A Makeup & Beauty Blog – Lipglossiping

We all know that prevention is better than cure. Many years later, I can still recall the disapproving looks I would receive from my doctor when he asked me how regularly I was taking my preventer inhaler.  You see, being the know-it-all thirteen year old that I was, I felt that I was handling my asthma pretty well using only my blue inhaler.  That was, until I was told that taking the reliever inhaler 6 times a day does not equal a controlled condition.

The same goes for problem skin.

But clearly, I am still very much thirteen years old at heart because here I am, about to extol the “daily use” virtues of something that feels very much like a “cure” product.  I should probably just count my blessings that I don’t spend all my money in Our Price nowadays.

Burts Bees Intense Hydration Treatment Mask is a luxuriously thick cream that spreads beautifully and deeply nourishes the upper layers of skin.  The particular benefits of this product, for me, is its unique combination of ingredients that provide a great-feeling as well as effective moisturising product.

It’s as though the chemists have struck a perfect balance for my skin and personal tastes.  Although rich in glycerin, which works as a great (albeit inexpensive) humectant, keeping water bound within these upper layers of skin, the texture lacks the tackiness that often comes with glycerin-based products.  In addition to this, it boasts instant emollient benefits as a skin smoother, feeling comfortably nourishing on the face without being overly heavy.

The mask spreads nicely, leaving behind a white sheen that over the course of a minute or two, dissipates, taking any feelings of post-cleansing tightness with it.

My only caveat with the Intense Hydration Mask is its over-reliance on fragrance.  As with many other Burts Bees products, this one is also highly-scented.  Thankfully, my skin tolerates perfume in skincare very well, but I know that many do not and it’s a shame that a brand which is often so beneficial to people with dry and sensitive skin, feels the need to use potential irritants so aggressively in its products.  This one, especially.

My opening paragraph may have alerted you to the fact that instead of using this product as a “treatment mask”, I mostly use it as a daily moisturiser… tailoring the amount I apply to the ever-changing demands of my skin.  I only need to use a very small quantity, pea-sized, most days… meaning that this 110g tube is going to last me a very long time.  Once a week, after applying a clay-based mask across my t-zone, I apply a slightly thicker layer before bed.

I do love mini-miracle products, those ones that make tangible differences to your skin after only one use.  Ain’t no-one got time to wait 12-weeks for results and this one is, for me at least, a bonafide beauty saviour.

Burts Bees Intense Hydration Treatment Mask is available to buy online from feelunique.com priced at £17.95

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News of The Body Shop’s latest launch is like well-tuned music to my ears.  I’m a sucker for anything that promises an instant fix in less time than it takes to watch a movie and their NEW single-shot face mask sachets will turn you into a movie-watching, zit-busting multitasker of EPIC proportions!

There are four different varieties of mask available in the range, here’s a quick guide to give you an idea of which might be the best choice for your current skin needs:

Vitamin E Sink-In Moisture Mask

“Bring skin back to its optimum moisture levels with intensely hydrating Vitamin E.  Bursting with antioxidants this cushioning moisture cream protects and rejuvenates, leaving skin feeling soft and smooth. “

This is an overnight leave-on mask, great for when your skin is feeling dehydrated or in need of some extra TLC, personally… I’d use this in conjunction with any one of the cleansing masks.

Vitamin C Microdermabrasion Mask

“Filled with fine micro particles and crushed garnet stones, this zesty Vitamin C mask gently and effectively removes impurities and dead skin cells, providing deep exfoliation. It improves skin texture and tone, revealing a brighter, balanced, more radiant complexion.”

Great for combination and congested skin-types, perfect to use a couple of days before an event or big night out.  As it’s an exfoliator, I wouldn’t use this one more than once a week at most.

Tea Tree Face Mask

“This antibacterial, deep cleansing clay mask smoothes and refreshes the skin by absorbing excess oil.  It gives an instantly cooling, soothing sensation whilst leaving skin clear and squeaky clean.”

A good choice for oily skin types.  If you’re wary that it might be too much for your skin, limit its use to a dab on any blemishes you have and save the rest to give your back/shoulders a deep cleanse!

Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask

“Draw out impurities and rebalance the skin’s natural ph levels with this mattifying clay mould mask. Packed with the purifying properties of naturally sourced seaweed, it cleanses deeply, controlling excess oil, leaving skin oil and shine free.”

Who doesn’t love a good sea monster-esque clay mask?  These are my favourite to tackle congestion and blackheads across my t-zone.  Again, I’d use an overnight moisturising mask after treatment to restore hydration on my dry skin and limit its use to once a week.

