Fruity Face Masks| A Montagne Jeunesse Review

 

A face mask always brightens up my day. I don’t know about you but as soon as I put a face mask on I am instantly relaxed, it may be because you can’t really move around too much while you are wearing one. Whether it is or it isn’t, those ten minute when my skin is being cleaned and nourished are special to me. So whenever Montagne Jeunesee contact me to ask whether I would like to trial their new face masks I always say yes. Plus a nice soothing or refreshing facemask is perfect for rejuvenating your skin after those late nights and too many glasses of champagne you’ve probably consumed over the past week!

Montagne Jeunesse kindly sent me three masks to try from their new Exotic Fruits Range, one mud mask and two peel off masks. I am sure you have heard of Montagne Jeunesse before, many of you, like me will have grown up using their face masks with your mum or with your friends during sleep overs. If you haven’t I will give you a little information. They are an animal friendly company based in the UK which makes a range of natural skin care products. Their products are all suitable for vegetables and  use natural ingredients. I think they are very reasonably priced at around £1, this range above are sold for £1.29 from Boots, Asda and their website- www.motagnejeunesse.com. I was really surprised to learn that they sell 30,000 face mask every day in the UK! Now that’s impressive!

Anyways onto the products and review. Their Exotic Fruit collection is is made from a range of unusual natural skin care ingredients, which makes them all very fruity! 

Paw Paw Peel Off Mask

They say- “Picked from the tropics of South America the PawPaw aka Papaya (known as “ Fruit of Angels”) and Noni Fruit naturally help protect. This duo work harmoniously, revealing clean sensational skin, sent from the Heavens.”

I say- “This mask was very very sticky when applying, so it went on quite thick. Despite how thick it went on it dried in a good amount of time (around 10 minutes) and when drying there was no discomfort like there is sometimes. The mask came off very easily, almost in one piece, and I was left with amazingly soft skin!! I tried to take a picture of how glowing it was, but the picture did no justice to how great my skin looked. It definitely took away my dead pores and left with with pretty good pores!”

Dragon Fruit Sauna Mask

They say-“For a flaming good clean, ablaze with freshly crushed Dragon Fruit from the depths of central America and pulped Kiwi Fruit, this warming wonder reaches into pores removing trapped oil and dirt… a fiery feast for smooth, clean skin.”

I say-“Again this mask was very very sticky, and very fruity smelling, but the smell was amazing! This mask definitely warmed up! It heated to a noticeable yet comfortable temperature and dried in good time. Again I was left with soft, clean and glowing skin. However I don’t think this is my favourite sauna mask, there are others in the Montagne Jeunesse range I prefer, such as the Red Hot Earth Sauna Masque.”

 Prickly Pear Peel Off Mask

They say-“Native to the Western Hemisphere, Prickly Pear helps protect skin from the Earth’s daily assaults whilst Mangosteen has powerful free scavengers (antioxidants)- How’s that for a boost?”

I say-“Again this mask is super sticky! But the results are amazing, very similar to the Paw Paw Peel Off mask, my skin was left very smooth, soft and clean. I used it after my night out in Manchester, and it definitely brightened up my dull, hungover skin, and I went to work on Monday looking fresh (just a little tired!)”

Overall, as always, I was very impressed with the results. My skin looked amazing after each mask and the product did as it said it would! The only downside and negative comment I can make is that the Exotic Fruits range as fruity as it is, isn’t very festive. It would of been great to see a new range released that reflexed my favourite season. Something rich, chocolaty and warming!

What do you think of Montagne Jeunesse products? Are you a fan? Have you seen or tried any great Christmassy face masks that are fitting for the season?

Natural Science For Your Skin| Monu Skincare Review

 

Monu Skincare is a new brand to me, having not heard of them before they contacted me asking if I would like to review their products. As a girl who does struggle with my skin I obviously jumped at the chance to try a new skincare regime. I was asked about my skin type and any issues I have with my skin, and then sent the products that would best suit my skin type and help offer the results I needed. I received a lovely package in the post; the products in a handy wash bag and an informative brochure.

