Charlotte Tilbury Instant Magic Facial Dry Sheet Mask - my thoughts

I love a good face mask, I don't mind the faff or the mess or time consumingness of the whole ritual of it all. 

I wanted to try the new Charlotte Tilbury Sheet Mask because, well, it's Charlotte Tilbury innit? I have yet to try a product of hers that I have not liked.

Much as I love a good face mask, I am a sheet mask virgin so whilst I realise that the CT sheet mask is different from the majority of face masks because it is dry, I have no experience of trying one - actually that is a damn lie because as I type this I realise that I had an Erno Lazlo Sensitive Hydrogel Mask in the Harvey Nichols GWP bag last autumn, a delightfully slippy oozey deeply hydrating sheet mask which I happily applied several times over the Christmas period - see below bottom right

This mask is entirely different, the polar opposite of Erno Lazlo mask. It is made of a thickish fabric which has a stretch. It feels dry, like fabric feels dry, not paper dry, but not damp in anyway, no moisture. So one attaches it to one's face, massages the skin through the mask, and again there is no feeling that one is releasing anything, but I suppose the skin does slightly become attracted to the mask, no sticking mind, just an attraction! And then one sits back and waits, or gets on with whatever one was doing before, or going to do, for 15 minutes.

I don't really know what I was expecting, but my skin felt moisturised, toned, rested, it looked plumper, creases were lessened, it looked rested.

I tried it 3 times in total as advised, maybe I could have got another go out of it but for me it would have been pushing it.l I tried it last thing at night and first thing in the morning, each time after cleansing my face. It was most successful as a pre-makeup mask.

Now it is £18 for a single mask, or £60 for 4 masks, so either way it is £6 per use (single mask) or £5 per use (4 masks) based on getting 3 uses. For me that is a good price. I am happy and will be buying the set. More information from Charlotte Tilbury.

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick "The Queen"

This is a rich, deeply pigmented bright pinky red. Is it magenta? Not really to my mind, it has enough warmth I suppose to save it from slipping into a berry which is what I think of as magenta.

I was delighted to purchase this, as all of the Matte Revolution lipsticks from Charlotte Tilbury, it applies very creamily, straight from the bullet, no drying throughout the day.

As I wore it more, I was reminded of another shade of lipstick that I wear. Tom Ford Cherry Lush and I have swatched the two side by side below.

And they both have that bright pinky redness.

Here it is on my lips below after a couple of hours of wear and a cup of tea or five. A sadly out of focus enlarged photo but at least the colour can be seen.

Currently £23 from Charlotte Tilbury - I think it is only available from the website, I took a punt on the shade and it paid off. There are pictures of it on various skin tones which is a help.

A few empties

These are the empties which I have used up over the last few months. 

Elemis Pro-Collagen Cleansing Balm - I have posted about this previously and this is my second 200mls pot. I like this as a makeup remover, it is a soft gel in the pot which needs to be scooped out, it is not so soft that it melts into an oil like say Emma Hardie Moringa Balm, but neither is it as as solid to get out of the pot as say Sunday Riley Blue Moon Tranquility Balm. It massages into the skin and when water is added it becomes a thicker cream. To my nose the scent of geranium is quite strong and that is probably my only slight criticism. It does the job effectively but it does sting my eyes - not the fault of the product, but the fault of me who can't be bothered to use a separate cleaner for the eye area. Whilst I am unlikely to repurchase again soon, I will repurchase again at some point because of its effectiveness.

Zelens PHA+ Bio-Peel Resurfacing Facial Pads - I have tried many facial exfoliating lotions as can be seen here

And they have all been and indeed are effective, but at the moment my skin needs something gentler but with a bit more ooomph than Clinique Mild Clarifying Lotion. The Zelens Pads are of a gentler weave all together and I think that that allows my general heavy-handedness to not result in sometimes worked over feeling skin, and post use my skin feels comfortable without the immediate need for moisture. I have already re-purchased.

