Garnier Pure Active Charcoal 3 In 1 Mask Review

I was really excited when I was chosen to review this product! I did not have high hopes or expectations though as most of my skincare is way more pricey than this one. I just expected the quality to be far less.

A little backstory. I get hormonal acne around my chin and there is nothing I can do about it during that time of the month. It is SO annoying and frustrating. I constantly am using masks and cleaning religiously to no avail. I’m more on the dry side. If I don’t exfoliate 2-3x a week then my face loses its texture and gets super dull and just gross. But, then when I exfoliate properly, I get oily during the day. My skin is just full of drama and attitude. Just no respect. I started using this product right away when I received it. I LOVE the smell and the exfoliating granules are the perfect size for an everyday exfoliating product. Immediately after washing my face, I had an extra little glow I wasn’t expecting and I was loving it. But, the true test is that during this hormonal time, I usually get breakouts overnight while I sleep so I wanted to see what would happen in the morning. I woke up and not only was I amazed to see my skin had not betrayed me like I was used to, it actually had healed up a lot! Had I finally found something to force my skin to get itself together?! I was excited but figured the wrath would still come later. I’ve been using this now for over a week and I can tell you that I have had no more breakouts! I am honestly amazed and feeling a little mad that I have been spending 800x more money on other products that don’t deliver anything close to this.

I tried this as a mask and I noticed very similar results to using it as a cleanser so I probably won’t do that again. Also, for blackheads it really didn’t do much. I don’t have a huge problem with them but I get a few on my nose and this didn’t touch them at all. I still had to use another product for that but honestly, with the results I had using it as a wash, I will actually keep purchasing for that factor alone. If you have similar issues, just get this because it is actually pretty great!

Thanks BR for making this girl a little less product snobby. My wallet and my skin will be much happier now.

Garnier charcoal face wash / scrub / mask

My first impression of the packaging were that there was a lot of information, it seemed crowded and complicated but I sat down and read the whole label, it has some pretty big claims - neutralising shine being the main point to spark my I interest, my skin can get quite oily, especially my forehead and chin.

This product is black and inky and has a slightly bitter sweet odour, I was a little apprehensive it would stain my skin but my worries were unfounded.

The product states it can be used as a wash, scrub and face mask, I decided to use it as a face mask once every 3 days for 9 days. I applied all over my face, gently massaging in with my finger tips and left to dry for 5-10 minutes, it is quite gritty. In this time I could feel it tightening quite quickly and by the 7th minuite it was completely dry and very tight, not at all unpleasant, it felt like it was actually doing something. I felt no discomfort.

After washing off the product my skin felt fresh and smooth. The next day, I noticed my makeup applied smoother and my acne had significantly calmed down, in particular I had a couple of blind pimples on my chin and they were no longer painful and had a head on them - like the mask had drawn them out. By the third day my blemishes had virtually gone, I eagerly reapplied the mask that night.

My skin has only gotten better with every day, the effects of the shine control lasts about 2.5 days before my skin gets oily again.

As a mask, I cannot recommend this product more, my skin is the best it's been in years and I have now started using daily in the shower to enhance the effects. If you have oily blemish prone skin, try this product! Especially for this price point and volume, it is unbelievably good value for money and it actually works. 5 stars!

I really enjoyed this what for it said it did. I certainly minimised the amount of black heads and made them less visible, I cannot fault that. My skin looks really clear without make up, which is an awesome bonus! It has a nice feeling when putting it on and feels really refreshing on the skin. So cool that its a wash, scrub and mask! Awesome to have 3 products in 1

I like how you can use this three different ways. As a face wash, scrub and mask. This would make it especially great for travelling with because rather than bringing three products just can just bring the one. I have been using it as a face wash/scrub, and its done a really good job. I get quite dry skin, and this does a good job of exfoliating those dry patches. I didn't make me break out either. I will continue to use it!

I have been using this wash/scrub/mask almost three weeks now and have quite mixed results! Now.. it definitely does what it claims to do which is reduce the appearance of blackheads and remove dirt and impurities, but I found my face started breaking out after using this. This could just be because of using something different on my skin though rather than my usual product.

It is quite a strong smell and the product is dark grey almost black. It gives the face a GREAT clean after using it as a wash or scrub. I would use this after rinsing my face with water then applying all over, especially to blackhead prone areas (nose and chin) then rinsing off. I found my skin was super smooth after using it is a mask, so I would highly recommend trying it as a mask while you have this product.

I have really enjoyed using this product and really like the diversity of it and that it can be used as a wash, exfoliator or mask and it works great as all of these. I have noticed that it has visibly reduced some small blackheads that I had on my chin area and has prevented me from having any breakouts over the time that I have been using it. I have very sensitive combination skin and have been able to use this product without any reaction. I have also noticed my face had dry patches before and these have gone and there has also been a reduction in oiliness. The product has a very fresh smell to it and would be suitable for both men and women. As a wash I found that because it has exfoliating beads in it I felt like I wanted to use it more as an exfoliator. It also works well as a mask and dries quickly. I would highly recommend using this product f you have acne prone or blackhead prone skin and it has been suitable for my sensitive skin also.

I was honestly a bit worried about the colour of this scrub and if it would stain my face because I’m super pale and the scrub is basically black. But it completely washes off which is a relief ;)

It has a really masculine smell to it which I’m on the fence about.

I found that it has improved my skin tone and helped reduce redness using it as a wash and scrub.

When I tried using it as a mask it made my eyes water badly from the smell or something in it so I didn’t like leaving it on for very long. I definitely prefer it as a scrub or wash!

It was exciting to review this product as I have incredible mix of super oily skin around my T-zone and almost-too-dry around my U-zone area. I gave this product a good nearly 3-weeks trial and following is my observation:

Function as wash I personally prefer those extreme bubbles which I move around my cheek - like my hands rarely touch my face for my U-zone. This is so that I minimise the impact of face-rubbing on stressed out days. For T-zone area, I personally prefer to just set the bubbles for like 5-10 secs and then move around to clean off.

As a wash, there was absolutely no bubbles to my personal taste. However, since this washes off my cleaning oil in previous step, I can safely say that even without my bubbles, it does perform as wash as promised.

Function as scrub I personally prefer smaller scrubs that are not too damaging my skin for U-zone but not extremely small so that it’ll get stuck in my massive pores - like the ones that leaves me with blackhead-looking pores on my nose.

As a scrub, this product really hit my sweet spot. It did exactly as I wanted it to work as and I can feel instant smooth skin after the use. Even my husband started noticing my smooth skin so that should tell you that THIS REALLY WORKS.

Function as mask I personally prefer a mask that won’t be too drying (yes, even if it’s a coal one because that’s just not right) but has enough of oil-control elements that will keep my excess oils away.

As a mask, I found this to be really moisturising (yes I know!) yet my oils were controlled. It did what I hoped it to be but it did feel a bit too ‘minty’ for me and my husband and didn’t leave it for too long (or as it was recommended).

Overall, I would use it again because of the wonders it did as a scrub. But will I recommend this to others? Hmmm really depends on what the others like in their skincare. 3 in 1 skincare seems like a great cost-saving wonder but I am not sure if it actually hits all the sweet spot as wash, scrub or mask.