Choco MooMoo!

BOOO!!!

No of course, I am not prepping for some Halloween party, silly. It’s just me with chocolate muck on my face.

Yes, I am in most respects a Chocolate Monster. I love good quality chocolates. In fact my most fervent dream is to one day have the chance to savour the five most revered, yet hard-to-get, artisanal chocolates in the world– Amedei, Bernachon, Michel Cuizel, Vosges, and William Curley.

And yes, I’ve come to the point of slapping chocolate goo on my face. Haaa! You can laugh now, but here in Seoul, slapping chocolate goop on your face is big business. Proof? Most known brands here in Korea have some kind of chocolate mask – Skinfood, Missha, Nature Republic.

What I’m using though is the famous Zamian Gold Cacao Pack. It supposedly has gold particles which siphons of impurities from your skin but honestly I haven’t noticed. What really hits me when I use this is the amazing chocolate sensory experience. The chocolate aroma is so rich you'd want to lick the thing off your skin. But DON'T. It tastes chocolatey, yes, but incredibly bitter too. I know because my stubborn tongue took on a swipe of dried out pack at the corner of my mouth ages ago. Repeat after me, this chocolate mask is not meant for the mouth. Just be thankful that this mask packs a chocolate euphoria without us gaining a few pounds.

Anyhoo, I bought and opened a new tube of Zamian Cacao Pack a couple of weeks ago. See, the weather has changed in Seoul. Spring has gone and the hot and humid summer days have swooped down upon me. Which means one thing: a slight tweak in my skincare regimen to combat the oilies that Summer brings with it. I guess I must also say that I need the Zamian Pack because I’ve been eating a lot of chocolates the past weeks . Good stuff, I must add –Lindt, Guylian, Hawaiian Host. How can one resist when they are on sale at 50% off?! Eating Chocolates and Clear Skin just doesn’t go hand in hand in my world. I know that too much chocolate will make my skin act up. Ironic really to think that what calms my skin, irritated by too much chocolate, is made of Cacao.

The ads in Korea for Zamian Cacao are a bit crazed and honestly unbelievable. It can remove stubborn acne in just 10 days? Yeah, right. I don’t think even Roaccutane, the most potent, prescription-only drug for acne can promise that.

So please do not ask me if it can really erase acne in 10 days. I am sure it can’t. It’s a mask not a miracle pill. What I can tell you is that it really lessens the oils and calms the skin. There are days when I am stressed and my skin is stressed. Don’t you have those days too? When you just know that you’re about to get a zit and your skin is just plain irritated? Well, times like these, I slap on a layer of the Zamian Cacao Pack, relax and inhale its chocolate aroma, and it surprisingly works in calming and removing the redness on my face and prevents cystic pustules from popping out.

The manufacturer’s sleeve says the cacao pack contains Gold Powder, Cacao, Aloe Extract, and Hyaluronic Acid. Maybe so, but I think the soothing effect is really from the Cocoa Butter.

We retail it for a little over 800 bucks per set at the shop ( the set includes sheet masks, a Cacao Soap which is also good and a Pore Minimizing Soap) but I personally use only the Gold Cacao Pack these days.Is it worth the pesos? I think so. It’s a pretty big tube and one tube is good for at least two months . I use this only twice a week and when my skin needs an emergency i.e. on the verge of a breakout.

This will not cure your acne or remove your scars (if it did, I'd be without marks now!) but I can vouch for how it helps in controlling the oiliness and preventing a zit from going fullblown.

Hmmm, so let's see, I guess it's true then, not only are chocolates good for you, their food for your skin too. ;-)

☺