Sunday Riley Bionic Cream - Bloody hell £90 for a moisturiser, but a bit of careful use of codes and Ndulge points reduced the initial outlay somewhat. I bought this because of the reviews on the SpaceNK website, I wanted a nighttime moisturiser and this was what I chose. It has a sweet almost bubblegum scent which is a little over powering for me. The texture is, well bouncy for want of a better word, there really is an elasticity to the texture. It is very moisturising and my skin feels a bit sticky post application but I like that, I don't want my nighttime moisturiser to sink without a trace. As I have said before, I have a bit of a thang for Sunday Riley products and I enjoyed using this very much, it suited my skin through this last winter with occasional supplementation of oil or serum and was a pleasure to use. I have too many other moisturisers waiting in the wings to re-purchase this again in the near future, but it remains on the radar.

MV Organic Skincare Gentle Cleansing Cream - Lovely lovely lovely. This is not a bog standard cream cleanser but a richly textured gently scented comfortable comforting cleanser. The cream is thick, it does emulsify with water, but again throughout the winter it cossetted my skin like nothing else. Am/pm, any time, I absolutely indulged in this cleanser. I have repurchased and am using currently.

MV Organic Skincare Rose Soothing and Protective Moisturiser - I found this perfect for over the winter. It is thick in texture and has an almost mattifying effect on my skin which I did not like to start with and coupled with a rose texture was almost ready to give up, but the texture sinks in gently and it really makes my skin feel comfortable and calm. I used it day and night and it worked equally well whatever time of the day. I am missing it already.

Charlotte Tilbury Magic Eye Rescue Cream - I enjoyed using this eye cream very much. The texture is a light cream, perfect for around my eyes. There is no scent that I can smell and there is enough of a texture to feel that it is doing something. Sadly for my eyes the rot has set a long time ago, and my eye woes are too far gone for creams I fear, but this one left my eyes feeling moisturised and looking a bit less crepy than before applying and I can't ask for more than that. I have too many eye creams to go through to currently buy again, but it is certainly one that I would repurchase in the future.

What I have loved in January 2016

So these are the products which I have really enjoyed using this month.

By Terry Denisiliss Concealer is a concealer which I had wanted to try for a very long time because the reviews I have seen have been glowing, but at £44 the price was a little prohibitive for me until Father Christmas came to my rescue. 

I use this under my eyes and on my upper eyelid, I don't have especially dark circles but I do have discolouration and with crepey eyelids and folds upon folds, any concealer that I apply around my eyes is liable to disappear or crease. This doesn't, at all, ever, I almost cannot believe it, but it works.

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. I am embarrassed to confess that I bought the full size of this product (no mean feat at £52) and then fell out of love with it, and it languished in a drawer unused and unloved for a good six months until I got fed up with trying to make SPF50 sunscreens work as primers and dug it out, and I haven't looked back.

What I like about this product is that it is white, which suits my pale discoloured skin, it that is lessens the red bits, and skims over the hyperpigmentation. I like the texture which is light enough to fill in the open pores without clogging them up. I like that it makes my base product last all day. My only gripe is that the pump on mine does not work especially well, so I have to unscrew the top and spread some from the tube and I tend to use too much.

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide on Eye Pencil in Ink. I don't do eye shadow, or upper eye lid flicks and kicks. My eyelids are well documented awnings and it is a waste of time and energy and an immense disappointment to attempt any form of upper eyelid lining. I do do tightlining and with these pencils by Urban Decay, there is no travel. Ink is a suprisingly bright navy which is rather flattering on my sludgy brown eyes. My Mum, bless her, likes to think they are green but she is my Mum.

Charlotte Tilbury Rock 'N' Kohl Iconic Liquid Eye Pencil in Eye Cheat. It makes me look awake. End of. Unlike most usual "flesh coloured" eye pencils, this is neither too pink or too white, and suprisingly it lasts more than the time it takes to apply it to the other eye. I also like it as a spot concealer.

What I have used up in January 2016

I was going to upload a video but chickened out, maybe next time. So what I have I used up this month?

Starting at the top left Charlotte Tilbury's Magic Cream. I bought this back in May of last year, and no it did not last this long, it took me a little while to get started with it.

