[Review] The Face Shop volcanic clay nose strips

This is going to be a pretty embarrassing (and gross) post! 

My nose has been pretty "pluggy" the last few days. Clogged pores were just happily clogging it up! So in order to combat this, I decided to arm myself with these volcanic clay (charcoal) nose strips from The Face Shop.

You've probably seen the other version of this product: The Face Shop volcanic clay nose pack! (It's the one that comes in the tube, and is a white coloured paste.

Note: This packaging is the "newer" version of TFS's old charcoal pore strips (the packaging design was discontinued)

Description 

These strips are made of New Zealand volcanic clay, which is described as being a "pore clear agent" and a natural mineral.

"There are volcanic activities in New Zealand Rotorua area. This activity creates hot mud spots. New Zealand Rotorua Mud is one of the best three muds in the world!"

I bought the box set of these strips. The box comes with 7 separately packaged strips! If you don't want to buy 7 of them, there is always an option of buying a single strip.

"It has strong blackhead and oily secretion absorption properties. Supported with pore minimizing ingredients, the charcoal pore strip will leave your skin feeling tight and smooth!"





Packaging and directions 

I bought the box, which contains 7 nose strips. If 7 strips is too much for you, most sites sell strips individually.

Packaging was straightforward - the directions come in both English and Korean (They both literally say the exact same thing, so there's no need for translation).

And picture demos! You know I love them!

(In case it's hard to read from the picture)

1. Wash face, leaving nose thoroughly wet (seriously, it needs to be REALLY wet!)

2. Remove the clear lining from the smooth side of the strip. 

3. Apply across the bridge of the nose, pressing down firmly to ensure maximum contact. (!!!)

4. Let dry for 10-15 minutes until the strip has hardened.

5. Slowly peel off. 

Texture 

There's a fuzzy side (the side that should be facing up, not touching your skin) and the smooth, black side (the side that should be touching your skin)

This is the smooth side - it's really smooth. Yep.

By the way, really sorry that the lighting is terrible and everything basically looks fuzzy as heck! It won't happen again in future reviews/pictures!

Price

Box - $4.50 on eBay

Individual strips - $1 (everywhere)

My experience 

Welp, here comes the horrifying part.

The pores on my nose were super clogged. The lighting in the room was also super, super yellow, so sorry if you can't see too clearly! (Uhm, I'm sure you can still see a lot though.)

So after I washed my face with warm water and steamed it a bit (it is highly recommended that you steam your face before using these), I used a strip! You have to make sure that your face is really wet, or else the strip won't have anything more to stick to. 

When applying it on your nose, make sure you're actually pressing down firmly. You want the strip to stick to all the nooks and crannies of your little nose! :D 

At first, the strip felt really flimsy and floppy - like it would fall off easily. But it won't - the it really sticks on, given that your face is wet! As the minutes ticked by, I could really feel the strip hardening on my nose. It felt weird crinkling my nose, because the strip was all tight and clingy on my face. Yay. 

After 15 minutes had passed, I pulled it off! And no - it didn't hurt at all. Some black parts (like on the edge of the strip) ended up still stuck on my face, but it can easily be scrubbed off with an exfoliator. 

Taaaadaaa. 

[My nose after the strip]

Well, it definitely pulled some gunk out. Like most strips, it mostly just pulled out my face fuzzel (those little fuzzy hairs on your nose). 

But after using the strip, my face really did feel smoother. Like a baby's bottom! It also felt a bit tighter, but not in a "omg the botox feel" way. My nose felt less oilier as well, which is always a nice thing.

Before using the strip, my nose felt cloggy, gross and... I don't know, like it was harder for my nose-skin to breathe? But after using it, my nose felt lighter and cleaner. And it felt like my nose could breathe.

I must sound crazy right now, LOL. 

To sum it up:

Pros

- Cheap

- Easy to use

- Black coloured, so you can see what you pull out! (Everyone likes looking at their gunk.)

- Lightly scented (it isn't overpowering)

- Nose less clogged

- Nose less oily

- Tightens skin

- Doesn't hurt when peeling off

Cons

- Mostly face fuzzel removed

Repurchase?

Yes, I'll repurchase this when my nose isn't in the best of shape! I think it's great for the price, and definitely worth it. It's fun to look at the gross nose strip too, so... it's basically cheap entertainment as well. Amiright? 

Overall rating:

4/5 (Because it's nothing "OMG this has changed my life!")

What about you?

Have you tried these nose strips, or nose strips in general? Do you like using them?