Aromatherapy Associates Hydrating Rose Face Mask Review

I absolutely love Aromatherapy Associates products. They really do have that feel good factor about them. Everything has been crafted with not only product efficacy in mind, but to also be something you will enjoy using and is a treat for the senses.

I have had the Rose Face Mask for around 3 months now and have been absolutely loving it. It is a moisturising mask as the name suggests and claims to be:

“A deeply hydrating mask to restore vital moisture to dry skin. Aloe vera and Sodium Hyalauronate, renowned for their hydrating properties, are combined with damask rose water, distilled from Bulgarian roses, in a cooling, transparent mask to bring radiance and vitality to dry complexions.”

Now, I don’t necessarily agree with the above but I will get onto that in a bit. The ingredients in this mask are:

Aqua (Water), Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Rosa Centifolia Flower Water, Sodium Hyaluronate, Carbomer, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Geraniol*, Citronellol*.

The first surprise I had was the texture of this mask. It has a very thin gel like texture, similar to that of the Aveda Intensive Hydrating Mask. There is a very subtle Rose scent from the distilled rose waters which is very calming and soothing.

On application, the mask is very cooling and almost completely absorbs into the skin. For my oily skin, this provides me with the perfect balance of moisture whilst not being over loading or feeling sticky. You could quite easily apply this and leave the house wearing it 10 minutes later. As such, I have often applied this in a morning before my moisturiser and worn it all day at work. It’s kept my skin hydrated all day, calmed redness and aided oil control a little. I use this some weeks 4-5 times as it’s just not overloading at all.

Now. Based on the above there are certain aspects of the product description I do not agree with. I would not say that this mask is “deeply hydrating” nor would I say it is necessarily the best mask you could use if you have a “dry complexion”. For my oily and somewhat drier skin, this was perfect.

Did it saturate my skin with moisture? No. Do I need something with a bit more oomph on very dry days? Yes.

I think this is perfect for oily/combination skins despite being marketed to the very other end of the skin type spectrum. I can’t really fault AA for this. At the end of the day I don’t think this would sell if marketed to a more combination skinned person, simply because until you try it, you just don’t know if it will be to much.

If you do have dry skin, this is a fab product. If you have flaky/eczema prone skin I would suggest you try a sample before buying the full size as you may need something more cream/oil based.

Update– AA have contacted me to say that they would recommend layering on their Overnight Recovery Mask for an added hydration hit for those with a very dry skin. It looks fab and well worth a try!

You can get yours here at £36 for 100ml:

http://www.aromatherapyassociates.com/skincare/product-type/masks-and-scrubs/essential-skincare-rose-hydrating-face-mask-hydrating.html

Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair II Review

Update – I have just been reliably informed that this serum does contain a paraben – something I was not aware of when writing the review. I know this may put some people off but in the interest of full disclosure I wanted to make you aware of this.

One of my more recent purchases has bee the Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair II. This line is one of Estee Lauder’s best selling products and has recently had a bit of a face lift from its predecessor which had a complete cult status across the globe. I am not sure how true this is but apparently a bottle was sold somewhere in the world every 8.5 seconds – pretty impressive huh? (I am sure I have read this on many blogs but don’t take my word for it)

So…what makes it so great? Estee (now we are not on a first name basis) claim:

• Lines and wrinkles look significantly reduced. More than 75% of women felt their skin looked more youthful.*

• Skin feels smoother, hydrated, stronger. 82% of women felt their skin was immediately hydrated.**

• Skin looks younger, radiant, more translucent and even toned. 83% of women felt their skin looked healthier, fresher, more rested.*

• Effective for all ethnicities.

*Consumer testing on 524 women for 4 weeks.

**Consumer testing – so this bit is completely judgmental

Well, it still has the same ingredients on its older sister so nothing has been taken away. For those of you who are a ANR devotee hopefully this will bring you some light relief. I know there are many out there that have used ANR on a daily basis for years and years so to hear the news of ANR II must have been quite a shock.

However it is what has been added which adds more intigue – the product has had a number of ingredients added to help in essence clean the skin from the inside out through a process called Catabolysis Technology (oo err). If you’re anything like me – you’ll have no idea what that mean to. The lovely Ruth however at A Model Recommends hits the nail on the head stating its’ “how fast the skin can renew itself and chuck out, for want of a better word, the crap.”

There is also added hyularonic acid which if you have read my Aveda Intensive Hydrating Masque post – I have discussed the many benefits this has on the skin.

The serum comes in a brown plastic (which is somewhat disappointing as for the price I was expecting glass) bottle with a pipette. It looks the biz and if you are like me and have your skincare on display – its a beautiful addition to any bathroom shelf.

The smell of this is really hard to describe. I want to say clinical but that wouldn’t be fair. Let’s put it this way – it dosen’t smell of roses but smells as though it is going to work and ‘sciencey’. The texture is thicker than an oil but lighter than a gel.

So – does it work?

Yes. In a word. Yes. I have been using this now for around two months. I use this after toning and before applying my night oil and moisturiser of choice. In doing so, I notice that the next morning my skin appears visibly plumped, fine lines are (temporarily) reduced and my skin looks hydrated and healthier. I also find that if I am a bit spotty, using this really helps reduce the redness and heal the spot quicker than normal.

