Urang Clarifying Blue Mask

by Rosy Day Blog

Ultimate Radiant + Natural Glow

"Urang" is kind of a masshup of the phrase "Ultimate Radiannt + Natural Glow". It is a South Korean skincare brand with values in honesty and consciousness. It was born from founder, Jina Lee (mother & holistic aromatherapist), who wanted to create something with high-quality natural, organic ingredients that were safe for the whole family. The products are supposed to blur the line between what is actually good for your skin, yet highly effective.

Urang is a cruelty-free, EWG-verified brand with many vegan product options.

Disclosure:

I bought this with my own money from OhLolly. I was not given anything in exchange for this review. I enjoy doing product reviews to share my own experiences with the product and hope someone finds it useful. I do not work for OhLolly or Urang.

Table of Contents

- Product Description, Claims, & How-To
- The Ingredients
- Packaging, Scent & Texture
- Product Review & Final Impressions
- Similar Products & Shop This Post

Brightening & Clarifying Wash-Off Mask

Product Description & Claims:

A white kaolin clay-based mask for dull and lackluster skin, this also contains natural jojoba beads for gentle exfoliation. As an added bonus, the Urang Clarifying Blue Mask has been clinically tested and proven to effectively remove fine dust (black carbon particles/pollutants) from the skin.

How To Use:

Official directions off the OhLolly website are, "After cleansing spread a thin layer on face, avoiding eyes and mouth. Gently scrub and then apply another thin layer. Wait 5-15 minutes and then rinse off. Follow with toner, serum and moisturizer for best results."

I personally use this twice a week for gentle physical exfoliation and clarifying. I plan to scale this back to once a week when I find a chemical exfoliator that I like (I prefer to mix both physical and chemical exfoliation).

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Skin Pollution

It's not just UV rays that you have to worry about when it comes to the effects of aging. If you live in almost any city really, you also have to deal with pollution affecting your skin. Pollution (or toxic elements floating around in the air) can cause an increased risk of skin cancer, skin sensitivity, discoloration, dryness, dullness, roughness, and not to mention, premature aging. Air quality in Southern California alone is horrible. Needless to say, those who live in an area with bad air quality, tend to have worse skin/more skin issues than those with good air quality. A growing trend seems to be products geared towards combating the effects of pollution on the skin. Here I'll break down the ingredients in this product to see what types of things might help one to protect and help repair some of the damage done by pollution on the skin.

Notable Ingredients:

• Camellia Extract - An antioxidant that helps suppress the decline of skin collagen from fine dust/pollution.
• Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Oil - An antioxidant that helps inhibit bacteria growth. It also soothes and moisturizes skin.
• Essential Oils - Including Grapefruit Peel Oil, Citrus Limon Fruit Oil, Juniperus Communis Fruit Oil and Citrus extract from Jeju, all of these detoxify, restore and protect the skin's barrier.

Full Ingredients List:

Water, Kaolin, Glycerin, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Niacinamide, Bentonite, Camellia Japonica Flower Extract, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Propanediol, Xanthan Gum, Zanthoxylum Piperitum Fruit Extract, Pulsatilla Koreana Extract, Usnea Barbata (Lichen) Extract, (-)-alpha-bisabolol, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, *Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Oil, Juniperus Communis Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Leaf/Twig Oil, *Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Oil, Guaiazulene, Allantoin (*Organic ingredients)

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Packaging, Scent & Texture

Packaging:

The product comes in a simple clear glass jar with white lid, however what is really striking is that beautiful, "calming blue" color. I think that alone makes you want to reach for it instead of your typical muddy gray hues you often associate with mud/clay masks.

Scent & Texture:

It kind of smells like your typical mud/clay mask (not necessarily the most pleasant scent), yet I smell hints of floral within all that. Of course, because it's still essentially clay, it's not exactly the type of product you go around sniffing, lol.

Like most other mud/clay masks, this is a thick liquid that must be scooped out and spread all over your face - which it then dries kind of hard (as you would expect with mud/clay). The one thing that sets this apart is that it does come with jojoba beads for some light exfoliation. The jojoba beads are biodegradable.

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Deep Cleanse Dull, Lackluster + Troubled Skin

Performance:

This should be called calming glow mask...Because it made my skin more calm overall (less congested of all the bad stuff) and gave it a much brighter appearance!

I don't expect much from mud/clay masks as I often feel they are more for oily/acne-prone skin, but I feel like everyone can benefit from this mask in some way.

Clarifying: Kaolin clay is actually a very gentle cleanser that can be quite healing as well. It removes dirt and impurities without stripping skin dry or causing any irritation. It also helps reduce oily skin, heal injuries and tone the skin. I had mostly good skin while using this product, but on the "bad skin" days, I definitely felt more refreshed and cleansed after using this mask. It was a much needed pick-me-up, especially if you are starting to see some signs of a breakout or other issues going on with your skin. This can help calm them down.

