Review: Kiss My Face Pore Shrink Deep Cleansing Mask

I love doing face masks. It's a cheap way to make yourself feel like you're having a spa day, without going to all that expense. (And getting yelled at for not taking better care of your skin.) My favorite masks are pore-refining products like Boscia Luminizing Black Mask and Origins Clear Improvement Active Charcoal Mask.

The trouble is that both -- while significantly cheaper than going to the spa and having a professional clean your pores -- are pretty pricey for a lady on a budget. The Origins product will run you $16-23, depending on the size, and the Boscia one costs $30 or more. So both are definitely sometimes treats.

I decided to make it my mission to find a budget alternative that I could use all the time, when my pores needed it. My first stop was Kiss My Face, a reliable drugstore brand that offers natural products at slightly cheaper prices. Their Kiss My Face Pore Shrink Deep Cleansing Mask promised to detoxify my pores and make them look smaller -- and to do it for a couple of bucks less.

Sometimes I'm shocked by own residual snobbery: I honestly wasn't expecting this mask to work as well as the more expensive stuff, and so I was amazed at how well it worked. I still think, for clogged pores, a charcoal mask is the absolute best bet, but my pores definitely looked cleaner and smaller, and my skin was much brighter and healthier looking overall. I was very impressed.

I tried on this mask in my usual lab: my bathroom, at home. Which means that my husband could hear me screaming when the witch hazel and tea tree components went to work.

"My face! It burns!" I shrieked.

"Well, take it off," he suggested.

"No," I said, after a minute. "It kind of burns good. I actually think I like it."

At this point, my husband left the bathroom and possibly the apartment, and who can blame him.

My point is that you'll feel a tingle, but it's not a real burning sensation. I was prepared for some redness as a result, but I didn't have any problems with irritation afterward. I'm also a sucker for things that show you they're working -- like pore strips, for example -- so I was OK with feeling the mask working. If you don't enjoy a tingly product, though, you might want to steer clear.

Like most masks, this is easy to use. You just apply it, wait ten minutes, and wash it off. I found this mask easier to use than some of my other favorites. The Boscia mask, for example, is great fun because you get to peel it off, but getting the residual dribs and drabs off your skin practically requires a hose and a scrub brush.

And speaking of peel-off masks, this one isn't. It's a clay mask, which is easier to remove, but won't give you that art project feeling you get from the peel-y ones.

This is a great buy and works as well as many of the more expensive products I've tried. It's definitely one of the top clay mask products I've tried.

Price: $10 or under.

Is It Worth It?

Totally. If you can handle an intense mask, and want to decongest your pores, this product is worth your money. It's also a good choice for anyone who wants to stick with natural products.