Mybeautywaxstash

Tag: pampering

  • Want a Glow Up? Beauty Laundrette’s Radiate & Glow Sheet Mask

    There’s so many skincare products on the market these days. Which ones should you purchase? There’s one product I’ve found that’s easy to say yes or no to and that’s a sheet mask. The reason why I buy them is because they’re bit of fun and perfect for pampering. They’re not used on a daily basis and what I want is a hit of hydration and to make my face ‘look’ and feel better on a temporary basis. I’m confident most people buy these for the same reasons as me. I bought Beauty Laundrette’s Radiate & Glow Sheet Mask from Superdrug last year when it was half price. This usually costs £3.00.

    Beauty Laundrette Radiate & Glow Sheet Mask
    Why did I buy this?

    The range was new to me at the time and consisted of bath, body and a bit of skincare. So I decided to buy bits from all of these areas. They were on promotion so great price, I liked the product description and each piece looked appealing, including this sheet mask.

    What is this supposed to do?

    This sheet mask is designed to hydrate, smooth the skin and give it an overall better, radiant appearance.

    Packaging

    Like most sheet masks this comes in a a packet. What I love about how this looks is it’s fun! It’s pale pink with red detailing and the front looks like a washing machine. It stands out, it’s different and ties in perfectly with the brand.

    How to use

    Unfold mask, place it onto the skin and leave on for 15 minutes. Pat serum into skin that remains or wipe off with a cotton pad.

    Fragrance

    I expected this mask to smell like the other products I’ve used from Beauty Laundrette. The body mist, bath fizzer and body wash all had the same scent. This doesn’t. This mask definitely has a floral fragrance to it. It reminds me a little of cherry blossom but a little more plant like rather than flower, if that makes sense? It smells really nice.

    In Use

    When I took this sheet mask out of it’s packet, I have to say this literally was DRIPPING in serum/solution! I left a physical trial of it as I opened it in one room and then dashed to another to apply it. It was soaking in solution, exceptionally moist and wet. It wasn’t too hard to unfold this. The shape and look of this is quite typical of sheet masks.

    When I put this onto my face it clung to it with ease. No wonder with it being so wet! The mask sat on my face very comfortably and the moisture was an absolute joy to experience. Very cooling and relaxing.

    I did worry the fragrance would be too much. Despite the fact I actually like it, any fragrance sat on the face for a while can be a turn off. I had no issue with this but a fragrance free version would be a hit in my opinion.

    Skin afterwards

    Taking this off I was surprised how much serum was still on my face. There was a lot! And I was happy about this! I patted as much as I could into my skin while drawing some of it down to my neck and left the rest to sink in. My skin felt incredibly moisturised. Not caked in a heavy solution but there was an obvious layer of something on my skin. Touching my skin it did feel tacky but what would you expect with so much serum/solution left behind?

    Did my skin look massively ‘radiant’? It looked shiny! Healthy..possibly? NOT dry but well moisturised! This wasn’t sinking in quickly after application so left it to go to bed.

    Beauty Laundrette Products
    The morning after the night before

    My skin looked and felt rested, very smooth when touched. It still felt hydrated but not in the ‘covered with a layer of serum’ way it did when this was applied. Totally matt and ready for the day ahead.

    Recommended?

    Yes! This is standard price for sheet masks so not costly, and this range are regularly on a promotion in Superdrug (so even better!). So there’s no issue with cost. Packaging is super cute and the mask itself is crazily hydrated and nice to wear and use. I wouldn’t recommend this if your skin has issues with fragrance or you don’t like the feeling of a layer on your skin (although you could remove the excess as suggested). But I would buy Beauty Laundrette’s Radiate & Glow Sheet Mask again in a heartbeat, especially during a heatwave!

  • Fragranced or Fragrance Free? Primark’s PS Elderflower Shower Steamer

    There’s lots of products consumers can buy to add into their bath these days. Bath soaks, body washes, bath truffles, bath bombs…the list goes on and on. But what’s available for the shower? Of course, you can grab the typical shower gels if you want to clean and wash your body. But is there anything else that’s a bit different to this norm? Shower steamers! This is a product that’s been available for a few years, and can be bought from Primark. I picked up their Elderflower Shower Steamer from my local store for £1.50 a few months ago.

