Masques and Serums and Creams, ooh la la!

MASQUES!!
Every skin can benefit from a masque...they deep cleanse and clarify, they can help heal blemishes, balance oiliness, add moisture. They also help remove the dead skin cells on the surface revealing fresh, brightened, rejuvenated skin!

Peel Off masks are nice for young skin, but they are too traumatic for older skin. I don't use them. Here are a few options that I do use and love.

My Beauty Diary is a company whose made-in-Taiwan masks address a number of issues and provide some of today's advanced ingredients. Good for all skin types, especially mature skin.
The Black Pearl is very popular, and the Q-10 and Aloe masks are great as well.

The next few masques are best for oily, combination, or blemished or blemish prone skin.

 

My current fave is available at Sephora and other places too...GLAM GLOW Super-mud Clearing Treatment. This nasty, messy greenish gray mud hardens pretty quickly and when you scrub it off (use a cheap rough cotton washcloth that you can save for this purpose alone for it will stain) beautiful clarity is revealed.

But it's closely followed in awesomeness by an unlikely winner from the Serious Skincare line (whose products I don't generally care for) available at hsn.com, the TV shopping channel. Called GLYCOLIC GOMMAGE extreme renewal, this is a miracle tube! I got a sample, tried it, and was sold...got a tube on eBay.com and I adore it. When you go to rinse this gritty greenish gray clay mask, some of the grit remains and helps scrub the skin. This might be rough on sensitive skin, but for most people it is fantastic. It will remove the worst flaky, dead skin and leave your skin new and glowing. I never want to run out of this item!

Kiehl's Rare Earth Deep Pore Cleansing Masque is a great clay mask for oilier skin types. It has a smooth, light tan-gray color and texture and rinses off to reveal smaller pores and brighter tone.

Found this next one in a French Pharmacie, which are fabulous places for skin care junkies like me! It's called Cattier Paris Masque Argile Green Clay Mint..they make other formulas as well, but this one suits my skin best. Kind of a refined, improved version of Queen Helene's Mint Julep Masque, a very inexpensive option for those of us on a budget...not the best texture (Cattier is pretty reasonable but hard to find except online or in France!) but it works well and can be found at any drugstore or beauty supply.

If you have blemishes, this tingly and fabulous mask will help clear your skin and tighten things up as it does that. I adore Tea Tree Oil as a skincare ingredient, and this smooth, clear, creamy white masque uses it to your advantage. Arcona Tea Tree Mask- Pricey but great.

 

 

For other skin types besides oily and combination skin, I suggest using moisturing masques that sooth and infuse the skin with key ingredients that nourish and even plump out the surface a bit. I use them in Winter when the indoor heat dries out my usually not-dry skin.

My favorite of these is a French brand that is hypoallergenic and pure, Avene Instant Soothing Moisture Mask.

A great option, and French too, is Sothys Masque Hydra-Nourrissant.

For a fresh clean face, best in summer and hot weather climates, Peter Thomas Roth (whose products are top notch) Cucumber Gel Masque will tighten and tone gently.
 Currently one of the most popular skin treatments, kind of a mask, is the Brazilian Peel. It comes in four individual treatment, and used once a week, is an effective at-home Glycolic facial that is safe for your skin.

I will conclude with a great skin treatment that is part mask, part peel. It comes from Ole Henriksen and is a 3 step/product process. It's called the Micro Mini Peel System, and first you use an almond scrub, then a lemon strip mask, and then a calming chamomile fluffy cream. This is a spa treatment that you can do at home, and it works very well to reveal smooth, radiant skin.