I've gone on and on about how much I love to try and brighten my skin as much as possible in the summer. I love a good exfoliator - I'm probably not alone when I say that I get extra paranoid of my skin getting congested and clogged when the weather warms up. Layers of thick sunscreen mixed with sweat and makeup just sounds like a breakout waiting to happen to me, so I always look for something that will really help to clear out my pores and rid my skin of any dead gunk. Enter the Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask - a product I've seen in countless autumn roundups, but one that I'm making a case for this summer.
I totally understand why everyone talks about this in the fall - it smells just like pumpkin pie filling, so having it on your face really conjures up images of pumpkin patches and Thanksgiving. But I say why wait until October to break this baby out? Your skin can benefit from it now.
This powerful mask exfoliates the skin in three ways: using pumpkin enzymes, AHAs, and aluminum oxide. It's meant to work as your own at-home peel. The directions say to apply a thin layer to the skin and massage it in with wet fingers using gentle circling motions - this will activate the polishing powers of the aluminum oxide crystals. You can then leave it on for 3-7 minutes, depending on how sensitive your skin is, and then rinse it off.
I only leave it on for about 3 minutes because MAN does this stuff tingle. It doesn't feel irritating at all, but I'll be honest in that it is quite a strong tingle on my skin. I've got slightly sensitive skin, though. Despite leaving it on for the minimum suggested time, I've been completely wowed by the results of this mask. My skin is a little flushed for an hour or two after rinsing, but it isn't sore or hot to the touch or anything. I can't believe how smooth my skin feels after washing this off - it especially helps where I can get some uneven texture on my chin. The smoothing results last a few days too, so I'm not tempted to overuse the mask and overexfoliate my skin. I've been loving doing this mask on a Sunday afternoon once I'm home for the day because I know my makeup will apply beautifully all week afterward.
The reason why I'm most impressed, though, is because of its effect on breakouts. The kind of breakouts I get are those painful under-the-skin bumps that will honestly last months sometimes. I had one pop up last Friday afternoon (I literally felt it start aching on my face while driving home from work), so I used the mask that night. When I woke up on Saturday morning, the spot had already come to a head! That usually, again, takes months to happen or never happens at all. On Saturday night the spot popped on its own while I was washing my face, and now it's almost completely gone. This one instance alone has totally confirmed this is something I'll always want in my skincare rotation.
Have you tried this mask? What do you use to get rid of breakouts?
And heads up - I've linked the product from Sephora above since that's easier for most people, but if you can get it on Amazon, it's much cheaper there (that's where I got mine)!