    Primark PS Elderflower Shower Steamer
    Why did I buy this?

    I like the idea of shower steamers. Showers are taken just as much as baths in my household so it’s a nice product to use once in awhile. While looking at Primark’s bath bombs and bubble bars, I saw this and I was curious to find out how well this performed. For £1.50 it was definitely worth a try so I bought it.

    What is a shower steamer?

    A shower steamer looks and acts similarly to a bath bomb. You pop it on the floor of your shower/bath tub, and as the water and heat from the shower react to it it releases fragrance. Not for use on the body but should provide a lovely aroma while you’re in the shower.

    Packaging

    A Summery coloured flat squared cardboard box in shades of yellow, green and blue. An open window on the front shows you what’s inside.

    How does this look?

    Primark’s shower steamer is square, flat and quite chunky in look. Decent size of over 0.5 inches in depth and 3 inches across. Although square, you can see this is segmented into two triangles and this is where you break half of it off to use. The colouring I thought was promising till I took it out of the box. On the front there are splashes of yellow, green and blue but mostly surrounded by a white base. Turn this over and it’s completely white. I thought it would be more colourful and eye catching overall.

    A slightly broken up Primark Shower Steamer
    Fragrance

    All I could smell was a chalkiness to this shower steamer when I took it out of the box. Is there another fragrance? It’s not totally void of a scent but whatever it is it’s not describable or strong. Even when not in use I would hope this shower steamer would reek of a scent. But nothing special scent wise came out of it.

    In the shower

    I put half of this on the bottom of my bath tub while I had my early morning shower before work. And what did I get? Nothing! No waft of fragrance. I was hoping for something to whack me in the face to wake me up, but nothing. So I moved the shower steamer around to make sure some of the water from the shower hit it. All I could see was it getting smaller as it disintegrated but saw no colour or smelt any fragrance. I picked up what was left and gave it a sniff, and I could smell the tiniest hint of fragrance but honestly it was so faint and not even worth mentioning.

    Recommended?

    No! This shower steamer was poor. All it needed to do was provide fragrance which it failed big time. Whatever you think elderflower will smell like it doesn’t conjure up the idea of a strong scent. But regardless, there NEEDS to be a scent with a product like this and there wasn’t. The shape was good, the look could have been a bit little more colourful but the packaging was fine. But the lack of fragrance makes this something I would bypass in my local Primark store never to repeat purchase again!

  • Quick Skincare Fix? Simple’s 5 Minute Reset Hydrogel Mask

    It’s February. I know we’re only in the second month of 2022 but I literally feel as if I’ve lived half of this year already! Any particular reasons I feel like this? One word…LIFE! But it’s fine, I will roll with it as usual. What I can’t roll with at the moment is temperamental skin. My face feels like it’s been drained of every drop of moisture that lives in it which I hate! So it’s time to drag out a mask. My facial skincare mask collection is pretty varied but I thought I would grab Simple’s 5 Minute Reset Hydrogel Mask. I didn’t buy this. At some point this would have been a birthday or Christmas gift of years past. But it retails for around £3.00.

    Simple’s 5 Minute Reset Hydrogel Mask
    Why did I decide to use this?

    My skin doesn’t look dry, but this last week it’s felt dry. Not to touch, but you know when your skin feels dry because it feels a little tight? That’s what I’m experiencing. I’m not feeling comfortable in my face, and a facial skincare mask is a quick fix and gives me a few minutes of much needed pampering. This one I chose because the range tries to keep their ingredients ‘simple’ e.g no fragrance or colouring. I don’t have sensitive skin but I didn’t want to set it off right now, I wanted something basic. And this sounds and looks like something that will deliver what I need it to do, moisturise me!

    What is this supposed to do to your skin?

