AFTER NOAH 200 FOLLOWER GIVEAWAY (BRITISH MAINLAND ONLY) CLOSED

I am so excited to be announcing that Ahem, It's Emme will be having its first giveaway! When I started blogging back in December of 2012, I never thought that I would gain this many followers, and the whole blogging community has been so extremely supportive and friendly. Last Friday, January 7, I reached 200 collective followers on Google Friend Connect and Bloglovin. This calls for celebration, so I partnered up with After Noah, a shop in London that sells from vintage home decor to adorable gifts for a best friend, co-worker, or parent. After Noah is a company that is extremely friendly and easy to work with, and I had a pleasure working with them.This giveaway will include two prizes, a French candle from the brand Bougies La Francaise in the scent Petite Madeleine as well as one of their bestsellers, Repro Depot's 24 Folk and Flora Notecards with an Envelope Book (more pictures are on the After Noah website). I chose these items because I thought that both items would be well liked by any girl out there, regardless of her personal taste. 

I truly am sorry for this, but this giveaway is only open to those who live on the British Mainland (excludes the Highlands, any islands, and Northern Ireland). Since this company is located in London, shipping to anywhere else in the world would be a bit much. However, I do hope to have future giveaway that will encompass a larger amount of my followers worldwide. If you are not above the age of 16, you will need to ask your parents' permission first before you enter because if you win, I will need to ask of your address, so After Noah can ship out the prize to you. Entries from competition accounts will not be accepted. This giveaway will be open for one month and will end on Friday, March 14 at 12:00 A.M. I will contact the winner via email, and if they don't reply within three days, I will select another winner. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

-Emily

*This giveaway is sponsored by After Noah, but all opinions are my own.

REVIEW: MONTAGNE JEUNESSE CLAY SPA MASK

I am very happy to be back to reviewing beauty products, and today's is a face mask. In the past, my reviews on masks have all been on cream masks; however, this is a sheet mask. I love the idea of a sheet mask because I feel that it does a better job at hydrating the skin. They also feel a bit more luxurious to me and more of a treat.

Montagne Jeunesse was founded in 1985, but I have recently noticed this brand featured on many blogs. They are an eco-friendly, cruelty free brand that specializes in skin and face products. I have only seen reviews on their face masks; however, they also offer products for the body, feet, and hair.

I always like to begin with what I enjoy about a product. During the winter months, my skin gets dry, even though I have oily skin, and I start having dry spots in certain areas of my face. The Montagne Jeunesse Crushed Arctic Cloudberries Glacial Clay Spa Mask is a hydrating mask that replenished some moisture back to my skin. I liked that the sheet mask itself was a thick, fabric material, so it was hard to tear. After I washed my face, and put the mask on, it became quite hard after only a few minutes, which is what I like in most of my face masks because I have some weird logic that they're actually working when that happens. The cost of this mask, $2.49 at Ulta, is also pretty reasonable considering it's a sheet mask. Some of their other masks, such as the Green Tea Peel Off Face Masque, retails at $1.99. 

I have to say I expected a lot from this mask because it was so often reviewed on blogs, but I guess I have to learn that not everything that gets reviewed are actually great products. For starters, the mask had an unpleasant, sea water scent. When I had to apply in onto my face, I felt claustrophobic, and it instigated my gag reflexes. After a couple minutes, I got used to the scent; however, I feel like it's better for a mask to have no scent then to have an disagreeable one. The sheet mask was too big for my face, and I consider my face to be pretty large already. The holes didn't quite fit right either. The white clay dried extremely fast, but I found that after leaving it on my face for around 15 to 20 minutes, it was extremely hard to wash off, and I found myself rubbing quite hard at my face for it all to come off. Even after I washed it off, I felt a bit of a residue that was not quite moisturizing but more like leftover from the clay. The sheet masks that I have used in the past didn't require to be washed off, so I didn't like that feature about this one. 

Overall, the Montagne Jeunesse Glacial Clay Spa Mask was a miss for me because it lacked in almost all the good qualities I look for in a face mask. My skin didn't seem to have an drastic improvements, so I would not reccomend this particular form their line of masks. Hopefully, some of their other masks work and smell better, but this is still not something that I would spend my money on. 

What is your favorite face mask?

-Emily

*This product was sent to me by Influester in their Violet Vox Box to review, but all opinions are solely my own.