Anti-Inflammatory: I tend to get red easily and my skin was experiencing some redness due to an allergic reaction from a different product. Using this mask for about 15-20 minutes, I definitely saw a difference in the amount of redness. It might not necessarily remove all your redness, but again it helps calm them down and makes them look less noticeable.

Brightening: Like most other masks that are supposed to detoxify/exfoliate your skin, this does leave you with an overall brighter appearance and slight glow. I would even dare say that the brightening effects with this mask might even rival those of the previous mask I was using. I didn't have the chance to take any before and after photos (lighting has been pretty bad lately), but the effects are comparable to this similar mud/clay mask: Before and After (it might look subtle but the glow is there).

Exfoliation: The jojoba beads might not seem like they would do enough for exfoliation, but if you're one who normally doesn't require a lot when it comes to exfoliation, you would definitely benefit from the gentleness of this. Of course I still use some chemical exfolation, but sometimes I like to use physical exfoliation for more stubborn areas like my nose. If you've ever had your nose area look dry and flaky after applying makeup, you know what I'm talking about...This mask definitely helped alleviate that problem a bit. However if you normally need/prefer stronger exfoliation, I would not purchase this mask for the exfoliation properties alone.

I was expecting this clay mask to dry out my skin...Instead I was left with soft, comfortably hydrated skin.

This also provided some gentle physical exfoliation without that feeling of scratching your skin open.

Pros:

• Gently exfoliates. It is not at all harsh and scratchy like the infamous St. Ives exfoliator.
• Refines your skin giving it an overall clearer appearance. You get softer/smoother, definitely more calm skin.
• The redness reducing properties of some of the ingredients definitely help with evening out your skin tone. Your skin should always look refreshed/renewed after using this.
• Helps skin retain moisture. This is not drying at all.
• Skin appears more healthy and glowy over time.
• Made without synthetic fragrances, additives, harmful chemicals or preservatives.
• No animal testing (animal lovers rejoice!)

Cons:

• At ~$42 USD it is definitely not cheap and is probably comparable to a higher end brand at Sephora. However if you only use this 1-2 times a week, it should last you a long time.
• Might not exfoliate enough for those who need/prefer stronger exfoliation.
• Only available online (it’s not something that you can just pick up at your local Target or Sephora for example).

Radiant + Glowy Skin

Final Impressions:

What can I say other than this mask ticked everything off the list? Though it might not be all that exfoliating to some (it depends on your skin and needs), this is still a great multi-tasking clay mask and I'm quite impressed with it. While it hard to gauge if this does anything for anti-pollution, I do appreciate that this is one aspect they tried to do with this mask and I do look forward to a lot more anti-dust and anti-pollution skincare products out there. Anything we can do to improve and prolong the health of our skin, right?

Since this mask does such a good job of clarifying without drying and irritating the skin... I would keep the effects going by double masking.

I recommend using a hydrating/nourishing mask after (whether it be a sheet mask or a sleeping mask). You can pretty much cut your routine short after that, because your skin will be so pumped full of all these different nutrients, etc.

My first Urang product and the brand has made a great first impression with me. Will I re-purchase this? Possibly. I definitely enjoyed this the most out of the previous mud/clay masks I've tried in the past...

Final Rating = 4.5/5

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Other Products For a Clarifying Skincare Routine

Products of Interest:

The weather is starting to warm up due to spring (ironically it's a cold, gloomy day as I type this). For those of us who tend to be more oily and acne prone around this time, I'll suggest to you some other clarifying type of products to help create a routine for controlling oil and minimizing pores, etc.

• COSRX 2 in 1 Poreless Power Liquid - A lightly exfoliating 0.1% BHA product that also lightly hydrates and at least for me, seems to make subsequent products applied after, sink in better into the skin. It also oddly plumps up your skin. I like to use this as a single treatment for the prevention of acne. It also seems to greatly reduce any existing breakouts you might have by the end of the day. [Read My Review]
• Peach & Lily Wild Dew Treatment Essence - Probably the perfect essence for more oily skin. It is very lightweight and liquidy like water, yet you can feel its hydration properties immediately on the skin. This helps balance and retain moisture in your skin, which in turn reduces skin issues related to dehydration of your skin.
• Mamonde Pore Clean Toner - Get a mini-mud treatment everyday with this oil controlling toner.
• Whamisa Green Tea Foaming Cleansing Gel - Green tea is always a great ingredient for gently clarifying your skin.
• Estee Lauder DayWear Matte Oil-Control Anti-Oxidant Moisture Gel Crème - Hydrate your skin, while keeping your oil under control during warmer temps (because oily skin still needs some form of hydration).

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Urang Clarifying Blue Mask

Photo Credit: Urang

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