother, softer and fresher. 
• Blue Tansy Oil: Naturally high in Azulene, in addition to giving the oil its beautiful blue colour works as a powerful anti-inflammatory to reduce redness and soothe irritated skin.
• Aloe Leaf: Naturally contains salicylic acid and works gentle to unclog pores and soothe. 

Blue Tansy certainly seems to be the ingredient of the moment as we have see it used a lot lately, featuring in some other very popular skincare products such as Sunday Riley's Luna and May Lindstorm's The Blue Cocoon. They all seem to use the ingredient for it's therapeutic uses as it is very similar to chamomile.




How to use it ... 
Apply a thin layer to clean skin with a mask brush or fingers. Tingling may occur which is normal as this is the mask gently exfoliating. Leave on for 15-20 minutes or until completely dry. Rinse with warm water. If you are highly sensitive then maybe leave on for less time. 

Herbivore recommend using this for five days consecutively, then every other day or 2-3 times a weeks from there on for the best results and because it is so gentle, you can actually do this. You can of course just use it as and when you want as the beauty of face masks is that they slot into your skincare routine easily depending on what your skin needs. 
I really love Herbivore's modern, simple, clean image and this weighted glass jar makes the mask feel very luxurious. The mask itself is a very runny blue gel with a kind of herbal/medicinal scent that I think you shall either love or hate as it wont be to everyones liking that's for sure, but for the results it delivers, you can get past it. I do adore the bright blue colour, in fact I have to admit, it was the blue which drew me to this mask. Why is a skincare product so much more fun when it is a bright colour? True isn't it! They do say because of Blue Tansy being a natural ingredient the blue can fade but this does not change the efficiency of the mask.

So I used this for 5 days consecutively to get the best results but even after the first day I could already see and feel an improvement to my skin. This mask is simply amazing. A real star in a jar!

This is one of those all singing, all dancing, all around face masks that takes the stress out of exfoliating and de-clogging your skin in a very gentle, easy going way. Even though it is marked as an AHA/BHA mask which can scare some sensitive or highly reactive skins, because of those Blue Tansy anti-inflammatory soothing benefits, this is the most gentle way of resurfacing your skin. My skin felt so soft, looked insanely clear and it was gloooow-ing. Any redness I had before was gone and my pores around my nose were a lot happier. This was not a fluke either because I get the same results each time I use it, so safe to say Herbivore, you have me hooked. 

I am majorly impressed by this mask and I highly recommend this one to all skins and especially acne prone skins as this shall declog your pores without any irritation. Those of you who have maybe previously avoided chemical exfoliating masks for being too harsh, then this one is definitely worth trying as the ingredients are very accommodating to keeping the skin calm. It is one of those masks that just stands out from a crowd and has you instantly googling more from the brands range. I love that Herbivore is all natural, plant based with all cold pressed ingredients and is now most certainly a brand that I want to get into more, in fact a have a wishlist already.

I recently reviewed another amazing face mask by BLISS here, but if you found that one too powerful, then this is a more gentle option for you to try in achieving a similar result. 

 Blue Tansy, £38/$48/€44 is available from Sable Beauty a great company stocking some incredible, unique Beauty Brands with worldwide shipping too, so do check them out! 
Have you tried Herbivore?