Ooh-la-la. The Chocolate Mask “smells amazing” is what client after client are saying after trying the February exotic mask. If you haven’t heard,  the Chocolate Mask and serums just arrived from the Riviera in time for the February Valentine’s celebration.

So in a dash to try them, I tested them on clients last week. First we had a baby shower celebration with three clients (two of whom were pregnant – one with twins). Leave it to fate, but the two pregnant clients wanted the Chocolate Mask Pedicure.

First the water was infused with chocolate with the scrub and the lotion. The crowning moment, is the application of the chocolate mask. Nothing prepares you for the overwhelmingly rich aroma. The cocoa with the essential oils and willow bark make it smell good enough to eat. And you actually could eat it….but it feels better on the feet.

What makes the chocolate mask really good for your skin?

For starters, the mask has a major ingredient, namely cocoa powder that is chock full of antioxidants and minerals. Chocolate and cocoa powder comes from the cacao tree. The reason our chocolate mask is so fabulous, is that our cocoa powder comes from the Criollo Cacao Tree. This tree is popular in the Mayan Yucatan Riviera region of Mexico.

The tree has pods which are dried and roasted to give us the cacao in its raw form. It is during this roasting process (sun drying) that the enzymes break down the proteins into the chocolate that we know. The benefits of cacao are only available in the raw form.

The Cacao shells are used for tea while the raw cacao can be processed further into butters and powders. This mask is created from the cocoa powder along with willow bark, coconut oil and essential oils.

Benefits of Chocolate Mask

• Improves Mood (any mask will)
• Increase Cellular life by improving blood circulation and protecting cells
• High concentration of magnesium that helps skin combat elasticity
• Reduces cortisol and stress hormones giving skin a glow

This month, the spa has incorporated the Riviera Chocolate Mask into a Chocolate Mask Facial treatment and a Chocolate Mayan Pedicure. Both treatments incorporate the benefits of cacao and a champagne flute of our fabulous Cranberry and Elderberry water.