    Within 5 minutes, this mask is supposed to deliver hydration making your skin look and feel fresher, hydrated and smoother.

    What does the mask look like?

    It doesn’t come in one piece but two. One is to cover the lower part of the face, the other covering the top half of the face. Both are made of an almost jelly like material. Totally clear and see through with a slight rubbery feel to it. The lower section has a piece cut out for the mouth. The higher section has areas cut out for the nose and the eyes.

    How to use

    Take the mask out of the sachet, peel off the backing and put onto cleansed skin. Leave on for 5 minutes and remove. Any excess product left over, pat into the skin with no need to wash off.

    In use

    I ripped open the sachet only to find it full of solution that the mask was soaking in, which is just what I wanted to see! Nothing worse than seeing a skincare mask dry and void of solution or serum. The two sections of mask needed to be peeled off some paper before they could be applied.

    Since the material the mask is made off is quite slippery, I did find I needed a minute or two to take them off the backing, unfold them and pop them onto my face. There was an instant cooling feeling when I put this on. Positioning of this was a bit fiddly, you couldn’t just throw them on. There were adjustments, pulling, tugging etc, but I got there in the end! They were reasonably secure on my face although at one point I did feel one was slipping down a little. The cooling sensation remained throughout which I enjoyed.

    Did I have this on for 5 minutes? Probably more like 10 to 15 minutes! 5 minutes just seemed wasteful and my skin thanked me for the extra time. When I took it off I could see the solution from the mask was on my face because it looked damp, so I patted it into my skin. My face looked and felt hydrated, although there was a slight tackiness to it when I touched it. I wasn’t too sure whether this would be moisturising enough hours later as I used this at night time without adding anything onto my skin. My skin didn’t need anything else and the following day it didn’t feel or look dry.

    Skincare face masks like this are products I treat as quick fixes because that’s what they are. I don’t expect miracles or long term results. What I do hope for is an instant result in that particular moment. And this mask delivered it 100%! It felt nice on the skin and relaxing. My skin feel moisturised during and after, and it gave me exactly what I hoped for. The slight downside is how fiddly it can be when taking it out of the packaging then applying to the skin, which some people won’t like. But I would happily buy this again and again and use when my skin feels like a prune. What I love about this is the fact it’s not expensive, you can pick it up on the high street pretty easily and the range is something that should be suitable for sensitive skin. Result!

    This can be picked up from places like Boots, Superdrug and supermarkets such as Tesco. Easily available, does what it says on the packaging and now on my repeat purchase list!x

  • Oh K!’s Clarifying Pink Fizz T-Zone Bubble Mask

    I seem to have a lot of sheet masks. It feels like I have hundreds and hundreds of the things. Some have been gifts, some I’ve bought myself and they all live and appear to breed and multiple in a drawer. Don’t get me wrong, I do use them! But unlike a traditional mask you can’t always throw one on your face and go live your life. Subconsciously I feel like I should lie down when using these, and some full faced ones that maybe the case. BUT I find if you have the time they can be very handy for a skin pick me up, and I need a pick me up right now! So diving into my extensive stash, I’ve chosen Oh K!’s Clarifying Pink Fizz T-Zone Bubble Mask. I couldn’t tell you how much I paid for this because I can’t remember, but you can pick this up in general for between £5-£7.00.

    Oh K! Clarifying Pink Fizz T-Zone Bubble Mask
    Why did I choose this?

    I know it seems quite gimmicky but I’m really loving masks that bubble and foam on the skin at the moment! I’ve always said skincare for me should be enjoyed and be beneficial. If I don’t enjoy using something then what’s the point? I don’t want it to be a hardship. And I now know I enjoy bubble masks. Since I haven’t used one from this brand before I decided to give it a whirl and see if it was any good. Hoping that not only would I enjoy it but it would hydrate my skin and make it look or/and feel better.

    What is this designed to do?

    This mask is designed to exfoliate the skin, make the skin appear to be be brighter and smoother. All done so gently that this mask could be used on a daily basis (not the same mask of course, this isn’t designed to reuse).

