|| A mask for every face ||

I'm a little late on testing out the H&M beauty range that re-launched in summer 2015. Considering I live in a big UK city my local H&M does not stock it. On a random day trip to Sunderland I thought I'd pop into their store to see what clothes they had and out the corner of my eye I spotted the gold packaging of the new beauty range. I couldn't have ran over quick enough, as if there was a cream cake at the finish line.

I picked up a few essentials to try out, matte nude eye quad, still to test yet and a couple of single eye shadows on which I will do a post on soon because I'm majorly impressed. 

What I was more interested to try out was the skin care range. I picked up five different face masks, two of which I accidentally picked the same. 


My skin is probably oily to combination in places but I'm pretty prone to blemishes on my chin which are a bloody nightmare, sore and just awful to cover. Trying to reduce risk to them is key to my cleansing routine when taking make up off on a night especially. It's sometimes nice to give your skin the benefits of a face mask and the ingredients which are in them that your skin wouldn't usually be exposed to otherwise.

Top left we have charcoal and volcanic soil, a pore cleansing face mask with sea salt for blemish prone skin. From research on the two main ingredients of this particular mask, charcoal can absorb up to 200 times it's weight in impurities, which makes it an excellent natural ingredient to help purify the skin and give a deep cleanse to leave your skin super clean. Charcoal is an ingredient which helps to draw out the toxins, particularly good when you cake make up on your skin and expose your skin daily to different chemicals which you can't seem whether it be from the air or your surroundings you are in. The second main ingredient of volcanic soil has some amazing properties you wouldn't expect. Volcanic soil is has anti-bacterial qualities to it, great for helping blemish prone skin. It is also high in sulphur, something you wouldn't expect to be kind or good to your skin, but sulphur is an active mineral ingredient which helps to resist bacteria and actually even destroy bacteria on the skin. As with the deep cleansing from the charcoal, sulphur helps to protect against the toxic effects of pollution and radiation. The little sea salt beads within the clay looking mask will help to exfoliate the skin and regenerate new skin cells. 



Bottom left we have the witch hazel cleansing face mask with rosemary and tea leaf for oily skin. As I said my skin type ranges from dry to oily to combination but I tend to get oily like most around my t-zone area, more so my nose. Witch hazel properties for the skin are widely known throughout the beauty world. The bark and leaves of the witch hazel plant contain catechol tannin which acts as an effective astringent for cleansing skin as well as being a disinfectant, with anti-irritant and anti-inflammatory properties, a slightly less harsh alternative to salicyclic acid. It also helps to reduce oil in the skin, you can feel this as sometimes I have found with witch hazel that the skin will feel slightly tighter as it dries out from frequent use of it. Rosemary, who knew this roasting chicken ingredient would be good for the skin? Not me. Anti-inflammatory like witch hazel, rosemary also increases skins elasticity, a benefit to combat premature ageing. It is also known to protect skin from sun damage.

Top right we have the liquorice and sugar mask, an exfoliating face mask with sweet almond oil for oily skin. This mask is perfect for the pamper nights where you really want to exfoliate your skin and clear all the weeks sh*t off it. Liquorice as a natural element has a mild soothening and brightening action. It helps aid the process of fading hyper pigmentation and sun damage. The usage of this on the skin leaves you with much brighter, hydrated and clearer skin. The sugar in this is a gentle exfoliant that will rid you of excess skin and brighten your skin. Almond oil is a mild hypoallergenic meaning it's kind to your skin if you're prone to sensitivity, it is light in texture and can penetrate deep into the skin to help soften the skin and dislodge the dirt that is in your skin pores. By getting rid of the crap in your skin you help to prevent blackheads and blemishes. The vitamin A also helps reduce flare ups. 



Last and not least bottom right we have the spearmint and echinacea purifying peel off mask with gentian root extract for blemish prone skin. So far this is the only one I have tried and tested as I bought duplicate by accident.

First let's gown down to the nitty gritty of what benefits and actions the ingredients have on your skin. Spearmint leaves a refreshing feeling to your skin and acts as an anti-pruritic agent. This means that it can soothe and calm skin that's itchy or infected. In simple terms it's great for helping to speed up the process of your spots healing. The vitamin A in spearmint also helps to stregthen skin tissue and reduce oily areas. Spearmint has a high content of salicyclic acid to loosen skin cells to boost regeneration and prevent further pores from clogging up in the future, leaving you with fewer pimples and clearer skin. Echinacea has anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties. To help every stage of that blemish cycle. It will help reduce further blemish breakouts, calm any that do occur and help recover the skin. Gentian offers glow and health to the skin indirectly. It helps produce more nutrient intake into your skin. So if your skin is looking a little dull give this a go to bring back that radiant and healthy looking skin.

This mask you are recommended to leave on for about 20 minutes in order for it to dry and peel off. The spearmint leaves a slightly tingly sensation on your skin. In my honest opinion I had this face mask on for a good 40 minutes and it was still ridiculously sticky and hard to peel off in large segments. I ended up just getting a wipe to take it off. Maybe I was a little too impatient but who knows. My skin felt super fresh after, possibly not the best one to use before bed but if you're having a lazy Sunday morning give your skin a little refresh with this mask while you drink a cup of tea and watch Sunday Brunch. 

I hope some of this information has been helpful to you. Even if you can't get your hands on the mask you can look out for some of these key ingredients to help better your skin.

Follow my twitter @lauraconveryxo to keep updates when I use others or hit me up with your thoughts on them! 

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