Garnier Pure Active Charcoal 3 In 1 Mask Review

I have been struggling to find a cleanser that gets rid of my makeup as well as scrubbing my pores for that deeper clean. Previous ones have either made my skin too dry or left my face oily after cleansing (I have oily skin already so its annoying). However, this blew my mind.

The Garnier Pure Active Charcoal 3 in 1 Mask has clay like consistency that it quite messy and gets everywhere (kind of like Fudge Purple Shampoo) but when you put it on your face its amazing. It smells really good. The first thing I noticed was the small scrub particles that weren't too big or too small. They cleaned EVERYTHING out of my face. My forehead had bean prone to rough skin and red pimples but they literally vanished after the first 2 washes. My skin is so clear and healthy, it is the best thing I've ever tried. I used it for 2 weeks daily and have noticed a massive improvement on my skin. Barely ANY pimples, not rough skin, and very smooth. I would still purchase this item even if it was double the price. PLUS you can leave it on for a mask as well. The only downside is the mess it makes from splashes if not contained.

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.

This is a very thick and black face wash with fine exfoliating particles that work really well! Despite having salicylic acid, it has a very natural feeling about it, it does seem like charcoal is the main ingredient. I used this as a wash/scrub daily, some days I wouldn't take my makeup off beforehand. It does a great job of taking makeup off! Don't use it near the eyes though, your eyes will probably get quite dry. I have oily skin with very small blackheads that make it less smooth when applying makeup. This face wash definitely helped smooth out my skin, and I have noticed very slightly that my face is a bit less oily. This wash isn't aimed at people with acne, which makes sense, as I often get a few spots and that hasn't really changed due to this wash. When you use this, you can tell it is not a gentle cleanser, the active ingredients are quite intense, but it definitely doesn't feel harsh or drying. In fact, when you dry your face after washing it, your skin feels really smooth and soft which is amazing! It does have a bit of a weird smell but it's not bad enough to not want to use it. Also if you're not washing your hair, don't put it too close to your hairline as it might be a bit hard to wash out if you don't want to get your hair wet.

This product claims to be a 3-in-1 wash, scrub and mask.

It's a dark grey colour with a smooth, creamy texture. It has small scrub particles that are mildly abrasive.

It has a fairly strong cologne-y scent that I find to be a bit masculine. It smells more like a body product than face product but the smell doesn't linger.

Upon application there is a cooling/minty sensation that could be irritating to sensitive skin.

As a wash: It does not foam up so it doesn't feel like a traditional cleanser. I found it to be very messy because of the charcoal powder. I ended up getting grey water all over my basin so stuck to just using it in the shower. Still, you need to make sure you rinse the shower after use. I also found that it stained around and under my fingernails, which looked really grubby.

As a scrub: I don't really understand the purpose of this "use" as you do the exact same thing using it as a wash and a scrub. I found it to be decently scrubby.

As a mask: I found it to work well as a mask. It absorbed excess oil and made my pores look much smaller/less visible even after one use.

Bottom line: Feels weird as a wash, feels just like rubbing face mask on wet skin. Stains everything but works well as a mask to reduce appearance of pores. Smells too perfumey for my liking. Would not purchase.

I have been using this for just for 20 days now as a a daily for face wash and mask it is helped to minimise blackheads I will definitely keep using it. And clear up redness.

Background to my skin type - I'm 24 years old with oily/combination skin that is prone to the occasional breakout. I also get breakouts on my chest and back. I get blackheads sometimes, but not often. Before using this product I hoped that it would be able to help with the breakouts I get on my face, chest, and back.

The product is a black-blue colour because it has both charcoal and blueberry extract in it. It has a thick consistency with little natural exfoliating particles in it. It has sort of a manly scent to it, but the smell goes away once you've washed it off. It contains salicylic acid which is good for clearing up pimples.

I've now been using this product daily for around three weeks on my face, chest, and shoulders/back. I have definitely noticed an improvement in my skin. I don't seem to breakout as much as I did prior to using this product. It also controlled a lot of the excess oil I usually get on my face.

This is meant to be a 3 in 1 product, but I think there's only two ways to use it. It's supposed to be used as a wash, scrub, and mask. However the wash and scrub method are basically the same thing. There's no way to use this as a wash without it also being a scrub since it has little exfoliants in it.

I've used other face washes before that have said they can also be used as masks, but they've never properly dried down. However the mask aspect of this product was very effective and actually did properly dry down. I would only use this as a mask once a week though, as I didn't want to strip my skin of its natural oils and get too dry.

Overall I really enjoyed this product. I didn't notice any improvements in blackheads, but I'm not really prone to them anyway. I'll definitely continue to use this to prevent breakouts and reduce excess oil.

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!

Can't say that I overly enjoyed this. Everything about it sounds great, I'm a huge fan of charcoal so it sounded ideal. It dried my skin out a bit too much for my liking so maybe would be suited to someone with really oily skin. After the first few washes I did find that I had quite a major breakout, larger than I've had for a long time.

I wasn't a huge fan of the smell. It smelt a lot like many mens products do, which is fine, it was just really quite strong.

I did like the mask aspect of it however, so may continue using it just as a weekly mask instead of a daily wash.

I was super happy to pick this up in the Beauty Vault! I had never used a charcoal product before and had read a lot of great things about this. It comes in a squeezy tube with a flip top lid which I love.

When my usual cleanser ran out I started using this, it says it can be used 3 ways, a scrub, cleanser and mask. I'm unsure what the difference is between a scrub and cleanser when using this as it scrubs every time you cleanse lol.

The consistency is semi thick, it spreads easily and has a very fine grit which gives a great exfoliation. At first it felt quite harsh and it made my skin tingle and had a weird cooling sensation. I thought I was having a reaction but my face wasn't red and after a few uses this feeling was barely noticeable.

The smell is very masculine but as it washes off it doesn't bother me. I like using this in the shower because boy it is messy! A dark grey colour which goes everywhere and stains towels if you don't wash it all off properly. So make sure you give your face a good rinsing. I used it over the sink once and never again lol I made a huge mess and it is too time consuming to clean up.

My favourite way to use this is a scrub, it leaves my skin feeling amazingly soft and smooth, it stops any breakouts and heals any existing ones fast. I have blackheads on my nose mainly and this has helped reduce them significantly, yay! I use this daily and it doesn't leave my skin dry or tight however I do moisturise thoroughly afterwards.

This is a lovely product and I would definitely repurchase once it runs out. Highly recommend this!