All masks are single-use sachets containing a 6ml volume, making it a great and inexpensive way to mix-and-match treatments for an at-home pampering session.

Priced at £1.50 each and available in store and online at bodyshop.co.uk

* the seaweed ionic clay mask appears to be temporarily unavailable online

** The Body Shop are currently offering 40% off and free delivery when you spend £5 online with code EXTRATREAT

*** In other news, TBS are discontinuing the Sweet Lemon range, I’m so sad!

When I was contacted and asked if I wanted to review a couple of products from the Elemis range, I tried to choose carefully.  The last thing I wanted to do was choose something that left me feeling uncertain of it’s value.  I wanted products that I could have an opinion about…. something tangible that I could describe to you.  I don’t care if it’s rubbish, fanastic or unfathomably dull… I just want to be able to have confidence in my feelings on the product.  And sometimes skincare leaves me feeling a little confused.

It’s to this end that I chose two masks that claim concrete results.  You may have already seen my Elemis Tri-Enzyme Resurfacing Gel Mask review.   That mask blew me away with outcomes that I could almost instantly appreciate…. smoothing, refreshing, complexion lifting… most of it’s promises came true on my face.  A blogger’s dream and an absolute delight to describe to you.

But then it all went a bit wrong.

Elemis Absolute Eye Mask will leave your purse £27 lighter for a generous (considering how far a little goes) 30ml tube.

It describes itself thus:

Elemis Absolute Eye Mask is an eye-brightening treatment that combines vital extracts of Rose, Mimosa, Cornflower and Comfrey to help decongest, firm and minimise dark circles and leave the delicate eye area soothed and revitalized.

So… I’m looking for decongesting, firming, dark circle reduction and a soothing/revitalizing effect.

So far, I haven’t experienced any of this.

In a complete contrast to the tri-enzyme mask, this eye mask leaves me with no instant impressions.  It doesn’t tingle, soothe, feel cooling, refreshing or even hydrating upon application.  Infact, if anything… there’s a small amount of tightening.  And not in a good way.

The blurb on the back tells me to apply sparingly around the eye bone area avoiding direct contact with the lid and inner eye areas.  “Sparingly”… I like it when expensive products say that.  As previously mentioned, a very small amount will spread nicely over the eye area… this tube will last me months!

But the problem is this…

Ultimately, Elemis Absolute Eye Mask is marketed as an anti-ageing product.  Maybe I’ll see some beneficial anti-ageing effects in a years time but unlike their anti-ageing Pro Collagen Marine Cream (be still my beating heart) this doesn’t even feel that nice before, during or after application.

And there you have it.

I’ll keep using it a couple of times a week as suggested on the box, and if in 6 months time I start noticing some longer term benefits, you can be sure I’ll be back to update

But those instant mask-type results that I was looking for?  Move along… there’s nothing to be seen here.

Long, long overdue is a review of my Deep Skincare – Rewarding Facial Mask.  You may remember I reviewed their Splendid Smooth Legs balm a couple of months ago when they sent me a couple of products for review consideration and I meanly laughed at their product names.

Well, I’m gonna do it again… Rewarding Facial Mask? *snort*  Someone’s gone through the dictionary looking for adjecives ending in -ing and added them to each product name.

If you were to order from Deep Skincare, you could choose from…

Balancing Toner, Uplifting Serum, Sanitizing Face Mask, Smoothing Scrub, Embracing Day and Night Cream, Empowering Rinse, Revitalizing Peel, Penetrating Balsam, Tenderizing Srcub… and so on…  don’t believe me? Go see for yourself.

Anyway, enough scorn for one day… what’s the stuff like?

It’s rather lovely.  You can usually tell the quality of a product just by using your senses and this one is no exception.  It smells heavenly, feels luxurious and looks creamy and substantial.  I stopped short of tasting it, but if the rest of the senses are anything to go by… I’d be expecting white truffles.

It applies and spreads easily onto my skin without glooping up like some face masks tend to do.  It feels more like a heavy, heavy cream than some of the usual more sticky masks that I’ve used in the past.   Once applied, it feels cooling on the skin with the slightest of tingles.  Not painful or irritated tingle… just cooling.  The scent is gorgeous.  It’s a kaolin clay based mask with the added benefits of aloe vera, sesame and almonds.

I leave the mask on for around 15 minutes and watch as it transforms from a white cream into a transparent veil.   Washing it off with lukewarm water leaves my skin feeling softer and somewhat firmer.  I haven’t noticed any other long-term benefits from using this product but as a quick pick-me-up, it’s fabulous.

Rewarding Facial Mask is available from the Deep Skincare website and is priced at £13