Absolute Favourite Face Masks

Now I don't know about you, but I love a good face mask. I tend to pop on a face mask every other night before getting in the bath and I leave it on for around an hour. My preference is clay type masks and exfoliating face masks, partly due to ease of applying them (I use a flat foundation brush to apply my face masks) and party due to my skin type. I have combination / oily skin which is never dry and I use moisturiser every day, so I don't tend to need a hydrating face mask. My skin is acne prone so I'm always on the hunt for a face mask that will fight any acne that appears.

These are some of my favourite face masks for my skin type. All of these reviews are based on my personal opinion and experiences of each of these products, everyone's skin is different and therefore what works for me might not work for you.

1. The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil Skin Clearing Mask, RRP: £11.00
     - The Body Shop is one of my all time favourite shops because their products are such good quality. I absolutely love this face mask and have repurchased it many times already. You get 100ml of product in a plastic tub but the product goes a long way. I probably get around 15-20 masks out of the pot. It smells of tea tree oil (obviously), menthol and a slight hint of lemon. Because of the menthol, the first few times I used this face mask, it did tingle a bit, so it might be worth being cautious if you have sensitive skin. This is one of my favourite face masks because it doesn't leave my skin feeling tight or dry when I take it off and it visibly reduces the size and colour of acne (after an hour of wear). It's nice to apply and when you have it on, you resemble Shrek. I remove this with a cotton face cloth and it comes off easily.


2. L'Oreal Pure Clay Detox Mask, RRP: £7.99
      - Again, this is a really great face mask for combination / oily skin which is acne prone. A little of this goes a long way and as you're applying it, it has a gel like consistency. It has a slight fragrance but nothing overpowering. I feel like it deep cleans my skin and leaves it feeling brighter after use. It does dry quite tight on the skin, but personally I like that. You only get 50ml of product, which comes in a glass pot and it claims to give you around 10 face masks. I find that number to be relatively accurate, I get slightly more than 10 masks out of the pot but I guess that depends on how thickly you apply the mask and the size of your face. All in all, I really like this mask and have already repurchased. Quite often it is on offer in Boots / Superdrug so you can usually pick it up for around £5.99, which is great value for money.




3. The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Glow Mask, RRP: £16.00
        - The Body Shop have smashed it again with this relatively new face mask they added to their collection. This product comes in a glass pot and contains 75ml of product. Within a few weeks of this being added to the Body Shop's website and stores, it was sold out everywhere and had 5* reviews. It has quite a strong, unusual scent; it contains tea tree oil, charcoal and green tea leaves. This mask is not smooth by any means, it is full of little bits (used for exfoliation) and can be quite difficult to apply with a flat foundation brush as chunks of leaves tend to fall off your skin. When the face mask dries, it goes very tight and you can feel it drawing out all the impurities in your skin. It is quite tingly again, so I would not recommend this for sensitive skin. After you've rinsed it off (this takes some doing if you do a thick layer like I do) your skin feels unbelievably soft and clean but a little dry. Many people have compared this to a Glam Glow mask, which is far more expensive. Overall, I like this face mask a lot, but I would only recommend using it once a week as it is quite harsh on the skin.
4. L'Oreal Pure Clay Purity Mask, RRP: £7.99
      - This face mask is in the same collection as the charcoal detox mask but I do feel it is quite different. This mask does not feel like a gel consistency, it is more like a clay and it is a pale lime green colour. Again, it comes in a glass pot and you get 50ml of product which lasts for around 10 applications. In the same way as the charcoal detox version, it does dry down quite quickly and can feel quite tight on the skin but is easy to remove afterwards. After you have taken the mask off, it does feel like it has mattified your skin and leaves it feeling soft. So for that reason, I feel like this is a good mask for combination oily skin; I can't say that it massively helps with calming acne but I don't feel like it makes it any worse. Again, this mask is usually on offer for around £5.99. 




5. The Body Shop Seaweed Oil Balancing Clay Mask, RRP: £11.00
       - If you haven't guessed by now, I love The Body Shop's face masks. The seaweed range in The Body Shop is relatively new to me, but I have fallen in love with it. This face mask is perfect for oily / combination skin. It does not dry out the skin, but seems to mattify it nicely and keeps the oils at bay. This is a grey clay mask, which doesn't smell overly strong and applies easily with a flat foundation brush. It is a very similar consistency to the The Body Shop Tea Tree Oil face mask and it comes in the same style plastic tub with 100ml of product. A little goes a long way with this product and I actually like to mix different face masks - so apply this to my t-zone, around my nose and chin and then apply another face mask to the other areas of my face. All in all, I think this is a must have for oily / combo skin and I will definitely continue to repurchase this.

6. Montagne Jeunesse Blemish Mud Face Mask (single use) RRP: £1.00
    - This is a great face mask if you want to try it once or twice to see if it works, instead of purchasing a whole 100ml face mask which might not work on your skin. I haven't had the best luck with packet single use face masks in the past, but this one is an exception. This face mask contains aloe vera, so has a nice fresh scent and cools and calms the skin once applied. I usually leave this on for around an hour, it does dry down and is easy to remove with a cotton face cloth. It leaves your skin feeling refreshed and clean after using and I do think it helps calm acne blemishes. I tend to find I have more than enough product in one pack to do one and a half / two face masks from it. You can find this face mask in some Superdrug stores, Asda and usually fashion stores such as New Look or Boohoo.


7. Lush Cup O' Coffee Exfoliating Face & Body Mask, RRP: £6.95
     - This is a great face mask if you love the smell of coffee. If you don't, I would not recommend it! The smell of coffee is strong, as you might expect given the name! This face mask comes in a plastic tub and contains 150g of product for £6.95 or you can purchase a 325g pot for £13.50. It contains lots of tiny beads which are great for exfoliating your skin. The mask feels nice when it is applied but taking it off it very satisfying as your skin is left feeling super soft and revitalised after you've taken it off. I haven't tried this as a body mask, but I imagine it would be great to exfoliate your body too. I I also like the fact you have two choices of size, so you can try it before you splash £13.50 on a huge tub. Lush recommend that you leave this mask on for 10-15 minutes; I usually leave this on for an hour, but if you were wanting something to wake your skin up in the morning, it would be great to add to your skincare routine if you have a spare 10-15 minutes (but really, who does? I value my sleep too much for that).



So as you can see, there's clearly a theme going on here with The Body Shop masks and L'Oreal Masks. Sometimes that's the way it goes, certain brands work better on certain people's skin. In terms of other skincare, my skin loves other brands, such as Dermalogica, Avon and Superdrug own brand products.

Just as a side note, The Body Shop and Boots both have fantastic loyalty / points card systems. The Body Shop (Love Your Body Card) gives you 10 points for every £1 you spend (in store and online) which adds up to a £5 off voucher very quickly and you can use the vouchers for future purchases (500 points = £5). Boots give you 4 points per £1 that you spend online and in store when you have a Boots Advantage Card and they also send vouchers in the post as well as providing you with online vouchers for extra points or money off certain purchases. These points add up very quickly and you can redeem them at any time as long as the points cover the balance you are spending. Again, 500 points = £5 with Boots.

*This blog post is not sponsored by Boots or The Body Shop, I just think the points systems for these two shops in particular are amazing and save me a ton of money.*

I hope if you purchase any of these face masks, they work as well for you as they do for me.

Sarah (aka. Pale Princess) x

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