Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask and Renewal Serum Review

Origins' Original Skin Retexturizng Mask and Renewal Serum aren't new products - they were actually launched end of last year - but since I'm catching up on some old reviews at the moment, I figured, better late than never! And I suppose as far as skincare reviews are concerned, it's always a bit better to wait til you've tried the product more before reviewing it, because then you really get a better sense of how the product works.

Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask and Renewal Serum: Targeting A Slightly Younger Crowd

From some of the promotional material I've seen, the Original Skin range is meant to target ladies with a "quarter-life crisis", so unlike traditional anti-aging lines it has a younger target audience. The Original Skin Retexturizing Mask is supposed to be a "two-in-one purifying mask and skin refiner", while the Renewal Serum is billed as a "renewal serum (duh, I guess) designed to restore the glow of younger skin". As with most Origins products, these have a slew of natural plant-based extracts and ingredients.


Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask: One of the products in the range
As with all my reviews, we start with the ingredients list, so we get to see what's in the products, and how the products work! So, without further ado, let's begin!



Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask Ingredients
The main ingredients in the product are water, humectants (Butylene Glycol, Glycerin), clay (Kaolin, Montmorillonite, Bentonite), emulsifiers (Polysorbate 20, PEG-100 Stearate), and jojoba beads for exfoliating (Jojoba Esters). So from the main ingredients, we can see that this is a clay mask, but it's also pretty moisturizing, with the inclusion of humectants, so if you've previously not been keen on clay masks because you're worried they might be a bit dry, this would probably be pretty decent. The jojoba beads for exfoliating are a nice touch, too.

After these main ingredients, the Retexturizing Mask contains a slew of plant extracts (Grapefruit Peel Oil, Lavender Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Clary Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract, Limonene, Linalool, Geraniol, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Chestnut Seed Extract, Albizia Julibrissin Bark Extract, Algae Extract), which would please consumers who like plant-based ingredients in their products. So if you're looking for a product with lots of different types of plant extracts, this is good.


Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask: A clay mask with moisturizing properties
The rest of the product consists of more emollients (Lecithin) humectants (Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Hyaluronate, Caprylyl Glycol), some of which have dual functions - you might recognize Ethylhexylglycerin as a preservative elsewhere. There are also other functional ingredients, such as emulsifiers to prevent the product from separating (Propylene Glycol tearate, PEG-150 Distearate), thickener (Xanthum Gum), preservatives (Phenoxyethanol), and the like.

So, looking at the formula, I would say this is a nicely formulated clay mask, with a bunch of plant extracts inside it, and with some mositurizing properties. I know some people may have skins that are sensitive to selected plant extracts and thus might be worried about irritation from the plant extracts, my best guesstimate is that the plant extracts might not be there in huge amounts, but if you are one of those people who can't take anything with plant extracts, then I would recommend patch testing before you apply it all over your face.


Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask: The little beads in there are jojoba beads for exfoliation
When I used the Original Skin Retexturizing Mask, the first thing I noticed was that it smelled just like rose, which I found quite pleasant and relaxing, and not too overtly perfume-y. It also has a very nice creamy texture, unlike some clay masks which can be dry or crumbly. There are also really tiny jojoba microbeads, which I like because they exfoliate without being too harsh on your skin (as opposed to say, crushed shells which can have sharp edges). While I do personally prefer chemical exfoliation where possible, I've had some pretty good results with microbeads, as far as physical exfoliants go.

You're supposed to leave the mask on for awhile, and then wash it off while massaging for an exfoliating effect. I found that when I left the mask to dry on my skin, it basically dried down to a solid clay mask, and when I washed it off, I basically had to re-wet the mask to exfoliate. After all the exfoliation and washing, I felt that my skin did feel a bit more moisturized and softer after use. And although I have somewhat sensitive skin and was a bit cautious about using the mask, I found that it didn't cause any breakouts or trigger any sensitivities, which was a plus for me.


Origins Original Skin Renewal Serum Ingredients
Now that we've looked at the Original Skin Retexturizing Mask, let's look at the Renewal Serum. The bottle of serum I got didn't actually have the ingredients list, but I managed to eventually get a sample of the product, and fortunately the ingredients list were on the sample packet. The main ingredients in the Serum are Water, humectants (Butylene Glycol, Glycerin), absorbers (Silica), and a fewsilicones and polymers (Dimethicone, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Polysilicone-11). These silicones and polymers have various uses - some (Dimethicone) are emollients, some (Polysilicone-11, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer) are film formers and polymers to give the product a nice feel on the skin.

Then, there are also the plant extracts, the bulk of which are pretty similar to what we've seen in the Mask so far (Grapefruit Peel Oil, Lavender Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Clary Oil, Anthemis Nobilis Flower Oil, Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract, Limonene, Linalool, Geraniol, Epilobium Angustifolium Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract, Chestnut Seed Extract, Albizia Julibrissin Bark Extract, Peony Root Extract, Molasses Extract, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Bamboo Extract, Pea Extract, St. Paul's Wort Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract). So again, if you like plantextracts, you'll probably also like the Renewal Serum too.


Origins Original Skin Renewal Serum: A combination of humectants, emollients, silicones and polymers give this product a nice texture on skin
There are also varying, if small, amounts of pretty useful skincare ingredients. There's salicylic acid, a BHA, which helps to exfoliate skin and also has some anti-acne properties. As someone who's pretty acne-prone, I'm a big salicylic acid fan, so I'm personally glad it's in there, even if it doesn't seem to be there in huge amounts. There's also Acetyl Hexapeptide-8 and Arginine, which are not that often found in skincare products, and are supposed to help tighten skin and decrease wrinkles. And there is Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, a derivative of Vitamin C with brightening and antioxidant effects, and Caffeine, which also has antioxidant effects. There are also a variety of emollients (Phospholipids, Caprylyl Glycol), occlusives (Beeswax), and humectants (Urea, Sodium Hyaluronate, Trehalose, Sodium PCA), which together help enhance the moisturizing properties of the product.

The rest of the product consists of various silicones and polymers (Lauryl PEG-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, PEG-11 Methyl Ether Dimethicone, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer), as well as functional ingredients such as preservatives (Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin).


Origins Original Skin Renewal Serum: Lightweight and moiturizing, and absorbs quickly without any residue
When I used the Original Skin Renewal Serum, I found that it had a citrus scent, and felt lightweight and moisturizing, but not heavy or oily. I also liked that it absorbed quite quickly into my skin without any residue whatsoever. That said, this is a pretty light serum, so if you have particularly dry skin, you might find this works best layered under a separate moisturizer. But if you happen to have oily skin or live in a hot and humid climate, then this might be sufficient by itself.


Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask and Renewal Serum: Useful products that will work for a variety of skintypes and appeal to those who like natural skincare
So, would I recommend the Origins Original Skin Retexturizing Mask and Renewal Serum? I think on the whole, these are products that are pretty decently formulated - the Retexturizing Mask is a clay mask that also has moisturizing properties, and the Renewal Serum is a nice, lightweight basic serum, with some pretty interesting ingredients. Both products will likely work for a variety of skin types, too. If you're partial to plant extract and the like, then you'll probably like both products too, because they have a wide variety of plant extracts.

Recommended?	Formulation	Packaging	Ease of Use	Effectiveness
Yes, if you like plant extracts	6/10	8/10	8/10	7/10
The Bottom Line: Origins' Original Skin Retexturizing Mask is clay mask that is still moisturizing, while the Renewal Serum is lightweight and absorbs quickly on skin.

(Product was sent for review. Review is my complete and honest opinion. I am not affiliated with/compensated by the company.)