Beauty: exploring HA masks and rose and violet delights

This month I've been trying another hyaluronic acid face mask, a rose scented day cream from the supermarket, the Marks and Spencer Summer Box and two products I'd never thought of trying - mainly because I perceive them as "too cheap"!

First, I was so impressed with Argan Moroccan Rose Soothing Hand Wash (I wrote about it here) that I snapped up the Age Protect day cream when I saw it in Waitrose. It was a lot cheaper than my normal moisturizers (my all-time favourite is Charlotte's Magic Cream, at £75). But it's not really for me.

The long lasting rose scent of the hand wash was hardly apparent in the day cream - probably because a lot of people don't like the smell of rose, but I wanted a blast of rose. The cream itself is very light and disappears immediately. If you have normal skin and you're 20 to 30 years younger than me, it's probably going to be great for you.  I need a richer formulation which provides more of a luscious bed for makeup.

Decléor Aroma White C Brightening Cleansing Foam

I've been using a different morning cleanser every time I buy a new one. I like Emma Hardie's Moringa Cleansing Balm but at £39 I think it's expensive and doesn't really leave my skin looking any better than the other products I've been trying this year.  I like a foaming cleanser to use in the shower and feared this one, by Decléor, might be a bit too astringent for my dry skin.

It's a creamy cleanser to help regulate pigmentation and restore radiance to dull skin. It's quite thick so you have to squeeze hard to get it through the top, and has a peculiar smell, reminiscent of artichokes I would say, although there are none in the mix. It leaves my skin squeaky clean, which I like - a primed canvas ready for subsequent unguents. Be careful not to get it in your eyes. It stings big time! £26 from Decleor, where it is currently out of stock - always a good sign.**

Favourites from the Marks and Spencer Summer box

These were my two favourites from the Marks and Spencer Summer Box, which was £10 when you spent £30 or more on clothes or cosmetics. The Eyeko Sport Waterproof mascara is an extremely good mascara. Last month was extolling the virtues of L'Oréal Baby Roll mascara  (like buses, good mascaras come along in pairs) so I wore both mascaras on the same day, different eye. By the end of the day, the Baby Roll had transferred a little under the lower lashes but the Eyeko was still going strong. Travel size is £10 from Space NK, full size for £19 from Eyeko.

Studio 10 is a brand aimed at older women. Youth Lift Glow-Plexion is described as a "Truly unique, multi-tasking primer, radiance creme, illuminator and highlighter in one bottle"  (or a 15ml tube in this case). It's nice when you have a tan, but when I first used it (without a tan) it gave me a bit of an ashy look. I don't use it all over my face but as a highlighter. I felt I'd used better highlighters. You can buy it from Studio 10 for £26, Marks and Spencer or QVC.

Two cheaper products that surprised me 

I used the ProVoke Touch of Silver brightening shampoo when I got back from Greece and my highlights were looking a bit brassy. I wasn't able to get them refreshed for a couple of weeks. The shampoo worked like a dream. Just one wash and my highlights were a creamy colour again. It's as cheap as chips (£2.50 at Wilko for 150ml!) and for me was better than the more expensive John Frieda Sheer Blonde Colour Renew Tone Correcting Shampoo. It can be used on white, grey and silver hair too: the violet tone neutralises any brassiness. This shanpoo was a pleasant surprise because normally if something is cheap I assume it won't be any good. Same with Bio-Oil.

I've heard a lot of people talking about Bio-Oil and how good it is for stretch marks and scar improvement, but I didn't think it would be very effective at that price (prices start from £7.07 on Amazon for 60ml). However, when I heard someone say it's very good for ageing and dehydrated skin, I was in Boots faster than you could say "Boots."

I really am seeing an improvement in the crepey decolletage area, which is mainly where I've been using it. I am also using it on the many scars I have on my arms, caused by taking things out of the oven. It's a bit of a wonder product because it has so many uses. I'm not too keen on the smell, which is hard to describe. But that's a small price to pay for plumped up skin.

Boots Sheet Hyaluronic Face Mask

Finally, as I deprived you of a photo of me wearing the ChinUp mask, (Wendy, this is for you). I've treated you to a photo of me wearing one of the very popular hyaluronic sheet face masks. This one is by Boots.

I'm not very good at applying these things - on Instagram everyone seems to get them arranged so they're perfectly smooth. Maybe it's the shape of my face. You carefully unfold the mask from the sachet and spread it over your fizzog. Leave it for 10 mins and then massage the remainder into your skin. It had an immediate effect of plumping and smoothing the skin, but it was very short lived. Perhaps for £2.50 that's to be expected. You see - it's very hard to shake off those misconceptions!

Sharing this post with Claire Justine Wednesday blog hop and Saturday Share at Not Dressed as Lamb.

Have you tried any of these products? Do you happily use cheap products or do you also assume they won't work? Do tell.

** News Update. The brightening cleanser from Decleor is a little too effective at brightening so I am not using it for a while. Someone said that I was very fair skinned - and I thought eh? But then I saw a photo and I looked like a ghost. So I think I will be re-buying Emma Hardie Moringa balm after all.

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