If 2015 was the year I spent an indecent amount on jumpsuits and lipstick, then 2016 looks set to be the year where I spend an indecent amount of money on my face. This is partly due to the dual horrors of ageing (hello dark circles under my eyes!) and vanity (hello me caring too much about dark circles under my eyes!) and partly because my skin is an eczema battleground. I feel like I’ve spent far too much time over the past few months forlornly wandering around Space NK and whispering ‘please fix my face’ at bemused beauty assistants.
I’ve tried a lot of things in my quest to cure my irritated skin without having to constantly resort to steroids (so much so that I’ve been forced to buy a new cupboard for my bathroom to store all my products.) But I think I may have finally found facegoop nirvana with Glossier.
Glossier is the beauty brand created by the people behind the luxe beauty blog Into The Gloss. (I’m addicted to their ‘The Top Shelf’ column where they go poking around people’s bathrooms as I am incredibly nosy and love reading about the beauty routines of those who have more money and time than me.) They’re a bit of a cult brand in the USA and have been getting rave reviews for their make-up, particularly their eyebrow pomade, Boy Brow.
Unfortunately, they don’t currently ship to the UK but I managed to find a rather lovely person on Twitter who was happy to send some of their stuff over to me. I opted for three products – the Mega Greens Galaxy Pack and Moisturising Moon Mask which are recommended to be used in tandem and the aforementioned Boy Brow (which will be reviewed in a later post.)
Made up of leafy greens, ‘superfruit antioxidants’ and white kaolin clay, the Mega Greens Galaxy Pack is described as being a ‘juice cleanse for your face.’ As someone who eschews green juices, cleanses and green juice cleanses, you could forgive me for being slightly wary. (And don’t get me started on the whole ‘detoxification’ language thrown around on their website.) However, in the interests of research, I slathered a large amount of it onto my face and set my timer for 20 minutes waiting for it to do its work.
I’d decided to err on the side of caution as I’ve found a lot of clay face masks to be quite drying, but I could probably have gone thicker with the application here as I did find that quite a bit of this sunk into my face. However, I absolutely loved how this felt on my skin – it was cleansing and nourishing without that awful tight cracking feeling you can get with other clay face masks. When I washed it off, my skin definitely felt firmer, bouncier and brighter.
Glossier recommend that you use their Moisturising Moon Mask as a ‘chaser’ to the Mega Greens Galaxy Pack. As you may have guessed, this mask promises moisture – and lots of it. Filled with almond oil, honey and aloe to soothe and liquorice root and lemon extract to brighten, the blurb for this makes it sound like the face mask equivalent of one of those soothing whale song apps.
The texture of this is much lighter and – for want of a better word – gloopier than the greens mask. It reminded me of my trusty Body Shop Aloe Soothing Rescue Mask which I’ve been using as an overnight treatment to help calm and soothe the blotchy red eczema patches I tend to find under my eyes and on my cheeks. It did the job though. I left it on for the recommended 20 minutes and when I washed it off, my skin looked less aggravated and blotchy. Plus, all the red patches had settled down. My face also looked – and felt – incredible. Sadly, I can’t remember the last time I used a face mask which left my skin looking so dewy and fresh.
I’m guilty of being incredibly aware of my appearance, particularly my face. Having eczema, particularly in such a visible place, makes me feel incredibly self conscious. While I can – and do – go to great lengths to cover it up, anything which can help calm the raging, itchy fires bubbling away underneath my epidermis will always get a thumbs up from me. I’d definitely recommend Glossier’s skincare products if you’re suffering from dull or blotchy skin, or if you just need an excuse to pamper yourself with some really nice smelling stuff for an hour or so. The two masks and ‘Boy Brow’ cost me $60 altogether (which is roughly £40) without shipping. While it’s not cheap, I’d definitely recommend asking a kind transatlantic person to nab some for you if they can. Also, each package comes with free stickers. Who doesn’t love stickers?
Have you tried Glossier’s products yet? What were your thoughts? Let me know in the comments!
Kitkeen 