the body shop face masks review

The Body Shop has been around for a long time and is a major advocate for ethical beauty. Their products are sourced world-wide and they take the extra care to ensure their ingredients come from a sustainable source. There are a few products from TBS that I’m a huge fan of, one being their face masks (the other, their body scrubs).

After trying a sample pack of their Ethiopian Honey mask, I knew I wanted to try more. Each mask was inspired by a traditional beauty remedy from around the world. I was immediately drawn to the British Rose mask as it looked so similar to one of my favourite hydrating masks, the Fresh Rose Face Mask.

The British Rose Fresh Plumping Face Mask is a vegan gel face mask infused with rose petals, rose essence, rosehip oil and aloe vera. The mask has a pleasant rose scent but a bit on the stronger side if you’re sensitive to smells. It has an extremely gel-like consistency loaded with a ton of rose petals. The product glides on smoothly to skin and dries to a tacky like finish. The end result is a hydrated, baby soft face that makes you feel like you’ve just had a spa day without leaving your house.

The Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Face Mask is a super thick and gritty clay face mask that is infused with bamboo charcoal, green tea leaves and tea tree oil. Similar to the British Rose mask with the rose petals, this mask is full of green tea leaves that help gently exfoliate your face when you remove the mask. The mask did have a slight tingle as it was drying but it wasn’t that shocking type you get with other intensive purifying masks. This mask will give you healthy, purified skin without feeling overly dry.

I use these two masks back to back, starting with the charcoal mask followed by the gel mask. I was initially surprised by how gritty the charcoal mask was and was worried that it would be too difficult to wash off. However, the product washed off easily and added the extra exfoliation that made my skin feel so smooth and clean. I also liked that it didn’t feel super dry.

The British Rose mask hydrates the skin well but I felt like I needed to add an extra layer to get the same consistency as the one from Fresh. The British Rose has a lot more petals and is quite runny, however, if you’re looking for a dupe to Fresh’s face mask, you’re looking at it! This mask hydrates and soothes skin while keeping it super soft. The masks are packaged in a simple glass jar and feel super luxe.