My sister is one of those people who immediately notice when a celebrity has had some work done. Random things that most wouldn't pick up on - like a slight change to a jawline or differently shaped teeth - it's as if she has a special beauty radar. She's also the first to spy when something changes about my skin (good or bad), so when she asked if I'd been using some special secret potion outside my normal routine, I realised that I hadn't imagined the difference this face mask makes.
I've repeatedly declared my love for the Oskia Renaissance Cleanser (review), so shouldn't be surprised that the matching Renaissance Mask is so darn good. It can be tricky to gauge the difference a skincare product makes as the changes can be very subtle, so it's exciting to try something with pretty much instant wow factor.
Oskia Renaissance Mask is designed to brighten skin leaving it feeling smoother and looking more refined. And in my experience, it does. Pure, natural active ingredients include fruit AHAs to exfoliate dead surface skin cells, papaya enzymes to unclog pores and lactic acid to increase cell turnover and soften lines. (Read the full science bit here).
It's a glow giver.
I just massage in a dollop of the peachy, rose scented gel (yes it smells as delicious as the cleanser!) until it turns white (in seconds), leave for 10-15 mins and rinse off with a damp flannel. It does tingle a little on my skin and leaves it slightly pink, which is absolutely fine - that's the AHAs working.
Bear in mind that my skin is quite sensitive and rosacea prone, so I'm very wary about using anything too strong on it and do have to be careful with chemical exfoliants. Naturally these things affect everyone differently so I always recommend trying a sample if possible, or at least patch testing, but the fact that this didn't irritate my skin is a really good sign.
After using this (once or twice a week) over the past month my skin feels softer, pores look clearer, I need to use less products and my makeup sits better on my skin. The flaky bits around my nose have gone and I definitely look more glowy. Normally I only get instant results like this from a facial at the same price as one jar, which I reckon will last me 4-6 months.
Oskia Renaissance Mask is available at Cult Beauty, Space NK and Look Fantastic.
Products featured on Strawberry Blonde Beauty include press samples. See my full disclaimer here.
