We all know that staying out of the sun is the best thing for your skin. Failing that, try one of these wonder-masks for an instant pick-me-up
I am not one of those Nicole Kidman types who like to sit in the shade, swathed in a giant hat, slathering on the factor 500 while po-facedly complaining about how awful the sun is for your skin. I like the sun, I love it and always have. I spent my teenage years pretending to revise for my exams while horizontal on a bean bag gently trying to cook myself, sizzling like a pinky Porker sausage seasoned with baby oil. In my twenties I used any carrot based product I could find. It was only in my thirties that I vaguely began to pay attention to any factor whatsoever. The result? Along with the cigaretting, the wining and my inability to turn down a vodka-based cocktail, I now have a face the texture and consistency of a crocodile handbag.
So when GTG suggested I road test some newfangled face masks, in the name of lizard ladies everywhere I jumped at the chance.
BeautyPro Collagen Infused Facial Mask , £20. This is one of those burns-victim masks that every ‘exhausted’ superstar is selfie-ing right now. It comes out of the packet like a freezing sloppy joe and you have to flatten it all over your skin and lie there for 15 mins. There is not a massive amount of room in my day to lie down for 15 minutes so it took a lot of energy not to fall asleep and wake up at 3am with it smeared all over the my pillow. But I did it, and it was good. Smooth and only a little sticky.
Charlotte Tilbury Multi Miracle Glow , £45. As a fellow ginger with just as many freckles, Charlotte gets the ‘naughty blonde who should not have ever sat in the sun’ thing very well. She also understands that no one wants to get out of bed after 15 minutes. So this mask is a shove on and pass out mask, perfect for party to office or putting on when on a plane. I loved it.
Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Boosting 5 Minute Facial , £70. This is a two-act number which did stink my face, but in a good way. I felt that it was actually really doing something. I liked the foaming action and the serum afterwards felt fabulous. It made my face all shiny and smacked afterwards.
Crystal Clear 10 Minute Glow , £25. Do please try this at home in front of children. It’s a proper peel off mask that is like ripping off the top layer of skin. I felt like Nicholas Cage in Face Off and my four-year son watched slacked-jaw with transfixed horror, as I peeled the thin transparent layer off until, like a snake shedding its skin, I was left with a crumpled copy of my face in my hand. It reports to leave your skin glowing and hydrated, neither of which I felt, but I shall certainly use it again. Magnificent!
Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask , £93. Thick, sweet-smelling and totally divine, this is basically love in a tube. I could feel my skin sucking all the goodness in. The directions ask you to cover the face and then take off any excess. There just simply wasn’t any. I honestly think if I used this every other day for a year I would look 15 years old come Christmas.
GlamGlow YouthMud Tingling and Exfoliating Mud Mask , £24.99. This product hails from Hollywood California and has won numerous beauty awards, with many beauty editors as big fans. I hate to sound mad, which I most certainly am, but the packaging really put me off putting it anywhere near my face. Black and silver and covered in trademarked logos saying ‘Very Sexy’ and ‘Hello Sexy’, it looked like some sort of heavy duty lubricant espoused by the porn industry. So it remained in the box.
Harley Street Skin Care Enzyme Mask , £32. I am rather a fan of this stuff and have used it many times before. It smells great and it’s a Tilbury-type mask that lets you pass out like an inebriated starfish and wake up defying all the odds. They call it the ‘Princess Mask’ in the clinic and if you use it you can see why. It is my default mask when I’m tired and exhausted and don’t want to look like how I feel.
