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When it comes to face masks, most of the times you choose ones that you think will work for you off-the-shelf and hope for the best. Often, you end up doing a double session or multi-masking because one mask just doesn’t quite fulfil all our skin needs. Until now. Animundi reached out to me a few weeks ago told me that there’s a better way and if I wanted to try their products out. Of course! Having written a post on ‘choosing the right clay for your skin type‘ before, I know a thing or two about clay masks. A clay connoisseur, maybe (joke!). Anyways, I gladly accepted the offer.

Who’s behind Animundi?

Meet Ifunanya, founder of Animundi, a Biomedical graduate in the UK who battled with acne-prone, hyperpigmented skin and have used clay masks for a number of years. She developed the idea of personalised, custom-made face masks because she felt the current skincare market doesn’t consider the consumer’s individual needs when products are being mass-produced. After all, we are so individual and ‘one size fits all’ just doesn’t always work.

So, how does it work?

You fill out the Animundi skin quiz, they ask you questions around your skin type, goals and concerns, then analyse your results and recommend clays and botanicals best suited to your needs. Alternatively, if you are feeling confident, you can create one from scratch on your own. Each mask is made up of one clay and a up to three botanical ingredients. Once you submit your order, the mask is then handmade fresh for you and you’ll get your order back within 7 – 9 business days. How cool is this?

What does Animundi offer?

Currently, they have 4 different clay base (French white, green, yellow and pink), each accommodates to different skin types. Not sure what they mean? Check out my previous post on types of clays.

Each clay base is mixed with these ingredients: Aloe Barbadensis Juice, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Rosa Demascena Flower Water, Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Hazel), Allantoin, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Parfum, Mica, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol, Vitamin A.

Additionally, they have 18 ingredients including botanicals to choose from such as Gooseberry, Papaya, Acai, Lemon, Baobab, Dragon Fruit, Aloe Vera, Comfrey, Irish Moss, Echinacea, Spirulina, White Willow Bark, Honey, Coconut Milk, Cocoa, Flaxseed, Rice and Matcha. Basically, from antioxidant, anti-bacterial to calming and soothing, they’ve got you covered. You don’t need to worry about not knowing what these ingredients are because on the website, everything is clearly described. A big thumbs up!

What I ordered

I have two products here, one is from the results of the skin quiz and one I created on my own. Each mask came with a little diagnostic card along with instructions, I thought they are pretty cute and quite a nice touch!

Mask 1 – From the skin quiz

After filling out the skin quiz, based on my skin type (combination) and concerns which are redness and inflammation, acne and blemishes and skin irritation with my overall skin goal to have a calmer skin with redness and sensitivity reduction, I was recommended to the French Pink Clay with options of Papaya, Honey, Dragon Fruit, Irish Moss and Echinacea to choose from. While all 5 ingredients are broadly targeted to reduce redness and inflammation, speed up the skin healing process, reducing blemishes and acne scars and promote smoother glowing skin, I’ve picked Papaya, Honey and Echinacea because they lean more on the nourishing side, and I think they pair well with the French Pink clay as that’s the type of clay good for sensitive skin to help with irritation and inflammation while maintaining the natural balance of oil production.

Mask 2 – Create my own

While my skin concerns and goals are the same, I wanted this mask to focus more on the decongesting clogged pores and help with breakouts by controlling excess oil which is something I deal with from time to time. For this mask, I’ve opted for the French Green clay which is good for anti-inflammatory, healing and detoxifying, also good for pore-tightening. This type of clay is good for oily and congested skin types. I’ve then chosen White Willow Bark, Irish Moss and Comfrey for the 3 additional ingredients to target my concerns as mentioned. For example, Irish moss is rich in sulfur which provides antibacterial, antiviral, and antimicrobial functions, balancing the skin’s microbiome, as well as reducing the excess production of oil. Overall, this mask is meant to be a little more intense.

My thoughts and experiences

Both masks offer a very similar experience so it makes sense for me to run through my thoughts at the same time. They come in a nice glass jar, packaged well in recyclable and reusable materials. Each mask comes with a lovely application brush which you will need as the mask is on the runny side (think lotion in a jar) so scooping out with fingers would be problematic.

When applying with the brush, it goes on very easily and you can spread the layer evenly. I’d say it dries in about 15 – 20 mins and does have that typical clay mask tight feeling but not uncomfortable. When it’s dried, it just stays intact on the skin as opposed to dusting powder. The best way to remove is to have a warm flannel/washcloth, that takes the least efforts, at least for me.

The masks are scented by undisclosed perfume on the ingredients list, so I can’t tell you what it really smells like, reminds me of baby powder though. The Pink mask has a bit stronger scent than the Green one though which I think could be down to the Honey and Echinacea amplifying the scent to be quite sweet. Whereas White Willow Bark, Irish Moss and Comfrey don’t naturally have the same sweet scent profile, so for me, I prefer the Green mask more. I have since then checked the website and realised you could request your masks to be made fragrance-free. So, that’s a tip for anyone who might be sensitive to that.

In general, both masks apply the same way and feel the same on the skin, after removing the masks, my skin feels calmer. When I had spots that were brewing under the skin before, they came to the surface almost immediately removing the masks. I’d say the results are even better the next day.

Onto my final thoughts, I’d recommend anyone who has multiple skin concerns to give this custom-made mask a try. It’s a unique approach to skincare and one that more likely to have results that mass-produced ones.

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Available: £27/50ml

Have you tried this before? What is your experience?

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