| Product: |
Thalgo Oxygenating Mask |
| Date: |
06/02/08 (173 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Lovely citrus aroma, cleanses skin, makes skin glow, lines become shallower
Disadvantages: Purchase price of £25 for a 50ml tube
Every now and then when browsing the Dead Sea stall in my local shopping mall I come across new and exciting products that I feel compelled to try. My last visit saw me bypass the Dead Sea stall and head towards the new stall selling a host of products from a company called Thalgo. Having never heard of them I allowed myself to be convinced into a purchase by the two rather attractive ladies who were running the stall. They were approachable and had an extremely in-depth knowledge of each and every product. After a brief chat about what I usually used to exfoliate and moisturise and a few compliments on the state of my skin they recommended the Oxygenating Facial Mask. Before slapping the mask onto my face I did a little research into Thalgo. They are a French company with over 40 years of experience within the health and beauty industry which assured me that I wasn't going to be applying a product produced by a cowboy outfit with a history of permanently scarring its customers. Thalgo, like Swisa and Dead Sea use the natural resources of the sea in their products, taking the line that the sea is a natural source of beauty, using their expertise in marine biology they are able to offer a wide range of products to suit everyone's needs when it comes to skincare. All this and much more is available on the Thalgo website where there is further detail on their background as a group, company and their expertise.
The actual range by Thalgo incorporates products for men and women, you name the area of your body you want to treat and they pretty much guarantee that they will have something for you, whether it be for the face, legs, arms or torso. Each product is available in different sized bottles and tubes ranging in both size and price depending upon your need at that time. My purchase was the Thalgo Oxygenating Mask that happened to be on special offer and smelt so clean and refreshing that I just couldn't resist. A normal 50ml tube of the product retails for £25, however I managed to procure mine for only £12.50 and I walked away pleased that I had bagged myself a bargain given the various testers I was also given.
The Thalgo Oxygenating Mask is essentially a gel mask that is marketed as rich in plant extracts that have softening, invigorating and regenerating properties. The idea behind the product is that it travels deep within the pores of your skin working hard to remove any nasty little pieces of dirt whilst at the same time giving the top layer of your skin, the part that people see on a daily basis a really good clean. As part of the sales patter, I was also assured that the mask would clear up any slight blemishes, remove dry and peeling skin as well as help balance the pH levels to combat potentially vile looking oily skin.
The product comes in a standard white plastic tube, similar to most hair gel containers. The screw top lid whilst easy to remove is a real pain in the butt to screw back on when you have the gel on your hands. At first I found that I had to just prop it up in the bathroom while I applied the gel and then dried my hands which resulted in a tiny bit of spillage. Not much was lost, but considering the purchase price every bit is precious. Upon the tube are the words Thalgo and underneath is the phrase 'La Beaute Marine' and it also states this is an oxygen anti-stress mask. The first time I unscrewed the lid the strong citrus tang really hit me, it was much stronger than the tester I had smelt at the time of buying but thankfully I see this an one of the positives given my love of all things with a citrus aroma. Once I had become accustomed to the citrus the main impressions of the fragrance was that it had an almost clinical clean and fresh smell to it. Slapping it on first thing in the morning really will leave a lingering fragrance that is totally refreshing.
As with most beauty treatments, to get the best results ensure you have a clean face, patting the skin dry rather than rubbing. It is advisable to pat the skin dry rather than rubbing as rubbing removes all of the excess moisture from the surface of the skin. This can lead to dryness regardless of the products you then use to try and combat it. I found that only a marble sized amount of the gel was needed to cover my entire face, forehead and underneath my chin as it really does only need to be applied to give a thin coating. Application is essentially identical to a mudpack or standard facial mask; there are no really complicated instructions you have to follow thankfully. Slightly thicker than moisturising gels applying it is a breeze as it glides over the skin and doesn't become clumpy. Once finished the hard work starts, you sit back and relax for 20 minutes while the mask works its magic. At no stage during the application process did the gel irritate, sting or in any way feel weird. There was in fact no sensation apart from the cool soothing feeling of the gel on my skin.
Over the 20 minutes after application I could start to feel the gel seemingly getting heavier, and with a curious prod I noted that it has actually thickened considerably as it set on my face. While it does get heavier and start to set, it still keeps a gel consistency, therefore if you apply too much you are likely to find that the gel will drip off your chin. As the 20 minutes came to an end I simply washed the gel off with warm water, again patting the skin dry.
After the finishing the first thing I noticed was my skin tone had changed, instead of being quite pale it seemed to glow and to the touch my skin was really soft and much smoother than normal. There was no tightness whatsoever and if I had to sum up the final results I would say - amazing. One of the claimed effects of this mask is that it helps to work away stress lines leaving your skin feeling tight and taut. Whilst there was no tightness to my skin, the laughter lines around my eyes, mouth and on my forehead were much more shallow. They weren't gone, but I think only a facelift would remove them so I was very impressed that they weren't as visible.
£25 for the product may seem a touch expensive but a little really does go a long way. I use the mask on a bi-weekly basis; sometimes leaving it longer so that after a few months I still have over half of the tube left which to me represents good value for money. There is a real notable difference in my skin tone, my face now has a natural glow to it instead of looking dull and weathered, there are no dry spots of skin around my cheekbones and on the whole my face does feel much cleaner and fresher. Personally I wouldn't now be without it and can do nothing but highly recommend it to men and women who really want to see a difference in the appearance of their skin.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Thanks for taking the time to read and rate.
Steve :o)
Summary: A beast of a face mask......
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