KarenUK In Soft Skin Shocker! (Avon Intensive Hydrating Facial Mask)

Member Name: karenuk

Product:	Avon Intensive Hydrating Facial Mask
Date:	09/05/02 (355 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: soft skin, easy to use, makes a big difference

Disadvantages: you look silly while it's on

Avon Intensive Hydrating Facial Mask. There, that’s taken up most of the word count and I haven’t even started! ;-)

Well, I wrote this on Bank Holiday Monday when I was due to go back to work the next day. I thought it would therefore be a good excuse for a bit of pampering and assuring my skin looks good for work. Being at a school means you can guarantee that someone, somewhere will notice you have got a spot coming, still have last night’s make-up left on or a bit of breakfast on your chin.

I suffer from dry skin, especially on my cheeks (the ones on my face, before you ask!). They are often itchy because of this, so I have to ensure that my face is regularly moisturised, so I use Nivea Soft Intensive Moisturising Crème most days.

Recently though, I ventured into the pages of the Avon catalogue – a rarity for me, obviously! <grin> This time, I bought a face mask specifically for dry skin. It is called an Intensive Hydrating Facial Mask and sells for £4, although it can often be on special offer. (In brochure 9/2002, you get a free Skin Refiner Exfoliating Scrub with it.)

It comes in a peach coloured 75ml tube with the Avon logo in navy. I have to say this is extremely boring, surely someone could be paid to think of nicer designs for these? Still, it’s the product that counts obviously.

On the back, it states ‘Apply after cleansing’ so before putting on this stuff, I wet my face and used a Deep Pore Cleanser (£4) from the Avon Clearskin range. Then feeling nicely cleansed, with my hair shoved up in a ponytail and my fringe cutely entangled in an elastic band and sticking out at a strange angle, I returned to the peachy packaging, awaiting my next instructions.

You are told to ‘smooth mask generously over face and neck, avoiding eye area’ which I did. It is a kind of yellow-white colour and smells of hand cream, so pretty neutral. It was a much runnier co
nsistency than I was expecting though. Not that it ran off my face, but it is quite watery, not the stodgy thick clay stuff you get in some face masks.

I rubbed it onto my face and neck, as requested, and especially on my cheeks where my dry areas are. I then waited the suggested ten to fifteen minutes, which gave me chance to squint at a couple of pages of my Catherine Cookson novel, while keeping an eye on the time and wondering where my glasses were.

During this time, my skin didn’t get that taut, hardening feeling you usually get with face masks and it wasn’t itchy at all. In fact, the face mask was pleasant and cooling while it was on.

When I went into the bathroom (where I found my glasses), I looked in the mirror and noticed the face mask still looked as runny as it had when I first applied it. I rinsed it off with warm water on a flannel, then looked back in the mirror to see how my face looked now.

Apart from slightly reddened cheeks, my face looked fine – no blotches or anything untoward. But the proof of the face mask is in the touching. I was amazed, my cheeks felt like velvet! No spots, no dry bits, no flaking or peeling, just beautiful and soft and smooth.

So, I’m hooked, this stuff really works! I will continue to use my Nivea, but only needed it this morning - two days after applying the face mask! You can apply the Avon Intensive Hydrating Facial Mask up to three times a week and with results like that, I think it is well worth adding those few minutes to my beauty routine.

Now, any Avon products for getting rid of flabby tummies? ;-)

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