Four super moisturising face masks for dehydrated winter skin
As my new found skincare obsessions continues, I've been trying out lots of new treatments, so I thought today I'd pit four moisture boosting face masks against each other to see how they measure up. Super plump, juicy skin here I come!
The Body Shop Drops Of Youth Bouncy Sleeping Mask
'Sleeping masks' or masks you wear overnight, seem to be having a real moment. I have two in this post, and I've seen lots of others hitting the shelves from various brands. I like the idea of a mask that you leave on all night, as it makes sense that the longer you leave a product on your skin, the more time the ingredients have to be doing their job.
The bouncy sleeping mask from The Body Shop is a big jar of lush watery-gel. It has a really strange consistency that's almost like a jelly, but it becomes more liquid as you apply it to your skin. I really quite enjoy using this for the fun factor, as well as the fact that it feels incredibly refreshing on my skin. It doesn't really sink in all that much after you apply it, so you go to sleep with quite a wet face, but as it has this liquid jelly consistency, it stays where you put it so you don't have to worry about dripping it everywhere!
In the morning after I've used this mask I can still feel it on my skin, although it has all sunk in by then. It leaves my face looking refreshed and my skin looking plumped up and really well hydrated I really like this mask and have been using it a couple of times a week.
This one costs £22 for a 90ml tub.
Erborian Sleeping BB Mask
The second sleeping mask I've been using is this one from Erborian. It has a gel-cream type consistency, and leaves a slightly tacky layer on my face while I sleep. It's quite different to the sleeping mask from The Body Shop in that it doesn't necessarily seem as though it's going to be as hydrating, but when I wake up, my skin just looks so well rested. I usually have quite a lot of redness, but after using this mask, the next morning my skin looks very even in tone and almost like everything's in soft focus - it guarantees me a good skin day. Of all the masks I've tried lately, this one gives the most noticeable results.
This is pricier at £34 for 50ml, but worth every penny in my opinion.
Weleda Skin Food Skin Saviour
So this one's not a sleeping mask, it's intended for using whilst you're relaxing in a hot steamy bath, which is actually my favourite time to use a face mask if I'm looking to really relax and pamper.
Weleda's skin food is actually a multi-purpose, nourishing balm which you can use on any areas of dry and chapped skin, and it's now been re-released with a new packaging and a flannel to demonstrate that it's a really good mask too. I love that it's such a great two (or more) in one product that I can have on hand to address my winter skin issues.
To use this as a mask the idea is to open up your pores using the flannel in some hot water, followed by popping on a thin layer of skin food, which you leave on for ten minutes whilst in a steamy bath. I've been suffering with a cold lately, which has really taken its toll on my skin, especially my poor red nose, so this was just what I needed to inject some life back into my face. I think when you have broken and cracked skin you do have to be careful with what products you use as some can really sting on raw, delicate areas, but as Skin Food is packed with natural ingredients, it didn't irritate my the damaged skin around mt nose at all. It actually felt really healing and soothing and has given my germ ravaged skin a bit of its glow back!
This one's an absolute steal at £9.95 for 75ml, including the flannel.
Hyalual WOW mask
And lastly the most expensive mask of the bunch, which claims to be an alternative to botox and that it will reduce the appearance of lines whilst delivering 200% hydration. Having tried botox in the past, I was pretty keen to give this a go, although of course I wasn't expecting the exact same results, but I thought it might temporarily make my lines disappear.
The WOW mask is a sheet mask which comes in two pieces for the top and bottom half of your face. It's a rubbery feeling mask which is covered in the gel-like product. All you need to do is open up the sealed sachet, take out the mask, unfold it, remove the backing and pop it on.
I've used sheet masks like this before, but never one which has come in two halves. I found the bottom half didn't stay in place very well and kept sliding off, so the best way to use the mask was to lie down and stay still!
After taking the mask off and massaging the residue product into my skin, my skin certainly looked and felt well hydrated and plumped, but the lines on my forehead were still very visible, so I'm not sure what the botox claims are all about. Possibly with repeated use you'd see better results, but I only received one mask to try so I'm not sure. I really liked the mask for its hydrating ability, but I think it's silly for the brand to make comparions to botox. It's actually a very similar product to the Hydraluron moisture boosting masks.
The WOW masks cost £20.99 for one single use mask, or £99 for a pack of five.
Which mask do you reach for when your skin needs a moisture boost?
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