What's a good face mask for dried-out winter skin?

While face masks are usually a bathroom cupboard staple of those who suffer from problem skin, they're often overlooked by those with normal or dry skin, and yet they offer an all-round solution to tired, dehydrated faces at this time of the year.
 
Make the application of one a part of your weekly beauty routine (we like to apply ours on a Sunday night while watching the Strictly Come Dancing results show), and not only will your skin thank you for it, but it should provide a great weekly de-stress technique, too.
 
When hunting for your face mask, look for soothing ingredients, a pampering scent and a creamy formula. With dry skin, it's best to choose one which doesn't set hard on the face like traditional face masks, but one which is either gradually absorbed into the skin, or can be gently removed with a warm face cloth.
 
Favourites on our list include Lancôme Hydra Intense Mask, £28.50, which has a cooling gel formula and, thanks to its Imperata Cylindrica extract (that's a sub-tropical plant with excellent drought-resistant powers if you're not up on your botany), will help trap water in the skin's cells for excellent 'plumping' properties.
 
If you suffer from ruddy cheeks or rosacea at this time of year, Chantecaille Jasmin and Lily Healing Mask, £53, is a real treat, albeit a pricy one. Like the Lancôme option, it will help cool the skin but is ultra-gentle for very sensitive skin conditions.
 
Also at the higher end of the price range, but well worth the extra pennies, are SKII's Facial Treatment Masks, £44.04. Sold in packs of six, each cotton mask delivers a triple whammy of SKII's famous pitera extract, which is perfect for targeting fine lines and wrinkles. (No TV watching with this one, we're afraid, as you need to lie back for the 20 minutes it takes to work, or you'll be in danger of it slipping off.)
 
Of course, you don't have to spend fifty pounds for a good mask. The 'steal' version of the SKII 'spree' is Olay's Total Effect Mask, which works in the same way - with a concentrated boost of moisturising ingredients - but comes in at a more reasonable £16.99 for seven masks.
 
Finally, if you're feeling really skint or just short of time, Montagne Jeunesse Crystal masque costs just 97p per sachet and helps skin feels soft and smooth after just five minutes.

Tuesday 2 December 2008

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