The texture is quite thick, I have scrapped the last little bit out on my hand to show below.

There is a slight opalescence to this cream. It applies beautifully to my skin and does not feel thick or claggy or oppressive in any way, it lays beautifully over my serums and feels like a cloud of comfort on my skin. I will buy this again when I have used up my next day moisturiser.

Moving on in a clockwise direction, MV Organic Skin Care Energising 9 Oil Skin Tonic. I have never been particularly sure that I am using this in the correct way, it is I suppose a treatment cleansing oil. I apply it in the evenings after my pm cleanse and then leave it on whilst I get in the shower, and then remove. I use it when my skin is feeling a bit in need of a purge, a good deep down cleanse, but with that little bit of added comfort. This product gives my skin a thorough cleanse with an extra bit of care, effective, but gentle. I have a back up.  

Clarins Gentle Exfoliator Brightening Toner. I was a bit late to the party with this exfoliating toner, I think because I believed that I needed a product with more oomph. But this is lovely, it has a texture more akin to a serum and I suppose at a push one could apply with fingers. I tend to only use exfoliating toners in the evening, but if I was to use one twice a day this would be my am one of choice. I reviewed this in more detail here

Ultrasun Face Anti-Ageing & Anti-Pigmentation Sun Protection SPF50+. This product is a given for me, everyday, rain or shine, this is the first product to go on my face after I have cleansed in the morning. It has lessened the appearance of my hyperpigmentation and I would not be without it. A more detailed review here

Charlotte Tilbury Eye Magic Rescue

This is the new eye cream from Charlotte Tilbury, I had seen that it was out before Christmas and having had somewhat unexpected success with her Magic Cream, I decided to try a sample, which turned into two samples and then I had to purchase the full size, it was that good.

I am a bit of a sucker for an eye cream, I think partly it is because I have quite low expectations in that I was virtually born with awnings for eyelids and nothing other than surgery will improve that, so I enjoy eye creams safe in the knowledge that they are not going to change my eye area hugely. 

But I do have some pre-requisites. I want a product that doesn't have a scent, I want a texture which allows for some massage, and I want it to not sink without a trace, but then neither do I want something which sits around for ages, and causes my eyeliner to migrate down my cheeks.

And this ticks all the boxes for me. It has a mild scent of nothing very much, inoffensive. But it is the texture which did it for me. It has a beautiful slightly sticky gel cream, not sticky in a cheap old lipgloss way, but more that it has a substance, a presence, there is something to work with, a bit like a liqui-cream texture, there is something serumy, and a little bit oily but again in a good way that affords some decent massage around the eye to get the product in and enable a bit of puffiness reduction.

What I have found is that after use, my under eye area especially feels smoother, as if there has been some resurfacing, and although I feel a bit as if it is wishful thinking because I have only been using the product for three weeks, I am sure that the milia in my eye area have reduced, and that is no bad thing.

£40 for 15mls jar.

Charlotte Tilbury Multi-Miracle Glow Cleanser

It was my birthday last week, it was a wet rather grim day and I wanted to purchase something glamorous and indulgent and this was the result.

I need a new cleanser like a hole in the head but I wanted something to cheer and this has been a joy to use.

The jar is large, 100mls worth and chunky if not particularly heavy, being thick plastic rather than glass. The rose gold jar with deep chocolate font is pleasing.

The product is a light fluffy gel balm. It has a gentle scent, not really roses to me, more herbally and maybe a bit powdery, which I like. To me it is comforting and calming and pleasurable, a scent that makes me want to use it.

It is a definite gel when applied initially, but it becomes an oil but not a drippy thin oil, more of an ever so slightly warming thicker oil.There is a good amount of slip to allow enough of a massage. 

I can use it around my eyes and it does remove all of my makeup and whilst it is a dry hands dry face application, it does emulsify with water.

I initially thought that I would use it as a second pm cleanse but to be honest I have enjoyed using it so much that I use it as a first, and a second cleanse and tend to leave it on after the second cleanse whilst I get in the shower in the evening and then remove.

I like the fact that water is not the first ingredient.

This is currently £45 for a 100mls jar.