Showing posts with label Sanctuary Spa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sanctuary Spa. Show all posts

Monday, 15 July 2013

The Face Masks | Yon-Ka, Clayspray and Sanctuary


Smothered in chocolate! Left, Clayspray's Mattifying Red Clay Masque once applied and right, once it's dried
A different background today - how fancy! These are the drawers in my bathroom because you know, that's where I keep my face masks. Well, my most loved ones anyway. The ones I don't use very often are stored with the majority of my skincare. Ever since I went to my first sleepover I've been a lover of face masks. I can remember buying the little sachets (we still do this now at university) and slathering them all over our faces to be left with beautifully soft skin. Soft skin is all well and good and it's nice to pamper yourself every now and then but ideally, I like it when I can see a visible difference immediately after I've removed a face mask from my skin. Face masks are so potent meaning that they're wonderful for a quick fix and I've been loving three in particular these past couple of months. Oh and for reference, I have combination skin that is blemish-prone with scarring. My skin tends to be more oily than dry but I do sometimes get dry patches around blemishes.

Yon-Ka GOMMAGE 303* - £32.00
At the moment, I'm very big on exfoliation and I'm someone who prefers chemical exfoliants over the standard manual ones. Yon-Ka is a luxury French skincare brand and their GOMMAGE 303 is marketed as a non-abrasive, botanical scrub. The reason I've included this in a face mask post is because although it does everything a chemical exfoliant does, it feels and acts more like a face mask. To me anyway. I'm probably going to be blacklisted by all skincare addicts now - oops. This product gently removes dead cells to provide clarity for dull complexions. Rich in citrus essential oils, this "mask" has an astringent effect and it's so gentle that you can even use it on your eyelids for a smoothing and toning effect. Once I've washed this off my skin feels soft and hydrated and my complexion looks radiant and glowing.

As I have combination skin, I've tried a lot of clay masks in my time however, I'm not a big fan of them. I find them drying and they never seem to do anything for the appearance of my skin. This masque has completely changed my mind. Enriched in minerals, the Red Clay Masque regulates oil, combats blemishes and purifies the skin. The deep cleansing properties of this masque are outstanding and once this has dried and been rinsed off of my skin, my pores have been reduced so much that they're practically invisible. It leaves the skin looking matt but glowing and unlike other clay masks, it doesn't dry my skin out at all. Although this is an expensive face mask, I definitely believe that it's worth the price. You only need a small amount and the pore reducing effect lasted me for three days - what a little wonder.

This face mask actually comes in a 30 Day Youth Revolution treatment plan that has been professionally developed to allow you to achieve a spa facial at home. Including in the kit is the Glycolic Peel-Off mask, a brush to apply it with and a serum. I don't use the serum as I have many that I already love but this face mask is incredible. The kit itself helps to combat the signs of ageing by removing a layer of dead skin cells to improve firmness and tone the skin. Essentially, this is a peel off mask which is satisfying in itself but it also contains the wonder ingredient Glycolic Acid. Glycolic Acid is an AHA and it does a fantastic job at exfoliating the skin and revealing a brighter complexion. I use this once a week and after I've peeled the mask off, my skin looks brighter and more radiant. I also believe that this is helping with my acne scarring so you know, can't complain about that one.

I'm most definitely a skincare addict and face masks give me a lot of joy. Because of this, I'd love to know your favourites. I've heard a lot of good things about the amie face masks recently so I definitely think I'm going to have a little look at them on my next beauty shop.

What's your favourite face mask?
*PR Sample
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Friday, 29 June 2012

MORE: Holiday Essentials

Since my last holiday post I have picked up/gathered together a few more bits and pieces for my holiday and I thought I'd show you what they are. I haven't gone into too much detail about each product as some of them haven't been tried before or I've previously reviewed them (and provided a past link).
I've started washing my hair every 2 days to try and correct it and stop it from being greasy so recently, I've been relying on dry shampoo to revive my hair in between washes. I haven't tried this version before but hopefully it'll smell nice.
I didn't want an expensive toothpaste and ideally, I wanted a travel sized one but I couldn't find one anywhere. So I just went with this cheap Boots one that I can throw away if I don't want to bring it back with me.
Hopefully the weather will be nice and I'll be able to get my legs out so I definitely needed some shaving gel. I've not tried this one before but it smells absolutely gorgeous and the travel sized bottle is so cute!
This is my favourite hand moisturiser so I had to take it away with me. It's the perfect size for travelling with aswell. You can read my full review of this product here.
Boots still have their 3 for 2 offer on and I was in need of a third item so I picked this body spray up. It smells beautiful and I need to find a full sized version. I'm trying very hard not to use it before my holiday but sometimes I can't resist. It smells very clean and fresh and it does add moisture to the skin.
Listerine is my favourite mouthwash as they taste isn't very strong so when I saw the travel sized version I couldn't say no as the bottle is just so cute!
I had to bring this product with me and the fact that it's a small sized bottle made me want to take it even more. I won't go into too much detail about this as I've done a full review here.
I decided that I needed another body wash in case the one that I had wasn't enough so I went into Boots and picked up a Clean On Me as it's my all time favourite body wash.
GLAMGLOW* - £49.99
This is the best face scrub/mask that I've ever tried and because I have a small sample size I decided to take it on holiday with me. You can read my full review here but I'll also just say that it completely transforms your skin in an instant, perfect.
Boots Extracts Bergamot Body Butter - From a Christmas gift set (a similar one can be found here.
This smells beautiful. When I first bought the gift set I stayed away from this body butter as I had no idea (and I still don't) what bergamot is. But whatever it is smells bloody lovely! It's a fresh scent that isn't overpowering and the body butter itself leaves skin feeling soft and smooth.
Boots Travel Toothbrush - around £0.50p
I managed to find a travel toothbrush! It was really cheap but I can't seem to find it online anywhere.
I've been using these so much lately and I have one unused one that I thought I'd take on holiday with me. They're pretty big so remove cleanser instantly and they also exfoliate your skin at the same time.
I can be quite messy so I decided to take some wet wipes with me. These ones sooth and refresh the skin whilst cleansing them.
Are you going on holiday this summer? What essentials are you taking with you?
xxx
*PR Sample