mineral rich holy land
I spent the better part of my junior year fearing the impending doom of my AP chemistry final exam. Carbon, Zinc, fluorine (light bulbs?), alkali metals, noble gasses… misery. I said it would be far too soon if I ever saw another covalent bond, but not unlike most proclamations made in my teens (I hate you! My life is over!), I have since adjusted my position – and reacquainted myself with the magical powers of minerals and magnets (albeit mostly in the name of vanity, not the college board).
If you’ve ever visited the Dead Sea (or just Googled it) you might recall a surprising amount of enthusiasm surrounding two things: floating, and covering yourself in mud. It’s the type of joy you really can’t fake. Even supermodel Bar Refaeli got in on the muddy goods (Tweeting: “If you haven’t been well, too bad for you,” along with an accompanying photo) and it’s for good reason.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the earth’s surface, clocking in at approximately 400 meters below sea level. It is also the only body of water to contain 21 different minerals including: calcium, magnesium, iodine, bromide, sodium chloride, potassium and more – all of which make you feel good, and look good to boot.
Which is why -417 is such an interesting brand. They’ve taken the long known healing properties of the Dead Sea and applied modern day skincare science to bring you a highly effective range of products. Using a variety of vitamins, minerals, and plant extracts they replenish moisture, increase cell turnover, purge impurities, and restore your youthful glow.
My Top Pick:
Channeling my inner chemist, I laid out my supplies and put on some protective clothing (just an old t-shirt). Using the provided spatula, I smoothed the mask – which had a consistency that can only be described as obsidian jelly – all over my face and waited 10 minutes. The next step had me slightly skeptical (it involves a magnet). The instructions say to wrap the magnet in a tissue, and glide it over your face to remove the mask. OK, I’m game for science experiments, but this sounded like I would really just be wiping my mask off with a tissue that happened to have a magnet trapped inside. Hypothesis: skeptical.
But… I was wrong.
Tissue wrapped magnet in hand, I slid it across my face, trying to avoid touching my skin at all, and that stuff jumped right off my face and onto the tissue.* Immediately after my skin was amazing. A bit dewy, not oily, and perfectly moisturized. My skin was glowing, and supple – almost as I remember it from junior year in high school (almost).
The best part was actually looking (ew, I know) at the ends of the iron filings and seeing the dead skin and debris that had been extracted from my pores.
Great mask. Cool brand. You should try it. –China Moss
*Be careful when removing the magnet from the tissue. Wrap the tissue around itself, instead of unwrapping the magnet, because all that grime will fall to the floor.
