I despise spending ridiculous amounts of money on skin care products; over the years I have been happy with using £2 Nivea face cream with the occasional foray into the Clarins range, which in my opinion are still expensive at around £20 - £25 per product. The problem is that although I have always had infuriatingly sensitive skin it has always remained in relatively good condition, while being slightly overweight for the majority of my adult life has tended to keep the wrinkles at bay. Recently, however, I have lost some of this weight with the result being that my facial skin is now beginning to look a little saggy and wrinkled - this was something I wanted to address rather quickly as there is nothing more aging appearance-wise than loose and dehydrated (wrinkly!) skin.

Guerlain was actually recommended to me by my daughter's hairdresser, she is roughly my age but has the most amazingly fresh glowing skin which quite literally knocks years off her age. It was actually the facial moisturiser she recommended, but at almost £40 a pot I baulked at that and ended up purchasing a tube of their Super Aqua Face Mask - still rather overpriced (in my opinion) at £28 but at least it would last longer due to the fact that the mask needs to only be used 2 - 3 times a week. To my mind I could combine this 'wonder mask' (apparently) with a cheaper brand of face cream and get the same effect as if I were to have spent upwards of £100 on Guerlain products - as the Guerlain assistant seemed to think I was going to.

The face mask comes in a rather basic tube, it's an extremely attractive blue colour with gold screw top lid and detail. Unlike, say, Avon or L'Oreal face masks this comes in a box which also contains a sheet of detailed instructions on how to use the product. Personally I would have been happy if they had dispensed with the box and instructions and brought the price down a little, but I doubt the terribly posh women who generally buy Guerlain would be prepared to forego their box for a small discount. The packaging is actually very attractive, although not dissimilar to an Avon Icelandic Spa product I bought a few months ago.

You are advised to cleanse your face before applying the face mask and I would certainly recommend you take the trouble to do this thoroughly with a cleanser rather than simply dampening your skin with water. This is because the mask is a very creamy one and it will both soak in and cling to clean skin better than if you have left any particles of dirt on the surface of your skin. It has a deliciously creamy and fresh smell and also feels very creamy and luxurious to the touch, it's a rinse-off mask which needs to be left for ten minutes to work its magic - although I admit to leaving it on for rather longer than this time as I want to get the most out of such an expensive cream!

Despite the fact that this is a rather thick cream, a little goes a surprisingly long way. When you first come to use the Super Aqua Mask I recommend you put small amounts onto your fingertips for application rather than putting a larger blob into your hand, which may be wasted as it's impossible to get any excess back into the tube for next time. I find it to have a beautiful consistency and although it's thicker than the majority of rinse-off masks I have used it has a delightfully feather light texture on my skin. The cream is very cooling when you first apply it and I must confess to being astounded at how well moisturised my skin began to feel within minutes of spreading it across my face, I do suffer with dry skin so have used my fair share of moisturising masks over the years - and I can confirm the moisturising properties of this one are apparent almost immediately upon application.

I don't tend to time how long I leave the mask on my skin, although I would say an average length of time for me personally is around 30 minutes. The mask will apparently work in as little as ten minutes, however I adore the cool and moisturising feel of it against my skin so tend to leave it on for longer than recommended. As the time goes on I notice how much of the mask is absorbed by my skin, what was a liberal(ish) covering when first applied looks rather patchy and under covered by the time I come to rinse the creamy mask off. This is a plus point in my opinion as it means the mask is also acting as a type of face cream, soaking into my dry old skin instead of simply sitting over the top layer and being rinsed down the sink a few minutes later.

I always rinse this mask off with luke warm water and never fail to be impressed with the results. Immediately after rinsing there is always a slight pink hue to my skin which fades fairly quickly, the skin on my face looks as though it has plumped up and it actually feels softer and smoother to the touch. The moisturisation properties of this mask are second to none and I can honestly say that I have never used a face mask as good as this Guerlain one - and in 63 years you can believe me when I say I must have used hundreds of different varieties, brands and preparations. Using it twice weekly is enough to keep my skin looking and feeling far smoother than it did before I first discovered Super Aqua, which I put down to the fact that so much of the cream is absorbed by my skin so it is allowed to continue nourishing and moisturising my skin deep down even after the mask itself has been rinsed away.

One slight niggle I have is the amount of rinsing it takes to remove all traces of the mask. It's quite deceiving actually as you'd imagine such a light and creamy product to be simple to remove, but if I don't rinse for long enough I am left with unpleasantly sticky patches of skin. This can be avoided by being meticulous as you rinse, however as mentioned this can take longer than you imagine so do be prepared to allocate some bathroom time for removal of the product. Once it has all gone you will certainly see a difference in both the appearance and texture of your skin so taking this extra few minutes to ensure it has all been rinsed off is worth it.

Over the six weeks I have been using this mask I have noticed a minor reduction in my wrinkles; the very fine wrinkles have vanished completely and frankly I wasn't expecting miracles, so the deeper age-related wrinkles remain. This has not disappointed me as overall my skin is in wonderful condition, the tone has evened out and to the touch my skin feels refreshed and plumped out. I simply have to put this down to the excellent effect the Super Aqua mask is having on my very dry skin, I have not changed my moisturiser or any other aspect of my skincare regime so therefore this mask is the pure source of my pleasure.

Even the price doesn't seem terribly high now I am used to using a more expensive mask than usual, the 75ml tube is still roughly half full so I envisage at least twelve weeks of use out of it - and suddenly the initial £28 price tag doesn't seem so high considering this will work out at a mere £2.33 a week, less in fact than I spend on the single use Montague Jeunesse face masks that I have been using recently.

I absolutely recommend this face mask to anyone who is suffering from excessively dry, or standard aging, skin. I have the most awkward skin so I can honestly say that if it works for me than it will certainly work for you.