I received the Line Smoothing Beauty Bag, retailing at £29.95, which is designed for normal or combination skin, or those with fine lines, first lines and expression line. I agree I have combination skin, however I’m not sure on the fine lines! I seem to have been given quite a lot of products for fine and first lines recently and I’m starting to get a little paranoid! I must be looking older than my 23 years! Anyways enough about me and onto the review.

The Company

In case you are new to the brand, like me, I will give them a little introduction. Monu believe in quality, purity and authenticity; their products being designed to bring out the best in the user, using only the best of nature. They use only pure, natural ingredients such as plants, herbs, minerals and essential oils. No damaging chemicals, artificial perfumes or synthetic colours, and definitely no testing on animals!

The Products

• Active Cleanser and Toner

Monu- “This milky cleanser and refreshing toner, leave skin thoroughly cleansed, balanced, toned and comfortable.”

I completely agree, the cleanser was gorgeous, very creamy and it applied like a dream. When rubbing into your skin it was both soft and refreshing, and my makeup was completely removed after using the cleanser twice and the toner once. The Witch Hazel in the toner really helped reduce the size of my pore over the period of use.

• Skin Perfector

Monu- “An award winning weightless cream that instantly soothes imperfections and enhances natural radiance. Its soft focus technology has an instant smoothing effect, giving your skin a flawless, fresh and incredibly smooth complexion”

This has to be one of my favourite products in a long time! I used it as a day cream; it sunk into my skin well and gave a great based for my makeup. It is described as being a BB cream but it doesn’t have any colour in it, so I would say it is more of a primer. My skin was left as smooth as a baby's bum and looking fresh, glowing and healthy.

• Night Renewal Complex

Monu- “A rich complex of actives to help smooth and frim the skin whilst you sleep, leaving you with rejuvenated and renewed skin”

I love this night cream! It was very rich and creamy, but not heavy and “too rich” like I find many to be. It did not leave a residue on my skin and was absorbed quite quickly, but not too quickly, so I knew it was still working miracles.

• Warming Aromatic Mask

Monu- “ The velvety smooth mask slightly warms on application to renew and invigorate the complexion”

Unfortunately I was not overly impressed with this product, it did warm slightly, not enough for my liking and left my skin clean. However I prefer other mud mask products on the market. (I am quite fussy with my facemasks)

• Eye Cool Gel

Monu- “The refreshing gel instantly revives and tones tired eyes, reduces puffiness and dark circles”

Again I have to agree with Monu, this product did deliver results. My puffy morning eyes soon disappeared after applying this gel. However I prefer eye creams that are applied with a metal ball, as this helps to wake me up!

• Extra Freebie! Monu Micro Exfoliant

Monu- “ Dual-action microdermabrasion. This powerful treatment delivers instantly radiant skin, refines skin texture and reduces the appearance of fine line and pores.”

Oh my word! Did some one replace my skin with someone else's! I have never tried microdermabrasion products before but I would definitely purchase this product! This exfoliant had the tiniest little beads that really got into every corner of your nose; great for those blackheads! Even better these tiny beads did not break up they were persistent little things, meaning you could give your skin a good scrub. Once the product was washed off I was left with the smoothest skin that was glowing… it was like I had new skin, no word of a lie! I was (as you can tell) made up with this product. Thank you Monu!

 

Overall I greatly enjoyed these products and definitely saw amazing results. I have used them for around 2 months now, so they have definitely lasted well, so they were great value for money! Plus I believe I have used them for an adequate amount of time to give an honest and realistic review. Overall my skin has been left incredibly soft, smooth and glowing. If I did have fine lines before there is little evidence of it now! The whole skin care regime that I developed when using these products has been an absolute treat, normally I use face wipes! However I have definitely been converted! My face actually feels clean and refreshed after going through the regime twice daily. The only negative to these products is that when first using them they have quite a strong smell, it is a floral smell so not pungent, its just a little over powering at first. Secondly as much as I love the sleek minimalistic packaging, the writing on the back of the bottles was very small and in a pale colour so it made reading it quite difficult.

Have you heard of Monu Skincare before? Have you tried any of their products? Which would you recommend?