    Packaging.

    Although I’m not a lover of the colour pink, the fact this mask comes in a pink packet makes it look cute and eye catching. The image of bubbles all over the front signifies what this mask is supposed to do which is useful. And I like the fact it shows you on the front what the mask is supposed to look like and the area of the face it targets (honestly when I bought this I didn’t look at the picture so had no idea what area it was going to focus on).

    How to use.

    Cleanse the skin. While the mask is in the packet, activate it by spending 5 seconds rubbing it between the hands. Apply to the face for 10-15mins. Remove then rinse off.

    How does it look?

    Pale pink in colour and typical face skincare tissue mask in texture. This mask doesn’t cover the whole of the face, only the section that we think of when it comes to someone’s t zone. So this is the forehead and the nose. Think of a diagram of a uterus and it’s a similar shape to that! Strange but totally true, sorry.

    In Use.

    I did as instructed which was give the packet a little rub. Once I took it out I could see little bubbles escaping from the top of the packaging. It made my heart brim with joy when I saw how soaked in solution this mask was when I pulled it out! It was almost dripping! Moist and full of hydration. I did wonder if I had rubbed it for long enough because there wasn’t too many bubbles on this at first BUT the magic happened when I popped this on my face…

    It needed a little adjusting to sit ok but sit it did and it clung to my face independently and nicely. Slightly cooling, very moisturising in feel and very comfortable to wear. The bubbling didn’t take too long to kick in and I could hear a fizz and felt it under the mask. By the time I passed a mirror and looked at my reflection the pink mask was looking a little white. Fast forward 5 minutes later this was a mask foam and looked very 3D! All the way through using this I could hear it hissing quietly and fizzing away and I loved it!

    Was there a fragrance? A delicate one that was nice to get a whiff off. Think of cherry and floral mixed together (not cherry blossom that’s a different scent altogether!). That’s what this fragrance made me think of. It wasn’t distracting because it wasn’t strong but it was very pleasant.

    Removal.

    I wasn’t too sure if the packaging said this was to be washed off thanks to no instructions but little pictures present on it. Why would you wash it off after you take the mask off? Well I found out soon enough! I took it off, said goodbye sadly and threw it in the bin. I went to see if the remaining bubbles/foam would rub into my skin and they didn’t. What they left was a creamy looking film on my face with a similar feel and texture to a cream. At that point I KNEW it needed rinsing off so I did. My skin felt soft, clean, looked matt and overall this area felt refreshed. Slight confession here. When I saw I rubbed it all over my face! Then rinsed. Waste not want not, right?

    Skin Afterwards.

    It didn’t look massively different but the shine formed throughout the day was gone so matt skin was left. As mentioned, I did have that feeling of freshness, cleanness, a little smoothness and generally a little perk to the skin. But how much I enjoyed using this made me feel the experience was worth it.

    Any issues?

    The section of the mask that goes over the nose I think was too wide. I appreciate the fact that everyone has different sized facial features but this width meant it went too close to the corner of my eye for me. And there wasn’t really much I could do to change the position by moving the mask up or down because of it’s size and shape.

    Recommended?

    I loved using this! I enjoyed it from beginning to end. The shape of it was different and targeting a specific area which was good. Great if you have that as a concern and don’t need a full facial skincare mask. It was comfortable to wear and I walked around still living life. Full of hydration but it didn’t leave my skin oily, greasy or wet. And the bubbling action was EVERYTHING! So it’s a yes from me!

    There is a point I would like to make about this product. I occasionally have a spot or two growing on particular areas such as the forehead, chin or cheek. My t-zone in my opinion is not a problem area so if it was I may find this mask showing more of a change to the skin. But I would still buy this again because of all the things mentioned above, but ideally not full price.

    This is available from lots of online retailers. Best price I could find was £3.50 The Beauty Store, but I’ve never shopped from there so can’t comment on reliability, customer services and more importantly the trust factor. If in any doubt ASOS and Amazon sell this mask, but it is more expensive!