Love it: Mint Skin’s new mineral masks, MUD

Fresh, new Australian natural skincare brand Mint Skin launched at the end of last year with a bang. After 12 months in development and product testing with over 200 Instagram users, they finally unveiled their first two creations after much conversation, and they are absolute winners. It was a unique and fresh approach for a beauty start up, and it paid off with major buzz around the clever skin fixes known as MUD.

Mint Skin was developed to fulfil a need for simple, natural, skin products without the excessive price tag, and the company aims to deliver products that are “safe, non-toxic, highly effective and fun”. They believe every user is entitled to receive real results from their skincare products, and their ever-growing lineup of creations is cruelty free and locally made, tested on people, never animals.

Commenting on the new brand, Mint's co-founder Carla McGraw said: “I’ve always been a fan of natural beauty products. There are some wonderful products around but they are often prohibitively expensive for younger customers. To add to that, the packaging usually lacks appeal – the products either don’t look cute in your bathroom, or haven’t been packaged in a way that’s convenient to use. These are the main reasons behind the developing the brand.”

The packaging and imagery that accompanied the launch of Mint Skin were crucial to the brand’s ever-growing popularity on social media, which Carla says was always part of the plan. “Beauty and health routines are now something that women want to share on social media,” she said at the brand’s launch, “and with Mint we’re hoping to create a community for exchanging ideas and encouraging discussions about natural skincare. Social media is an integral part of our business. Being able to speak directly to our customers is an amazing benefit – it means that we can continually refine our products to suit our target market.”

But let’s get back to Mint's aforementioned first product releases, the two varieties of mineral masks known as MUD. One can be used on the face and body for a powerful detox, treating blemishes, congestion and - yep, you heard that right - cellulite. The other can be used to hydrate and brighten the face and décolletage, and is the perfect pick me up after a few weeks’ of late nights and sometimes-poor choices! Both masks are formulated with natural, non-toxic ingredients, and come neatly packaged in single-use, no-mess sachets that keep things fresh and bacteria-free. Yay for that!

The two options available thus far take the form of Rosa Hydration MUD and Detox MUD. If I had to pick one of the two masks I would have to err on the side of Rosa Hydration, which is what my skin has been crying out for. Basically a 15 minute facial in the privacy of your own home, it is perfect if your skin is feeling dull, dry and in need of some instant hydration and glow. Its all-Australian hero ingredients include kakadu plum, organic honey, macadamia oil and rose absolute to brighten and illuminate, and the super creamy, non-drying formula leaves you skin feeling clean, velvety, and rebalanced. Heavenly.

The second MUD, Detox is the best choice if you have congested, oily and acne-prone facial skin, or if you suffer from rashes and cellulite on the body. It uses a unique and powerful detoxifying mixture of organic Australian clay to refine blemish-prone skin and bring back that beautiful glow. It cleanses pores to leave them visibly smaller and your skin baby soft, and weekly use on oily skin will see a reduction in blackheads, acne and breakouts. Regular use on cellulite prone areas will see a reduction in bumpy skin and improved circulation, which gets two thumbs up from me. It’s a little more interactive than Rosa as it involves mixing with a liquid medium that’s in line with what your skin needs at the time. For a normal detox add just water, whilst for a stronger detox, add apple cider vinegar. For an extra gentle cleanse, mix with an all-natural liquid moisturiser or Jojoba oil. Amazing!

Mint's eBoutique offers free shipping within Australia, and with new products in the pipeline is well worth bookmarking now. To find out more go here.