Meeting Anna and Lily, of ViviannaDoesMakeup and LilyPebbles, last month at #BeautyChatLIVE was one of those 'pinch me I'm dreaming' moments. The event was such a great evening of girly chit-chat paired with champagne and make-up purchases, and to top it all off we were given humungous goodie bags filled to the brim with high-end indulgences. You can only imagine my face when I realised the 'Oskia' Renaissance Mask had made the cut. I was practically bouncing off the walls and hardly waited any time at all before slapping it on my face.
You see, it's been impossible to avoid the skincare giant 'Oskia' on the blogosphere of late. All my favourite names keep mentioning their marvellous Cleansing Gel and Renaissance Mask duo. But averaging at around £50 each, this skincare range was a little out of my reach. So I was understandably more than a little excited to finally give the much-blogged-about Renaissance Mask a go. Sadly, I've been left pretty underwhelmed.
I wanted so much to love this product. I reapplied it numerous times, I kept trying to fall in love with it like the other beauty blogger giants (remember when I said I was immune to blogger's hype? Ha!). After every use, I kept waiting for that eureka moment. It just never happened.
To be fair, I'm very keen on my exfoliating face masks - I like the feeling of freshly clean, reinvigorated skin. A face mask is a Sunday night routine for me, I love a bit of end-of-week pampering and starting the week with a renewed complexion. The Renaissance Mask is slightly different in that it's supposed to 'brighten' the complexion and leave skin looking 'healthy and illuminated'. It does claim to 'cleanse and clear congested pores' but that seems like a ideal byproduct instead of the mask's primary aim.
Perhaps it was all the hype that surrounded this product but I really did have sky-high expectations. For £50 a pot and its very sleek, sophisticated packaging, I thought it'd perform miracles. Compared to other masks, it's very effortless and quick - all you do is apply a thin layer over the face, watch the product turn white, and remove after twenty minutes. I really liked that there was hardly any mess involved. Other products tend to get all over my sink and stain my towels an unattractive shade of green.
Although the Renaissance Mask is supposedly scented with Rose and Chamomile, to me it just smelt unpleasantly of soap - but maybe that's just my unsophisticated taste talking. Once the product settles and the enzymes supposedly start working their magic, the mask turns white and becomes very greasy. Just looking at the photo above, you can tell that it's quite an oily product. I always like to do face masks in the evening so it's only when I wake up the next morning that I notice that my skin has a new greasy sheen to it. The mask leaves a kind of film which is supposed to brighten the complexion but just leaves me looking horribly oily. I have to cleanse twice the morning after just to get rid of the sheen.
After several failed attempts, I've been forced to admit defeat. Me and the 'Oskia' Renaissance Mask were never meant to be. I've come to the conclusion that this product really isn't aimed at me - I have young, more temperamental, combination skin - whereas I could see it working well for mature skin types. I've thoughtfully donated it to my beauty-loving mother so I'll be interested to see what she makes of it. You win some, you lose some. At least I'm £50 better off for it. LOL jk I'm planning a raid of the Selfridges 'Charlotte Tilbury' counter the minute I'm back in London.
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