GLAMGLOW's Chinese New Year GRAVITYMUD Mask Helps You Ring In The Year Of The Pig With Golden Skin

One of my 2019 resolutions is to start really taking care of my skin, and although the Chinese New Year celebration isn't so much about resolutions as the calendar New Year's is known to be, tons of skincare brands are still going hot and heavy when it comes to releasing festive products to ring it in with style. In fact, this GLAMGLOW 2019 Lunar New Year GRAVITYMUD review proves that everything is a little better when it's part of a celebration, especially face-masking.

If you don't know much about Lunar New Year, also called Chinese New Year, but you're a die-hard fan of GLAMGLOW and their famously fantastic masks, let's pause for a brief what's-what. I, admittedly, didn't know much either, so I turned to my good friend YouMe Lin, a creative consultant in New York City, who celebrates the event every year. She told me that the start of the lunar calendar occurs on the day of a new moon, and that this year, the date is set for Feb. 5.

"Chinese New Year is a holiday rich with many traditions and rituals — from watching dragon dances and lighting up lanterns to having a huge feast with family and talking about the zodiac of the year," Lin explains. "Everyone in the Chinese community celebrates the holiday; it is the one that no one would want to miss out on. And of course, you can’t end the celebration without gifting or receiving red packets!"

The "packets" Lin mentions are small gifts given to loved ones as symbols of good luck for the new year, and when I saw the special packaging for the 2019 Lunar New Year Limited Edition GRAVITYMUD Firming Treatment ($59, glamglow.com), I could clearly see they'd used the packets as inspiration for the newly red hue of the mask's box.

If you look closely at the red box, you'll notice that there is a cute little gilded gold pig:

Every new year has a symbolic animal sign taken from the Chinese Zodiac, and 2019 is the Year of the Pig. "I really think we are in for a treat this year," says Lin about this year's symbol. "2019 is the Year of the Pig, which represents good luck, wealth, and prosperity. In addition, the pig also symbolizes creativity and calmness. 2019 definitely seems to be a promising year!"

While the packaging is red like the gifted packets, the mask and its casing have been reborn in a gorgeous gold. The original GRAVITYMUD Firming Treatment ($70 glamglow.com) is silver, but it's since been redesigned in various colorways, from My Little Pony pink to jet black with sparkling glitters. Through and through, though, the formula remains the same, and ingredients like witch hazel, licorice, and marshmallow leaf help skin feel tighter and firmer.

I've always been a fan of the GRAVITYMUD formula, so for me, this was all about getting to play with that beautiful gold:

It should be noted that, out of all the masks in the skincare universe, GRAVITYMUD is the best-smelling by far, at least in my humble opinion. The scent is somewhat licorice-like, and it makes it hard to resist not piling on the product so the scent can build up stronger. That said, the formula is more liquid-y than your standard clay mask, but still not incredibly messy. I used a mask spatula (because all I do is mask and I have dozens) to sweep the product across my face, but fingers work just as well. Because this is a dry-down, peel-off mask, though, you can't retrace your steps once a layer is applied. The product dries down so that it can be peeled off when you're ready, so make your first application count.

Even though you can't tell by my expression (it's hard to pose in a mask that dries down!), this had me feeling like a golden goddess:

I've got fairly sensitive skin at the moment, and I was delighted to find that this mask didn't irritate me in any way, and while other masks sometimes put up a fight during the peel-off process, I was able to remove the entire thing with a seamless pull. My skin definitely felt tighter and a little firmer, too, and after following up with the rest of my skincare routine, I felt like I'd been treated to a luxe spa night.

For me, a treat-yourself skincare regime is a celebration in itself, so incorporating Chinese New Year and this year's zodiac symbol of the lucky, prosperous pig was a major bonus. If you were already planning on trying out GRAVITYMUD for yourself, I definitely recommend snagging this limited-edition gold version while it's still available. Pick up one for yourself, and one to gift a friend as a way to ring in the Lunar New Year with good fortune and great skin.