Flavanone Mud from Deciem's NIOD brand is, hands dowwwwn, my OG decongesting mask! This little pot of condensed, smooth-as-silk, rust-colored clay is no joke. It's a blend of three highly concentrated clays — including Amazonian black clay, sedimentary white clay, and a copper-rich Brazilian clay. But the formula's strength and efficacy is powered by what NIOD scientists call a "three-phase decongestion system" that jolts skin into balance. I literally see and feel a transformation in my complexion every time I use it. The effect is both instantaneous and cumulative over hours and even days.

There's literally no "mud mask" like it. And I've tried them all! (Not really, it just looks like that. I also don't eat pizza every day, but you could be forgiven for believing that I did.) The way I think of it, Flavanone Mud is like those pads they use to send an electric jolt into a person's chest to restart their heart.

CLEEEEEAR!

That's exactly the right analogy. My skin feels shocked into rebalancing itself and I always notice a visible, progressive improvement in my complexion in the days that follow. Of course, I apply Flavanone Mud the way I apply every mask — with my trusted facial masking brush from The Body Shop. I know I've talked about it before, and even demonstrated how I use it. If you aren't applying a mask with a facial brush made for masking, you're missing out. It's literally transformed how I mask — and the results I get. And it's only $15. Get one here.

I wouldn't even think of applying a mask without my fave masking brush.

One of the things I love about NIOD is that they don't put anything through a marketing filter. Having worked on hundreds of skincare products over the last 20 or so years, I can tell you product development happens in one of two ways. It's either driven by the formulator and chemists or by the marketing team. I've worked with all of them. Some products are best driven by one or the other side of the equation. When development projects are driven by the chemists and formulators, they're very often more authentic and, obviously, more science based. If you're familiar with NIOD, you know what I mean when I say it's a high-science brand. The formula descriptions, as well as the formulas themselves, are more challenging to get your mind around. They don't necessarily speak to you in language you'd readily understand. They force you to think. Nothing is dumbed down to broaden the appeal to a larger number of consumers. If you don't get it, NIOD is perfectly fine with you moving on to one of Deciem's other brands. But, if you do get it, your skin will truly benefit from the science. NIOD formulas are focused on maintaining and improving skin health. Period. It may seem counterintuitive to think that skincare products wouldn't actually improve skin health. But that's the cold harsh reality of the beauty business.

So what do I mean about speaking in high-science language that isn't marketing speak? Just have look at the product description of Flavanone Mud (known as FM in NIOD parlance)...

"Flavanone Mud is a three-phase rinse-off decongestion system that disrupts neither the skin surface equilibrium nor its density. While FM can be classified as a masque for categorical convenience, its approach varies substantially from that offered by the concept of masques today both in terms of its way of positive visible influence on the skin as well as its respect for dermal integrity."

Come on. That sounds like the chemist who formulated this product wrote it. Who else would have those kinds of insights and such an off-center POV? As a copywriter, I could never write that without the close collaboration of the scientists in the lab.

One of the more interesting ingredients in Flavanone Mud, and I suspect it's at the heart of the rebalancing technology in the formula, is bisabolol. I love this ingredient. You don't see it often enough. A clear, oily fluid extract, bisabolol is one of the active parts of the chamomile plant — with powerful anti-inflammatory effects on the skin. In the Flavanone formula, it's ingredient number four out of 32, meaning it's at a very high level. Bisabolol has been used in traditional medicine for centuries as it's long been known to possess potent anti-irritant, anti-inflammatory and anti-microbial properties. Imagine it's 1492, the year Christopher Columbus discovered America. You're aboard the Santa María, the flagship of the historic expedition, and have injured your elbow battening down one of its three masts in a strong wind. It's beginning to swell and become infected. You hop down to the apothecary in the bottom of the boat, where the ship's doctor applies a bisabolol ointment to treat your wound and subsequent swelling. The swelling recedes and, with the infection under control, he now won't need to amputate your arm! It's fist bumps all around the deck!

The Santa María, flagship of Christoper Columbus' expedition that discovered America.

That's how remarkable bisabolol is! On top of that, bisabolol enhances the absorption of other ingredients in a skincare formula. Ingredients like that are essential for reaping the full benefits of what is essentially a cocktail of ingredients with varying molecular weights that need to penetrate the skin surface (or not!) to be effective. As if bisbolol weren't powerful enough, NIOD uses an ultra-pure form of the extract — with "up to 900 times less impurity than standard chamomile flower derivative."

Flavanone Mud's ingredient list: Aqua (Water), Montmorillonite, Kaolin, Bisabolol, Silica Cetyl Silylate, Isodecyl neopentanoate, Panthenyl Triacetate, Glucosyl Hesperidin, Potassium Azeloyl Diglycinate, Argilla, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Resveratrol, Naringenin, Arginine, Alteromonas Ferment Extract, Perfluorodecalin, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Glycosphingolipids, Propanediol, Xanthan Gum, Carrageenan, Acacia Senegal Gum, Mica, Quartz, Sucrose Palmitate, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Ethoxydiglycol, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin.

YES, FLAVANONE, DECONGEST ME!

So what about that "three-phase decongestion system" I introduced at the outset? Let's go back to those scientist who presumably made FM. The decongestion approach comprises a purifying phase, a protective phase, and a responsive phase.

The Purifying Phase: "This phase is the simplest one in the formulation and the one that is most closely aligned with masques as they are known today. In this phase, surface impurities— which include oil- and water-soluble pollution, cosmetic product build-up and excess sebum activity build-up — are physically solubilized and removed."

The Protective Phase: "This phase of FM's formulation offers the most innovative approach to decongestion by introducing technologies that offer a physical shield against external build-up.

The Responsive Phase: "This phase of the formulation introduces mechanisms that fight against environmental congestion factors. This phase is the most important phase of FM as it respects health and longevity. The presence of "Flavanone" in the name of the product emphasizes the importance of this phase. A highly-purified flavanone derived from the inner white parts of citrus peel, triggers topical visible detoxification."

Its unique "dispersion mechanism" means you need less of the formula than a conventional mud.

One of the more unusual qualities of Flavanone Mud is its texture. NIOD scientists used a unique "dispersion mechanism" that helps to more easily spread the formula across the skin's surface, meaning you don't need as much of it. That sets it apart from conventional mud masks, where you need to slather gobs of clay onto your skin to cover it evenly. Because of Flavanone Mud's unusual spreading technology, I have literally owned a single jar of FM and use it as regularly as once a week. (When I skip a week, I can tell!) I probably have a half-jar left after maybe 20 applications. Oh, one more thing, this baby stiiiings. 🐝 I love a good tingling effect when it's the result of the formula actually working to improve your skin health. That's different from the deceptive tingling effect you get from a fragrant plant oil like peppermint, tea tree or lavender — all of which are actually harmful disruptors of your skin barrier to varying degrees (lavender is particularly harmful to skin).

Healthy skin is happy skin, and no mask makes my skin happier than Flavanone Mud. It's a formula worthy of your discovery — and one that my paisano Christopher Columbus would even be proud of!

🖤 SKINCARMA