Three marvellous masks!

Today, I am going to write about my three favourite face masks. I started using masks about a year and a half ago; around the time when I started to take my skin care seriously. I discovered Caroline Hirons, Ruth Crilly and Nadine Baggott, who are experts in skin-care and I realised just how neglectful I had been with my skin.

My skin care routine is fairly solid and I will post an updated morning and nighttime routine at some point soon. But masks, for me are different.

When I was younger and I thought about face masks, I would imagine a beautiful woman in a spa, wearing a towel turban and a white, flanneled robe. She would be lying on a deck chair, with some sort of thick, yoghurt-like concoction slathered all over her face with cucumbers on her eyes. This was, I suppose, relaxation goals.

Obviously, in the real world, masks are completely different. Different masks are formulated to tackle different needs. Most are easy to use and can still leave you with that pampered feeling, without an extortionate trip to a spa!

I have tried so many masks and, I have to say, was initially quite sceptical. I wanted to feel like the mask was doing something; I didn’t want a subtle difference. In my opinion, if you are taking the time to apply something and sit patiently, there needs to be some pay-off (yes, I’m a little impatient.) I’ve tried odd masks that dry down black and you peel them off (these are hideous: avoid!), sheet masks which make my face feel cold and wet and are extremely wasteful and bad for the environment and some which were just a bit ‘meh’. That is why, my preferred choice of masks all come from The Body Shop.

Here is a picture of my, rather grumpy, face before applying any masks. This was taken in natural light. You can see some redness from blemishes and the skin has, in my opinion, a fairly dull appearance.

The first mask that I used was the Matcha Facial Mask. This contains Matcha green tea, dandelion extract and aloe vera. It is a pollution-clearing mask and I like to use it when I’ve been travelling around a bit, when the weather can’t make its mind up and when we’ve succumbed to the central heating.

I applied it with a clean brush and it should be noted that the product remains wet whilst it works; unlike a lot of other masks, it does not dry down and so feels quite nourishing. The scent, whilst strong, is pleasing: a fresh, natural, earthy, clean smell. It is a little tingly upon initial application and when it is sinking into the skin. I left the mask on for twenty minutes. You can see from this picture that there is some texture to the product as it offers gentle exfoliation to the skin.

As with all the masks, I removed this afterwards with a flannel and with warm water. The mask came off very easily and my skin felt very fresh and clear after use. From the picture, I would suggest that my complexion looks a lot brighter. I don’t use this one often enough!

Mask number two is the Charcoal Face Mask. If I were to use one mask for the rest of my life, it would easily be this one; I recommend it to everyone! Charcoal is one of those brilliant ingredients for deep cleaning the face and it has a very satisfying feeling when applied. I have tried charcoal masks from other brands and you could invest some serious £££, but I find that this one is the best.

The mask contains charcoal, green tea leaves and tea-tree oil, so again has a very fresh scent to it. I applied this the same way; it goes on wet and contains larger bits of charcoal which can make you look a little bit alarming! I should say that you definitely want to make sure that your hair is back and you are wearing old clothes for this one; it can go everywhere, but it is worth it. The product dries down quite quickly to a hard, light grey colour and you can see from the image that all pores are tackled, with impurities and oil being sucked to the surface.

This one is a little more stubborn to remove, but again, your face is getting a thorough exfoliation. If you look at the image, the appearance of larger pores has greatly reduced and my skin looks a lot more glowy (I still look a bit strange though!).

Finally, I applied the Ethiopian Honey Mask which is my most luxurious, pampering product. In essence, you are applying honey to your face which is a gentle, yet deep moisturising ingredient. It smells divine. You do feel like a bit of a sticky mess (see picture) but afterwards, you have the softest, smoothest skin ever. You need very little product here as a little goes a long way.

 

Each of the pots are £17 and are so worth it. There are others from the range, but these are the three that I return to weekly to re-set my skin and give me a glow. These would make a lovely gift for a friend or for yourself for an at-home pamper session. All three products are vegetarian and the ingredients have been sourced ethically from amazing places all around the world. Each pot contains 75ml of product and on the Body Shop’s youtube channel, they have fun crafty ideas of things that you can do with the pot afterwards!

Have you tried any of the masks in the range? What other masks do you enjoy? Let me know in the comments or on my instagram: @lamornalifestyle.