Product Review: Yes to Carrots Mud Mask, Plus a Contest Link

I’ve managed to win not one but two contests on a couple of my favorite blogs recently. Both times I received eco-friendly bath and body prizes, a total win since I can test out the natural products for free before I spend the extra money on them.

Today’s review is for the first prize I won, this Yes to Carrots Exfoliating and Soothing Mud Mask. I got this one over at my friend Allie’s blog, where she gives sustainable tips and fabulously practical green advice for everyday folks.

Yes to Carrots uses carrots, obviously, and other vegetables plus Dead Sea minerals in its paraben and phthlate-free skin, hair, and lip products. Why carrots? Because they’re high in beta-carotene, which has anti-oxidant and anti-aging qualities. The mask I tried out also contains avocado, which natural care companies use to even skin tone.

It doesn’t smell like carrots or vegetables like you might expect. In fact, it smells pleasant and similar to conventional mud masks, only without the chemical and synthetic undertones. The mask goes on nice and thick, too, and my tired 32 year-old face felt fresh and soft after I washed it off.

Since I didn’t get big into green living stuff until AG started struggling with asthma and I wanted to limit her exposure (and the rest of this family, too) to toxins and, I decided to try the mask out on her. She’s getting to that age where she’s less and less interested in play and discovering how to take care of her skin and hair. Also, she wishes I’d let her wear makeup, but that’s a topic for another day. Here, this is what the mask looks like on her:

Her impression?
Are you sure you’re during this right? It feels so weird.

Her impression after she washed it off:
Mmmmm, my face feels so clean.

(Not that I normally let her walk around with dirty skin. But you know.)

Even better, if you want to try Yes to Carrots, formulated for normal to dry skin, you can find it easily at Target and Walgreens. The company also recently introduced Yes to Tomatoes, geared towards oily/combination skin, and Yes to Cucumbers for normal to sensitive skin. I don’t know if those work as well, though, because I haven’t tried them.

As for the contest link, my friend gives away free eco-friendly stuff on her blog, Allie’s Answers, all the time. Go enter her current contest for an awesome tote bag made from recycled soda bottles, and check out her blog while you’re there.