Soap and Glory| No Clogs Allowed Super Self Heating Deep Pore Detox Mask| Review

 

My regular readers and followers will know that I am a Soap and glory fiend! I love this brand, although I have not tried every single product in their range I have ambitions to do so. The newest products to my ever growing collection is the ‘No Clogs Allowed Detox Mask’, and the ‘Greatest Scrub of All’, both are products I have heard many good things about, and have been longing after for some time. I finally took the plunge last weekend and bought them both as Soap and Glory products were on offer for Buy One Get One Half Price, and never being one to pass on a bargain they soon appeared in my basket.

As the title suggest I am firstly going to review the ‘No Clogs Allowed Detox Mask’. I have used the mask three times now, and believe this is long enough to give you a summery of my thoughts on the product and its results.

Their opinion

Soap and Glory claim that the the mask is a an intensive-action pore-refining facial peel. Here is what they have to say about the product-

“A super self-heating 5 minute deep pore detox face mask with a free skin smoothing sponge. This is a deep cleansing treatment, ideal for greasy and blackhead prone skin.”

My opinion

The product has the consistency of a mud mask, but is not as thick as traditional ones. It comes out of the tube with ease, and when rubbed into my skin heats up with immediate effect. At first the mask feels a little grainy, but these grains soon rub out when you scrub the mask into your skin. It leaves a thin layer upon the surface of your skin and doesn’t take too long to dry. When drying the heating sensation soon levels off, and there is no tingly sensation that there is with some masks. When drying it doesn’t dry solid and crack like other mud masks.

For removal you are provided with a ‘skin smoothing sponge’. Although it is handy for removal I can’t say it leaves my skin anymore smooth than when I don’t use it. The mask cleans off easily, due to the fact only a thing layer is needed for application.

The end result is very good. My skin glows, looks very healthy and feels a lot smoother, and my blemishes and blackheads appearance are reduced. I feel like my skin is left completely clean with no dryness or sensitivity that I often suffer with after using mud masks. 

The only downsides to this product for myself are that firstly, I do not experience the blue Smurf face effect that is meant to happen when apply the mask. My face stayed white, as you can see from the pictures. Secondly, although I believe my pores appearance has reduced by using this mask, my blackheads have not reduced dramatically. This is one of the main reasons I bought this product, as I am always looking for a miracle product for reducing blackheads. I will continue to use this mask as I do love it regardless of this. I hope that in time my blackheads do disappear as it suggests on the tube, so watch this space as I will keep you updated with my progress.

Which Soap and Glory products are your favourite? Any you recommend for my collection? Or do you have any miracle cure for blackheads that you can recommend?

Burning a hole in my pocket| Haul

Well as the title suggest, I have been hauling my bum off recently, once while I was in Spain and the another last weekend, and lets just say I don’t really have the funds to be shopping like a crazy person. However as always, that never stops me! I have thankfully paid my overheads, so there will be no debt collectors on my doorstep, however I should be saving, not spending my money, but what is a girl to do. The items I have bought are needed… not urgently but still needed, so I’m not beating myself up too much.

My first haul was when I was in Spain on holiday. There was a few sales going on, and as I needed clothes for work I indulged and bought the blazer and two t-shirts above. Like many others I am obsessed with blazers, I have quite a little collection going on, and it’s still growing. I love how versatile they are, and how they instantly smarten up any outfit. This one is from Pull and Bear, which I’m not sure we have in the UK. It’s very high-street; key new styles mixed with essentials all at reasonable prices. The blazer was only 20 Euros, so a bargain really. My T-shirts like the blazer are bargains as well. They are both from Zara where there was a huge sale going on, which was more like a jumble sale; picture girls grabbing anything, clothes thrown everywhere, and girls trying things on in the middle of the shop. I got both t-shirts for 8 euros, and they should of been 45 euros collectively, so I was pretty pleased with that.

My second haul is from last Saturday, I only went into town for my bridesmaid dress fitting and to pick up a few things, but ended up with this lot and £120 down. Again, it is stuff I need, but maybe I shouldn’t of bought it all at once. I got the two bags from Tkmaxx, the large teal one is now my new work bag. I had been searching for one that was large enough for all my lunch and paperwork, as well as all the other crap I carry around, that was in a design I loved and would last me a while. This one turned out to be the winner, it’s teal coloured leather, has many pockets and compartments, zip fastening, and only cost me £60. The second more interesting bag is the clutch bag I am going to wear for my mums wedding. I needed a silver glittery one to match my shoes which I blogged about here, with it being only £15 I picked this one. The perfume again is from Tkmaxx, but thankfully my boyfriend was being a star and treated me. Overall I was pretty impressed with Tkmaxx, its not normally a place I shop, but it’s one of the few shops we have in Kendal so I don’t have much choice but to try it now.

