Back in December I attended Sorbet’s celebratory 1st birthday of their branch in Crouch End and aside from getting a bag full of goodies I also got a chance to meet both Samantha from SpaPR and General Manager of Sorbet Salons, Lindsay Walmsley. Independent salons like Sorbet stock reasonably known and unknown brands on their shelves and I came across the Natural Spa Factory at this event. They had a 3 for 2 offer on their masks so I thought why not give them a go?
I bought three from the small selection they had on offer in-store but looking on their main website, Natural Spa Factory currently has 11 face masks to choose from. I picked Bamboo Facial Mousse, Tea Tree & Willow Leaf and Cucumber Peel Off Masks. The masks are certainly luxurious as they come in a powdered form that needs mixing with lukewarm water. Most masks I’ve tried are cream based or pre-mixed so this was certainly a new one for me.
The Bamboo Facial Mousse is the only one out of the three that I haven’t yet tried. For some reason, I gravitated towards the other two as this one didn’t really appeal to me. This product actually comes under the Face Polish section of their website and is a micro-dermabrasion which is more commonly known as a scrub or an exfoliator. It’s made mainly for fine lines, combating the signs of aging and helping to stimulate new cells. For £8.00, you have enough product for five applications which is pretty good.
The Cucumber Peel Off Mask appealed to me simply because of my baggy, dark circles. I wanted a mask that could really tackle this aspect but to also give my skin a more healthy glow. The masks are a little messy but it’s nice just to take half an hour out of a busy schedule to give yourself a bit of pampering. This pack contains two applications so for £6.00, I’d say that’s reasonable for a mask but on the pricer end of the scale. The mask forms into a thick rubbery texture which once applied all over the face, comes off more or less in one. This one turned out to be my least favourite of the two but I did notice a slight perk in the appearance of my skin.
These products are simple to apply but it may take you one or two times in order to get the consistency right. The first time, I used too much water so it ended up being too runny and the second one ended up being too thick – so there wasn’t enough product to cover my face. The Tea Tree & Willow Leaf was by far my favourite. I love the smell of Tea Tree Oil anyway, so already I was on for a winner with this one. Great for oily skin, this is an anti-bacterial treatment that reduces inflammation and scars. The intense menthol leaves you feeling refreshed and it was a mask I really could have left on for longer. This, like the cucumber mask, was also £6.00 and contained two applications.
The only thing I noticed with these masks was that my skin did feel quite dry afterwards, so I just popped on a heavy moisturiser to give my skin a well deserved drink! Good value for money for the more luxury end of a facial mask but still affordable.
Have you tried face masks before? What brands do you like?
Check out my YouTube Channel! Click here.