The ingredients in this are:

1.0 oz WATER\AQUA\EAU, BIFIDA FERMENT LYSATE, METHYL GLUCETH-20, PEG-75, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, BIS-PEG-18 METHYL ETHER DIMETHYL SILANE, ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA EXTRACT, TRIPEPTIDE-32, ETHYLHEXYL METHOXYCINNAMATE, LACTOBACILLUS FERMENT, COLA ACUMINATA (KOLA) EXTRACT, RETINYL PALMITATE, PANTETHINE, CAFFEINE, GLYCERETH-26, SODIUM RNA, SQUALANE, OLETH-3 PHOSPHATE, OLETH-3, OLETH-5, BISABOLOL, CHOLETH-24, CETETH-24, HYDROGENATED LECITHIN, ANTHEMIS NOBILIS (CHAMOMILE), SODIUM HYALURONATE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, LECITHIN, XANTHAN GUM, TEA-CARBOMER, TRISODIUM EDTA, BHT, PHENOXYETHANOL, METHYLPARABEN, BENZYL ALCOHOL, GREEN 5 (CI 61570), YELLOW 5 (CI 19140), RED 4 (CI 14700)

I recognise water. That’s about it.

Would I buy again? I would – however I am on the look out for a more natural alternative but until I find something that works as well I will be buying again.

I purchased mine from Debenhams for £48 for a 30ml bottle. As you may be able to see from the picture, I have used something like 1/3 of the bottle so have a good 4-5 months of it left. Not too bad when you put it like that.

You can get your ANR II here:

http://www.esteelauder.co.uk/product/8241/26959/Product-Catalog/Skincare/Collections/Advanced-Night-Repair/Advanced-Night-Repair/Synchronized-Recovery-Complex-II/index.tmpl

Or – if you’re near a bigger Boots store they also sell it

* Own purchase. No affiliation

Blogs Mentioned

http://www.amodelrecommends.com

Aveda Intensive Hydrating Masque Review

Another mask review for the weekend – this time a hydrating mask. Despite being oily skinned, I have always suffered with some dryness, especially on my cheeks. The dryness varies throughout the year but is worse in the winter months with central heating being ramped up and constant changes in temperature with being in and out of the house.

I used to reach for a tub of the richest moisturiser I could find (is that a gasp I hear?) … which of course with my skin type didn’t have the desired affect. Although the dry parts of my face felt quenched, the rest of my face was overloaded which often led to a ‘purge’ in the form of a nasty breakout or painful bumps under the skin. However, I was like a moth to a flame and just kept re-applying convincing myself it was the weather and certainly not what I was slapping on my face!

I’m not quite sure how I came to hear of the Aveda mask but never had I seen a hydrating mask which was not in cream form before. Any hydrating masks I had encountered often had a thick consistency which were aimed at more mature and sensitive skins. Despite this, I had used them just to try and keep any dryness at bay when I needed a bit more of an intensive treatment.

I decided to give the Aveda mask a shot.  If you’ve been following the latest skincare blogs and review, you’ll have noticed there’s a new wonder ingredient on the market – hyaluronic acid. Used previously as an injectable treatment for lines and wrinkles in the form, this acid can be used topically on the skin to ‘lock-in’ moisture and retain moisture from any product that is put onto the skin. As such, it really does ‘super-charge’ you moisturiser – great for those with a dry skin. Although it may sound a little scary, hyaluronic acid is something your body naturally produces and like collagen, the body’s ability to produce it reduces with age leading to dryer skin, wrinkles etc. The Aveda mask is packed full of this wonder stuff. If you currently use Hydraluron from Indeed Labs, then this mask is essentially a much more intensive version of that serum.

The ingredients are:

Aqueous (Water/Aqua/Eau), Extracts/ Extraits Aqueux: Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Flower Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Glycerin, Propanediol, Sorbitol, Betaine, Biosaccharide Gum-1, Glyceryl Polyacrylate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Extract, Yeast Extract/ Faex/Extrait De Levure, Sodium Hyaluronate, Saccharomyces Lysate Extract, Saccharomyces/ Magnesium Ferment, Saccharomyces/Calcium Ferment, Saccharomyces/Zinc Ferment, Sodium Gluconate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylisothiazolinone <ILN38636>

Whilst there are some things in that list I recognise, there are others which leave me baffled which I am not overly fond of but I decided to continue with the purchase in the hope this may solve some of my skin concerns. The mask is a thick gel consistency and is very easily applied to the skin. There is a slight floral aroma to the mask which is pleasant and not overpowering.

The first thing I noticed when applying the mask is that it felt quite sticky/tacky to the touch. I thought this may fade after wearing the mask for a while, however after 20 minutes  my skin still felt the same and the mask didn’t seem to have sunk in as much as I was expecting. As such, I have tended to wear this mask overnight. It’s not that comfortable putting your face on the pillow at first but after a while I got used to it (note – this is not really in line with the usage instructions!). By the morning it has sunk in/been wiped onto the pillow.

On paper, this mask should really have suited me. It is oil free, full of hydrating properties and should really have given my skin the drink it needed without upsetting the rest of the balance of my skin. In all honesty, I’m not overly impressed. Although it did hydrate my skin to an extent, I think it is something that I could have obtained from a decent moisturiser or facial oil. I have never really seen big effects from the use of Hydraluron either so maybe this is something my skin dosent really need, but at the moment I think I would much prefer to use a nice facial oil to keep my skin supple.

You get 125ml for £28.50, which may sound fairly expensive but is a much larger sized bottle than you get for most masks. I can’t really see this mask benefiting you greatly if you suffer from very dry skin or are eczema or psoriasis prone and you may be better off with a more natural alternative such as an oil or balm.

I will continue to use this until the bottle runs out  but I don’t think this is something I will be re-purchasing.

Have you tried this? How did you get on? Do have you any alternatives you could recommend? Please leave a comment below – I would love to hear from you!

* Own purchase