In my experience, masking is only meant for extreme pampering. You shower, gently wash your face, and then gingerly press a cooling sheet mask to your face. As you wait for it to do its magic, you move just enough to click play on the latest episode of The Get Down and maybe sip a glass of wine through a straw. For me, face masks are entire events — which means they're fairly rare in my routine.
That is, until I discovered this sugar honey mask, an exfoliating concoction of raw sugar, honey, pumpkin, pomegranate seeds, and rose hip. Since I already use raw honey mixed with cinnamon as a daily cleanser and have dabbled with honey-sugar scrubs in the past, I thought I knew what to expect.
This mask, however, truly surprised me. The sticky, gel-like scrub turned out to be the epitome of what a honey cleanser should feel like. You smear it on damp skin with wet hands and massage it into your face for a minute. As it emulsifies, the tackiness disappears and it turns into a lavish, warming scrub that's pretty much the best way to end the day. You then leave it on for five-to-10 minutes as you go about your other business.
So what exactly does this cleansing mask do? Well, the days I use it, my skin looks clearer, smoother, and generally more even-toned and balanced. The dry spots on my cheek and jawline disappear. Subsequently, my makeup blends seamlessly, without running into any rough patches on my forehead. My T-zone tends to be persistently flaky, no matter how much I moisturise or how many times I scrub my face. And while this beauty buy hasn't fixed that problem completely, there is a drastic improvement. One note: the mask is a pretty powerful exfoliator. If you have sensitive or easily irritated skin, you might want to pick up something more gentle.
The best part for me, though, is the texture. While the stickiness might be a turnoff for some, it's what makes this mask so great for me. Unlike sheet masks or gel masks, this mask doesn't budge or slide around, so I don't have to worry about moving my face while waiting for it to work. Instead of watching a rerun of Friends, I can go about my regular pre-bedtime business (brushing my teeth, flossing, drinking water) without accidentally eating clay (ick) or losing precious sheet-mask serum.
Once all that is done, I simply rinse off the scrub with warm water, dry my face, smooth on my regular moisturiser and eye cream, and head to sleep. For someone who just doesn't have the patience for a weekly sheet-mask session, this multitasking nighttime routine is exactly what I need. Now, if someone can figure out how to get my hair to curl itself, that would be fantastic.
Ole Henriksen Truth Sugar Glow Polishing Mask, £38, available at John Lewis.