I've been a huge fan of the Cupcake face mask from Lush for years, it was developed for problem teenage skin but has continued to work wonderfully on my skin through my late twenties and I still use it now at 36. It's part of their Fresh range which means you need to keep it in the fridge and adhere to the suggested use by date, obviously as you're not eating it you don't have to be too strict as it's not going to kill you if it goes a couple of days out of date but the ingredients will begin to deteriorate over time so I suggest you try and use the pot up as quickly as you can.

Not that this is an issue for me as when I purchase Cupcake I let my two teenage daughters know it's in the fridge and they use it too, this is about the only time I give them free reign with my cosmetics as I'd rather it gets used up than thrown away as often used to happen before they were old enough to enter the world of face masks.

Cupcake isn't the nicest looking face mask you're ever likely to use, being a muddy brown colour with the sort of consistency that makes it look like you've taken part in a dirty protest all over your face. It's very hard to get a smooth finish upon application as the consistency is so thick and claggy, I suppose it doesn't matter too much but as this is such an unattractive mask to wear I usually apply it just before getting into the bath so no one sees me with this gloopy brown stuff smeared across my face!

The main ingredient, and reason why it's such an 'eugh' colour, is Rhassoul Mud which has been infused with Cocoa Butter for it's skin softening properties and Cocoa Powder to make it smell and look as much like chocolate as possible. The chocolate angle was the whole inspiration for the development of Cupcake as a Lush product developer wanted to create a face mask that would give the user the impression of a chocolate bar, I think they've done a brilliant job with the addition of Spearmint and Peppermint Oils giving it a more grown up feel as you use it and also countering some of the sweetness of the other ingredients. The smell actually reminds me of melted down mint Viscount biscuits, it's delicious and a very relaxing scent as I lie back to allow Cupcake to work its magic.

So, I love the smell but dislike the appearance. What does Cupcake actually do for my skin that has led me to make it a regular purchase for the last nine years or so? Well, quite simply it makes my skin feel wonderful. After relaxing for half an hour with this face mask on I'm always surprised at how soft and smooth it leaves my skin feeling, my face feels incredibly clean afterwards despite the fact that this isn't sold as a cleansing mask - in keeping with it being designed for teenagers, the Rhassoul Mud acts to absorb grease from your pores and in turn this will eventually prevent outbreaks of spots or help to rid your skin of age related blemishes that are already occurring. Last year Charlotte had an appalling break out on her forehead and across the whole of her left cheek, we were both beginning to think it was the start of acne but as she already has sensitive skin I was loathe to start buying her the highly medicated lotions and potions that she really needed to use. We tried Cupcake as a last resort before bothering the doctor with what was likely to be a simple teenage breakout (albeit a bad one) - by cleansing with water only and using Cupcake each evening she was able to control the problem and amazingly within two days the inflamed look of the spots had died away completely and after another two days her skin was perfectly clear.

This amazed me, it really did. Despite my love for Cupcake I'd never before acknowledged the fact that it would work so well on the type of skin it was initially developed for. It's been a long time since I've had to worry about spots and skin blemishes so I was absolutely over the moon that it worked so well for Charlotte as there's nothing more likely to bash the confidence out of a teenage girl than having lots of spots. While she doesn't tend to use Cupcake too often herself these days, she prefers Montagne Jeunesse, if she feels a spot starting to rear its ugly head she'll dab a small amount of the face mask on and around it and it works just as well as if she went to the trouble of applying it to her whole face. At thirteen, Alice is very much into the girliness of using such a delicious smelling face mask and although her skin is currently pretty clear I do credit that in part to the fact that she's been regularly using Cupcake for a year or so now. She does tend to get a few small spots when she's due her period (and how Alice would kill me if she knew I'd shared that little nugget!) but they clear up quickly if she uses the mask at the point where they're beginning to develop, and this prevents them turning into a mass of hormone related bumps.

Despite my glowing recommendation I do have an issue with Cupcake, or to be more specific with the removal of Cupcake after it's worked its magic. The issue is that it's a horribly messy mask to use due to both the consistency and the colour - application isn't too much of a problem as once you have the knack you can get it on your face without smearing too much brown stuff everywhere. It's when the time comes to rinse it that the problems arise as the slightest splash of Cupcake infused water will send murky brown splatters everywhere - I find it's best to remove the excess with a damp flannel before carefully rinsing your skin with water, this prevents most of the splashes and as this mask will stain certain fabrics you do need to be careful.

£5.95 for a 75g tub.