After really putting in the hours at work recently, I decided yesterday that I needed a bit of me time now that a few days off had finally stopped being a distant dream on the horizon and had actually begun. So, after more cups of tea than are probably medically advisable, I finally hauled myself out of bed after a lie in, and headed to the bathroom to see if I had any treats lying around in "that box" that most women have somewhere in their house, where unused cosmetics and girlie treats get stashed. Sur enough, as suspected, I had some Montagne Jeunesse face masks, which are always my go-to brand and which recently I stocked up on having seen them on a ridiculously good offer in Home Bargains (3 for £2; not a bad saving when they retail at approximately £1.09 each and even then I consider them great value).

From my remaining colourful, playfully-branded sachets I chose Strawberry Souffle, a purifying mask based on, yes well done, strawberries. It claims to cleanse and tone as well as purify, leaving skin hydrated, refreshed and able to breathe. It contains Aloe Vera to sooth and Vanilla for it's calming influence. It is gluten free with no added Parabens, and retails officially at £1.09 per sachet, but these are often available on offer in discount stores and places like Wilkinsons and are also widely available in many supermarkets.

It also contains cream and, of course, strawberry, and is suitable for all skin types. For more information, this and all the Montagne Jeunesse products are profiled on their website, www.montagnejeunesse.com. They are proud to advertise that their products are vegetarian and never tested on animals, so you can enjoy these treats guilt-free.

To apply this one, you wash your face with just warm water, then apply and relax fro 15-20 minutes. This one will not dry whilst on your skin, so you just wash it off afterwards.

***MY EXPERIENCE***
I followed the instructions, having washed my face, got my hair out of the way and opened the sachet using the small perforated curved tear point towards the top of the sachet on one side. This made a small opening in the packet so I thought, rather than get in a mess trying to extract the last scraps when my hands were covered in product, I would empty all of it onto a suitable surface - in this case my leg (it was the nearest thing I had to, er, hand!) before applying in one go.

As soon as the product emerged I was hit by a sweet, strong strawberry smell. It smelt natural, and reminded me of strawberry yoghurt - that'll be the cream and vanilla then! The colour wasn't bright pink, but a soft, baby pink, and immediately I noticed a strong presence of strawberry-seed like rough material, presumably designed to exfoliate. The smell was very pleasant but I was worried that, when on my face for 20 minutes, it would be cloying.

I needn't have worried. I applied this and relaxed, and enjoyed several aspects of using this mask, such as:

- The scent. It did not become cloying and was gentle, pleasant and very relaxing. It smelt fresh, light and summery.
- The texture was light and creamy and applied easily, the pack holding just enough for a full-face treatment, and despite staying a cream it had enough consistency to not slide or run when against your body heat.
- The fact that this did not dry out. Many mud packs from this range do dry and crack on your skin, as they are intended to as part of their working process. However, as they dry they can feel stiff and as you flex your facial muscles the drying can feel quite tight. You don't have that with this product. I did wonder if it would make it less effective as a cleanser, but again I needn't have worried.
- When I came to remove this, it felt slightly gel-like when water met it's surface, but it came off with much less effort than the drying mud-packs, and before I removed this I was able to rub the pack around my face a little as it was still soft, thus getting the most out of the exfoliating quality of the strawberry seeds (I shall presume that's what they were).

So, how did I feel after I used this? Well, I wanted to look my best that day as I was seeing Mr Rarr for the first time in a fortnight due to him being away for work, so I removed this, then went about my usual routine of moisturiser and make up with extra care.

My skin is prone to becoming shiny and I try to combat this but throughout the day it will, inevitably, require matifying now and then. After using this, my skin felt plump, moisturised, fresh and happy, so I felt this was not likely to change. I put the rest of my face on, thought I looked ok, hopped in the car and went off to see the love of my life, who I was picking up and driving home. Driving for four hours in the sun? I was GOING to go shiny!

But amazingly, whilst I did a little, it was actually less than I would normally have expected and considerably less than I thought I would after using a face mask that claims to leave skin moisturised. So, I love this mask!

I'm now writing this the following morning and even after the last two weeks of working flat out and travelling a lot, my skin looks smooth, far fresher than I have any right for it to be, and I was surprised at how well I looked this morning.

So I enjoyed the actual use of this mask, found it a relaxing treat to my senses, an effective beauty product to boot, guilt-free, added-Paraben-free, and extremely good value whether you buy this at full price or - as I will stock up when I next do - on offer.

Well done Montagne Jeunesse, you've got a top-quality face mask product here and I love you for it!