I’m the laziest person known to man when it comes to skincare, haircare, makeup, et cetera—I admit it. I do the bare minimum that I can get away with, and praise anyone that has the energy to do a 10-step skincare routine, blowout, and full glam face. I don’t understand where they find the time or motivation, but I sure do appreciate and envy the results. I’ve only just gotten better about skincare in my mid 20s, but truly can’t remember the last time I picked up a blow dryer. 

The worst thing about wearing makeup is the fact that you have to wash it off at night if you don’t want to wake up to a huge raging zit—if you’re me, anyway. The constant fear of breakouts is my own personal hell, which is why I only wear makeup a couple times a week and make sure to do a solid scrubbing when I get home for the evening. But realistically, on weekends where I'm painting the town red, I’ll return to my abode in various levels of intoxication, eat my tried-and-true late-night meal of choice (Momofuku’s instant noodles), and hit the hay immediately. I wake up looking like a disheveled hot mess, mascara caked under my eyes, but it’s nothing my dirty little skincare secret can’t fix—thank god for Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Minimizing Cleansing Clay Mask. 

This Kiehl’s mask feels like a five-star facial at a bohemian resort for rich people, but for far, far less than the cost of a ticket to Tulum. It’s formulated with three main ingredients: Amazonian white clay (also known as kaolin clay), bentonite clay, and aloe vera. The clays absorb excess oil, detoxify all your skin’s sins, and draw out impurities such as sebum, aka the gunk that forms blackheads. Aloe vera helps soothe and moisturize as the clay works its magic. 

Before I purchase anything skincare-related, I hardcore read every review on the planet. I’m a huge stickler when it comes to my skin, poring over labels to avoid disaster, since I’ve had acne struggles in the past. I’m always concerned a new product will cause a sudden, malevolent breakout. But since this mask had a 4.6-star rating on Kiehl’s website, I was intrigued and decided to scope out some additional product info, all of which was impressive. “The mask removed 50% of blackheads on the side of my nostrils, and the pores on my cheeks are less visible… These [products] are perfect for people like me who have very sensitive skin and cannot use fragrance-filled products,” one reviewer wrote on Kiehl's site. I have ultra-sensi, somewhat oily skin, so this review gave me the reassurance needed to take the plunge. 

To use, cleanse first, then slap a thin layer of this stuff on damp skin and allow it to dry for 10 minutes. You’re supposed to wash it off with a warm, wet towel (I don’t because I’m a delinquent, and I hate doing laundry, but splashing a generous amount of warm water on your face will do the trick) and allow yourself to bask in the post-facial glow. I’m incredibly grateful I got a grip and ordered this mask, because it’s truly the G.O.A.T. After one use, my skin felt fresh and baby-soft, like I had peeled off the top layer of an onion. 

The stats on Kiehl's site are as impressive as my own experience, and only back it up further. According to a 54-person test conducted by Kiehl’s, 90% of users agreed their skin looked detoxified and instantly mattified after just one use, which is my idea of ~heaven~, and for the acne-prone among us, Kiehl’s claims the mask reduces oil production by a whopping 46 percent. It’s paraben-, fragrance-, silicone-, and mineral-oil-free, too, so it never leaves any kind of gunky residue on your skin. 

Another big plus: I always have blackheads and squeeze the living daylights out of them (TMI, not sorry), and this mask helps me keep my grubby little mitts off of my precious face by clearing them out for me. It’s especially a holy grail around that—ahem—time of the month, when hormonal zits love to make appearances. If I have a breakout (godforbid, but they still happen from time to time), the clay and aloe instantly calms my skin, reduces redness, and mattifies, so my face doesn’t look like a greasy slice of pepperoni pizza. For all your pore-related woes, this mask is an angel that descends from heaven and power-washes all the tiny crevices of your face.

TD;LR: Whether your hormones are waging war on your face, you sleep with makeup on at night like a dunce (me), or you just have oily skin that needs some assistance, this Kiehl’s mask is the bee’s knees. Next time you look in the mirror and see the beginnings of a breakout or blackheads spawning, cop this and watch the magic happen for yourself. 

Smear it, wash it off, and thank me later *wink*.

Kiehl’s Rare Earth Deep Pore Minimizing Cleansing Clay Mask is available on Kiehl’s website, Sephora, Amazon, and Nordstrom.  

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