STYLE : LOOKS : The Nitty-Gritty

Summer in the city. The heat. The humidity. The smog. Southern California’s climate and pollution can clog pores, cause blemishes and generally wreak havoc. New facial muds, however, cleanse away urban grime and soothe the skin. - Erno Laszlo’s Sea Mud Bodyskin Polisher, available at Saks Fifth Avenue, is an exfoliator mild enough for sensitive skin. Infused with jojoba and corncob meal, the gray mixture sloughs off dead skin and is recommended as preparation for self-tanning products. Mud Spas Internationale, debuting at Nordstrom, is a line of muds and clays from as close to home as the Santa Ana Mountains and as far away as the Dead Sea. Each is a different color and specially designed for normal, sensitive, acne-prone or combination skin. - Origins’ Clear Improvement, also at Nordstrom, is a black mud containing activated charcoal to draw out pore-clogging bacteria and white clay to absorb toxins. Terme di Saturnia, at Saks Fifth Avenue, offers Purifying Thermal Facial Mud, derived from the mud of Saturnia, Italy. The gray, plankton-rich blend helps remove impurities as well as nourish the skin. - With all the mud on the market, getting down and dirty has never been so glamorous.