The beauty products, are all form Boots, and I’m pleased to say they were discounted or on offer. However it seems that doesn’t stop me spend any less money, I just end up buying more! The Maybelline products were my best bargain as they had an offer on where all Maybelline products were 2 for £10, so I pretty much got an item free! I’ve never come across such a good offer before, and was hugely impressed. The 

Soap and Glory products are some that I have wanted to try for a while, and as it was buy one get one half price I indulged and added to my huge Soap and Glory collection at home. The Rimmel products were both reduced, the powder was just needed, and the primer is something I have been wanting to try. I have been struggling with my foundation recently; it hits about 3 o clock in the afternoon and my makeup has slid right off my face, so I’m going to try using a primer and see if it will help make my make up last at least till the end of the working day. I started with a cheap one, and if this doesn't work will venture into more expensive territory, but expect a review in a few weeks.

Have you been indulging recently? Did you take advantage of the Maybelline offer? Also if anyone has any primers they recommend let me know!

Montagne Jeunesse Peel-Off Masque Review

Today is suppose to be another productive dissertation writing day, however I'm not really feeling inspired or motivated, so for the few hours I have before work I have decided to catch up on my blogs, watch a few movies and beautify myself. So if you had read one of my previous posts, I had picked up a bumper pack of Montagne Jeunesse face masks and had previously reviewed a fruit smoothie deep cleaning mask. Today I am reviewing a peel-off mask.

The product is a anti-stress cucumber peel-off masque. The product claims to gently peel away dead skin. "You will find a fresher face when you peel away our purifying mask: the ideal gentle peel specially formulated for problem and t-zone skin. It removes impurities and dead cells whilst cleaning and reviving the skin." 

The Good

• Dries quite quickly
• Peels off easily
• Did leave my skin soft and smooth afterwards

The Bad

• Very sticky to apply
• In my opinion it smells like washing up liquid
• The smell did not have the anti-stress qualities advertised.
• As it is very thick, there does not seem to be as much product as the other clay masks, so there is only one application per sachet. 

Overall- 3/5

My personal opinion is that these peel off masks are not as effective as clay or mud masks. I do not feel or see that they clean and purify as effectively. I'm, not saying this is a bad product, it is just not my favourite and I will not be purchasing peel-off masks in the future.

What is you opinion on peel-off masks? Do you find them effective? 

Pamper Night| Montagne Jeunesse Smoothie Face mask review

Using an entire sachet- lots of product!

Last night, I took my usual late night trip to Asda to get my tea, and was very excited to see they currently have a load of beauty and toiletry items on special offer.  I didn't get too much, but did buy a special bumper pack of face-masks, which I haven't seen been sold like this anywhere else. 

It was a bumper pack of Montagne Jeunesse sachets, there were two boxes on offer. A box filled with 5 sachets of chocolate treatments, for face, hair and body, and the pack I chose, a 5 pack of face-masks.The boxes are normally sold at £5 ish, however they were on offer for I think £3.

So last night I decided have a mini pamper and chose the Crushed Raspberry Fruit Smoothie, Deep Pore Cleaning face-mask. The product is described as; 

"Our delicious nutritious smoothie mix of raspberries, peach, mango, apricot and pomegranate isn't a drink but it is bound to leave you in a smiley mood- with fresher, cleansed  and softer skin' 

The Good

• Left my skin incredibly smooth.
• Loads of product, so enough for two treatments.
• Animal friendly. Quote- "We're vegetarian and animals are our friends-that's why we don't bash bunnies or add bits of animal!"
• A cheap product
• The product had a rich and creamy texture.

The Bad

• Nothing really, I suppose the fact that there is too much product can be wasteful.

Over all- 5/5- Its a super product and I have to agree with everything the product claims to be. It smelt absolutely gorgeous, good enough to eat (but don't.) I have used these products over the years, but  I'm still looking forward to using the other four products.