Hi, friends! Today I want to give you an in-depth review of Borghese's Fango Ristorativo Mud Mask. It was included it as a "wilted rose" in my February Favorites, so I suppose you can guess how this review is going to turn out. I just think it's such an odd product that I wanted to give you all more than just a few sentences about it. But enough about that, let's get to the good stuff!
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About BORGHESE + Fango Ristorativo Mud Mask:
About BORGHESE:
Borghese is all about combining Italian heritage with modern technology (like the Italian It Cosmetics, I guess you could say). I haven't seen much of Borghese in stores, and up until recently you could find them on QVC. Supposedly you can still find them in Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor, but since I don't usually go to either of those stores, I think the best guaranteed method is to find their products on their website or Amazon.
Borghese is all about combining Italian heritage with modern technology (like the Italian It Cosmetics, I guess you could say). I haven't seen much of Borghese in stores, and up until recently you could find them on QVC. Supposedly you can still find them in Bloomingdales and Lord & Taylor, but since I don't usually go to either of those stores, I think the best guaranteed method is to find their products on their website or Amazon.
About Fango Ristorativo Mud Mask
Fango Ristorativo in Italian translates to "refreshing mud," and is advertised to be a hydrating mud mask This is a weird concept for a mud mask, since typically mud masks are supposed to do the opposite and take oil out of the skin.
Fango Ristorativo in Italian translates to "refreshing mud," and is advertised to be a hydrating mud mask This is a weird concept for a mud mask, since typically mud masks are supposed to do the opposite and take oil out of the skin.
Claims of Fango Ristorativo Mud Mask:
- Help protect against environmental damage
- Soothe stressed or dehydrated skin with a cooling sensation
- Reduce redness, irritation, and inflammation of the skin
Two out of these three claims are counter-intuitive, but we'll get to that in a bit.
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Ingredients of BORGHESE Fango Ristorativo Mud Mask:
* I'm just going to go into a few of the most important ones. To find any ingredient on here immediately, you can CTRL+F on a PC (which is command+F on MAC, I think.)
Glycerin - Glycerin is found in so many products, and with good reason. It's a humectant, which means it draws moisture out of the air, making it a godsend for dry-skinned folks. It helps maintain a barrier against the drying environment around you. (Good stuff)
Kaolin - This is a natural clay usually found in mud masks. It's used because it can absorb excess oil from your skin. This would be great if this was a mud mask for oily skin, but for a mask that's supposed to be hydrating, I don't understand why you would make a mask with kaolin clay. I love oil. I need it.
Fragrance - Why is fragrance so close to the top in the ingredients list? That's not going to help anyone. Fragrance can be potentially irritating, and I don't know why it takes precedence over great ingredients in here.
Corallina Officinalis Extract and Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan) - This is algae, in "real people" terms. Algae is generally good at providing the skin with antioxidants and vitamins. It's not a miracle ingredient and some companies try to tell us, but it does have some good qualities. (Good stuff)
Menthyl Lactate - This is menthol in disguise, and I was tricked! This is what provides that cooling, tingling sensation, and although it might seem like it's soothing the skin, it's actually doing the opposite. This is referred to as a "counter-irritant" because rather than soothing the irritation, it really just covers it up with a stronger sensation. I dislike menthol in products because it can be very irritating. I know my sensitive skin does not like this at all. Generally, if a product gives your skin any kind of sensation (warming or cooling), that generally means it's being irritated. (Bad stuff)
Hyaluronic Acid - People have been talking about this ingredient a lot lately, and with good reason. This moisturizes the skin and helps prevent moisture loss. It's actually found naturally in your skin tissue, so the skin is usually very good at absorbing it. Good stuff.
