Hi all!
I'm sure you've seen and heard lots about REN skincare recently. Their masks are a big favourite with bloggers and are increasingly popular due to their ethic on producing products without using any chemical nasties (more on that later).
My first purchase from REN was this Glycolactic Face Mask.
I'd seen rave reviews from others on how well it worked on brightening skin tone and evening out blemishes.
I already owned cleansing masks and hydrating masks so this was my next on the never ending wish list ;)
My skin had started to clear up (finally!) so I rushed to John Lewis and snapped this up over Christmas time when my spending was already out of control so another mask hardly made a difference.
I love REN's simple packaging, I'm not one for busy prints and multiple colours and I love that the range seems to be colour coded.
Orange signifies the Radiance range, and there are plenty of others that I'm sure I will be testing out soon which you can find here.
You can also find out more about REN as a company and read about their ethos into 'Clean Skincare' on this link.
It's an interesting read that doesn't waffle on like others. I had no idea that the company started in 2000, it's come such a long way since then and is now found in 50 countries all over the world.
Copied straight from the site:
REN is free from synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, petrolatum, sulfate detergents, synthetic colours, animal ingredients and parabens. In addition, REN products do not contain potential irritants including: glycols and diglycols (such as propylene glycol), PEG's, PPGs, urea, D.E.A, T.E.A, PABA and other synthetic sunscreens, aliphatic alcohols/hydrocarbons, phthalates, fumarates, amines, alkanolamines, synthetic AHAs/BHAs, polyacrylamide, metacrylate, elastomer, poloxamer, styrene, vinyl, polyquaternium, synthetic chelating agents, nylon, nitriles, nitrates, nitrosamine releasers, bromates, fluor, aluminum and alumina et al.
This is an absolutely massive list! And very impressive when you compare to other brands available to purchase on the same scale which use quite a few chemicals in their products.
Both me and M always choose 'free from' products where we can.
So back to the mask, it's basically a cross between marmalade and orange juice in smell and consistency.
I'd heard about it being like marmalade but its not as thick as that, definitely mix with orange juice and then that's about right!
I used to hate oranges, but since Christmas I've become obsessed and now I eat one almost every day. The smell now reminds me of Christmas so every time I eat one it takes me back to that and it's the same with this.
I love the smell of oranges now so when I put this mask on it always puts me in a good mood on smell alone.
REN claim that this mask:
- Removes dead skin cells to renew the complexion
- Skin looks brighter, healthier, more radiant
- Helps reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
- Combats congestion, blackheads and blemishes
This mask has also won an award from InStyle for a Best Beauty Buy in 2008.
I follow the instructions above and slap it onto my face and neck. Make sure you avoid the eyes though as this is not something you want to get in them!
After 10 minutes or so I then wash it off using the muslin cloth that comes with the mask.
I find that even after having this on for 10 minutes my skin feels brighter and more uniform. I feel like my skin is cleaner and has had the top layer of cells removed to let newer ones shine through. It does tingle a little whilst it's on but nothing too bad and I find that it's worth the perseverance. It sort of tickles my skin and makes me want to scratch it more than anything else so I find it's a case of sitting on my hands to stop myself!
I also love that the pump has a cap of its own aside from the lid, this helps so much with stopping it from drying out which is a bonus.
I would 100% recommend anyone who is looking for brighter skin to purchase this. REN is a great brand whose products seem to do what they claim at relatively affordable prices, and also without containing any other chemical nasties.
Have you used REN products before? What's your favourite type of mask?
Do you use brightening products?
L xxx
