Thank God I got this for free as part of the "Return 5 empty pots" programme. If I knew it was going to be so bad, I would have gotten another mask instead.
First off, it smells nice, like an oatmeal cookie but it is very difficult to apply! You have to warm it up in your hands first if not it will fall off your face in clumps. Even then, it's impossible to get a thin, even layer. The clumps felt heavy and uncomfortable. I think they really should have ground the oats into finer pieces for a smoother consistency.
I left it on for 20 minutes. My face was softer after that but there was no decrease in redness. The softness disappeared quickly, which leads me to think this mask does nothing much.
Also, I don't like that it contains talc, presumably as a bulking agent. If I had bought it for full price, I would have been very unhappy as lots ended up on the floor and the pot lasts maybe 2 uses for little effect.
After getting this as a sample at a Lush store as I struggle with the annoyance of having both oily and dry skin, it is hard to find a product that treats the dry areas without making the oily areas overly saturated. Having heard the news that this face mask is great for such problem I knew I needed to try it.
Coming in a little black sample pot, which generously gave my entire face a complete thick layer coating. The first thing that hit me was the scent, even in it's fresh out of the fridge cold state the aroma of wet warm porridge oats or rice pudding that cooked milk smell which I really don't like so it made me a gag ever so slightly at first but as it set the smell faded away. As this is full of grainy oat fresh ingredients it is a little messy to apply so I'd advise applying over a sink or at least a bowl to catch the fall off which no matter how you pat gently will fall off it is just that type of product.
It never really set hard which is fine, adding a warm flannel to the mask softened it more so that I could massage as I washed it away to exfoliate the areas that needed the most. Once removed my skin felt soft, clean and looked bright. Over the next few days I noticed that those oily areas appeared to be less visible, pores tightened and the dry areas less dry! so the mask has some magic in it that covers all bases, removing excess oil without overly drying which is great! my skin felt and looked amazing. I would totally think about buying this if I could get over the scent.