Bobbi Brown Instant Detox and Skin Nourish Face Masks

Earlier this year Bobbi Brown launched additional face masks to their range, which already offers one of the better selections of skincare from what is essentially a makeup brand. The two don't always co-exist nicely, but in this case, there are numerous products in the Bobbi skincare that I use frequently, and hold their own when up against 'skincare' brands. 

The Instant Detox and Skin Nourish masks are the ones that I gravitated towards, giving the perfect book-ends to a Sunday Facial.

Instant Detox is in a base of amazonian white clay, and suitable for most skins. If you were particularly sensitive I would avoid the cheeks and patch test. I found it to be perfectly comfortable and not tight or drying.

The Skin Nourish mask is lovely. It's an obvious last step if you're doing my Sunday Facial/multi-step facial as it's the moisturising element that you can leave on or even sleep in. This is great if you're perpetually dry/dehydrated or just dull and lifeless. Hydration is the quickest fix for those skins. 

Both of these reviews would have gone into more detail had it been possible to source the ingredients online, but where Bobbi Brown shows that it is truly a makeup brand, is in their complete lack of ingredients and transparency when it comes to the information they provide when talking about their skincare. 

Nowhere online, including my usual trustworthy Sephora, lists the ingredients of these products. Not one list, anywhere.

I would go on about it, but I feel like we've been here so many times before, that if the brands don't care, and the retailers don't care, then why do I keep going to the trouble of tracking them down myself? I have used the phrase 'list your ingredients' in 78 posts on this blog.

Brands: It shouldn't be left to bloggers and Beautypedia to type out your ingredients for your customers. 

#listyouringredients 

Bobbi Brown's masks are £33.00 and available from JohnLewis/Selfridges and BobbiBrown.co.uk - they're lovely to use - just don't ask me what's in them.

*For the record, Charlotte Tilbury lists the ingredients of the Goddess Skin Clay Mask (also in the picture) in full on her website and will get a full review this week on the blog.

Bio-essence Hydra Tri-Action Aqua Droplet Sleeping Beauty Mask

What is it?
'An overnight sleeping mask designed to rehydrate and firm.'
or:
an absolute must-have for anyone with dehydration i.e. most of us.

What's in it?

Possibly acne/allergy/troubling for some ingredients?

Silicones

Fragrance

Methylisothiazolinone (MI)

MI is the new 'paraben'. Not scientifically, just to give you an idea of the recent press. The EU and the FDA both say it is 100% safe for cosmetic use. Allergies are reportedly higher with MI than other preservatives. However, it is the last ingredient on the list meaning the % will be very low. If you had an issue with MI you would probably already know about it and be unable to use most shampoos, body washes and body lotions. (But you guys always want me to give you as much info as possible so there we are...  :)

Also - this product is extremely water-heavy and therefore requires a really good preservative....

What's not in it?

Everything else.

Mineral oil

Parabens

Shea

Essential oils

Tested on animals?

No

Who is it for?

Everyone, but especially dehydrated or dry skins. This would also be fine for dehydrated acne skins (most acne sufferers are demonically dehydrated). Like I said: everyone.

How do you use it?
You can either:

• apply as a mask for overnight use
• apply as a moisturiser during the day - put this on over your toner and under a heavier moisturiser or spf or on its own for those of you with angry acne
• apply as a thicker mask for overnight with a double whammy - see below
• would be amazing for flying
• would also be brilliant for those nurses, teachers, doctors that work in really drying environments...

What's good/not so good about it?

OK so I am in love with this mask. My lifestyle, including medication (ugh), continuous travel, the weather.. pick something... means that I am dehydrated a lot of the time. You can use the best products in the world (I do) and suffer from dehydration - it's a skin condition based on lifestyle and surroundings, not a skin type based on your genes. 

I always use this as a double whammy - I take everything off - makeup-wise - when I get home from the school run or around 6ish depending on my day. I then do my evening routine. On the nights that I use this, I apply a thin layer, leave it to do its thing, then before bed, give a quick spritz of something to 'reactive' it, if you will, then apply another layer. 

It works beautifully. The nano technology that this uses is what you pay a fortune for in the creams that cost hundreds, not tens of pounds. I wake up with soft, rehydrated skin. 

When you apply this it literally bursts open, leaving droplets of water (hyaluronic acid) on the surface of the skin, that you then pat in. This is a wipe and then pat product, not a rubbing in product. 

I always describe dehydrated skin as a sponge that is being held underwater with the top exposed. The top immediately dries out. This in essence, fills the holes on the surface level of your dehydrated sponge with hyaluronic acid - something capable of holding 1000 times its own weight in water. 

Similar products?

The most obvious is The Body Shop Bouncy Sleeping Mask which although similar, is not quite as easy to use.

Origins Overnight Drink Up is another dedicated nighttime product, but to my mind this is superior. 

The longest named product in the world is available from CultBeauty.co.uk priced £29 for 80ml.

Also: someone left a comment recently doubting my opinion because I have 'hardly ever used any of the product in the pictures so how could I possibly tell what its like?'.
I, like nearly all bloggers, try and take pictures of everything that I plan to trial when they are new - before I use them, otherwise the product wouldn't look as nice! It doesn't always happen, sometimes I rip things open and crack on - but in most cases, just like with lipsticks, palettes etc, the picture comes first, then the trial....

*is exhausted and thinks that some people will never be happy*

Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme Global Anti-Aging Mask Boost

I tend to use face masks much more in autumn/winter and this new mask coming from Estee Lauder in December is a welcome addition if you have a slightly older (35+), de-vitalised, 'my face looks how I feel' skin.

If you are a fan of the Triple Threat Facial, this would be the final step, after exfoliating and clay steps.

Super-nourishing, massively hydrating, this will become a 'when-in-doubt-grab-this' when my skin is tired and a tad dull or after a long week - especially if flying is involved. This would be the perfect in-flight mask. It absorbs like a rich face cream and although it says to tissue off (eew) after 5 minutes, I would use three ways:

1. apply in a thick-ish layer, leave for 10 or so minutes and take off any residue with a warm, squeezed out, damp washcloth, proceed with your other skincare
2. apply a thin layer in the evening when you get home, reapply before bed once it has absorbed, sleep in it
3. apply a thin layer every couple of hours on a long haul flight, misting with a floral spray in between

Estee Lauder Revitalizing Supreme Global Anti-Aging Mask Boost is available on 1st December and is priced £45 for 75ml from all Estee Lauder retailers and www.esteelauder.co.uk It's delicious.




Also: I do wish the NPD/Marketing teams at Lauder LLC/L'Oreal/P&G/Unilever/LVMH (all of them) etc would stop swallowing dictionaries and thesauruses when naming products. The names are taking me longer to type than the review.