Methyl/Butyl/Ethyl/Propyl/Isobutyl Parabens - Due to what I like to refer to as the "Paraben Scare," people have been freaking out about parabens in their products. I don't actually care that these are in here, because there's no actual study that proves them bad. To my knowledge, the only study that was done wasn't even actually fully completed, and it wasn't even well done (there wasn't a control or anything). Basically, everyone is basing their opinions off of the media, which is a terrible idea in general, and I think everyone should just take a deep breath. Parabens have been used a long time as a preservative in products and very few people have allergic reactions to them, making them ideal to use.
Titanium Dioxide - For anyone who's unsure, this is sunscreen. Why Borghese decided to put sunscreen in this mud mask is beyond me. I don't know about you, but I generally don't go out in the daytime with a mud mask on, but that's just me. It's not like your skin will just get all of it's SPF needs from this and you won't have to use a sunscreen. It's not doing anyone any favors, especially since people generally use masks at night. It's so bizarre.
As you can see, it has a lot of good ingredients in it, but a few bad apples can ruin the whole bunch (or whatever the saying is).
- You can't calm down inflammation and redness by using an irritating product, that's just not something that really happens, so their claims of "soothing skin with a cooling sensation" are for naught.
- Also, why does a mask that's supposed to be calming and gentle on the skin contain fragrance? That's not going to help anything. And why is it so close to the top, above ingredients that actually good be helpful (like hyaluronic acid, which is much farther down the list)?
- Also, why does this contain sunscreen? Have you ever gone outside or left the house for the day with a green face mask on? I know I haven't and am not planning to, so I don't know why I would ever need sunscreen in my face mask. I mean, it washes off. It's not like wearing this face mask for ten minutes will give you all (or any, really) of the sun protection you need.
Price and Availability:
My Experience:
Normally when testing skincare products, I use them daily for two weeks straight. Since this is a face mask and I don't know anyone who uses a face mask every day, I tested this product as I would normally use it: once a week for two weeks.
*For reference, I consider my skin to be combination, being slightly oily in my T-zone (large pores), with extremely dry cheeks (very small pores), especially in the winter. I am also acne-prone and have sensitive skin.
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The Packaging:
The smaller size that I have here comes in an opaque tube, which is actually great for preserving the product and minimizing the amount of air that touches the product inside. However, the larger 17.7oz size comes in a clear glass jar. I'm sure it looks pretty and all, but it won't do much for preserving the antioxidants and other beneficial ingredients that are inside, since it can't protect against sunlight or the air when it's opened.
The Stuff Inside:
This is a thick, mint-green mask that almost reminds me of those old school face masks you would see women wearing on TV.
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This is a thick, mint-green mask that almost reminds me of those old school face masks you would see women wearing on TV.
My Experience:
Each time I used this, I followed the instructions. I applied a thick layer and left it on for 5-10 minutes (I did it once at 5 minutes, the other at 10 minutes). Upon immediate contact with your skin, you can feel the cooling sensation of the menthol, which is actually quite powerful. You start to ignore it after a little while, but I found it to be unpleasant.
After wiping the mask off with a washcloth, my skin did feel a little softer, but that's where the benefits end. After 5 minutes, my skin looked okay, but after 10 minutes I saw what the menthol was doing to my skin on the surface. My face was all red and splotchy, much like a mild reaction a person would have to poison ivy. I don't think I'm necessarily allergic to menthol, since my face didn't swell up or anything like that, but the irritation was definitely evident on my skin. (I would have taken a picture, but my lighting is awful at night, and by awful I mean I have one fluorescent overhead light in my dorm).
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The Verdict:
Pros:
- Smaller size comes in opaque tube packaging
- Makes skin feel soft and hydrated
- Contains ingredients to fight against drying environment
- Easy to find online
Cons:
- Large size comes in clear glass jar packaging
- Potentially irritating ingredients
- Hard to find in stores
- Expensive
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What's your favorite face mask right now?
Let's be friends!
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Disclaimer: No affiliate links, not affiliated with any brands, and not sponsored. I stole/borrowed this from my mom's collection of stuff. Then again, I might possibly be sponsored by my mother. Ingredient source is mostly Beautypedia.
