As you will have seen from my haul a few days ago, I finally popped my Lush cherry with one of their face masks. Like I've said previously, normally I avoid Lush stores like the plague due to their overpowering scent, but being a smaller store the one in Harrogate wasn't nearly as potent so I ventured in. For this post I wanted to write something of the actual experience of buying the mask, as the customer service was unlike any other shop I've been in, so this review is a bit different to usual!

As soon as me and Martin walked in we were greeted by a friendly, cheery guy who asked us how we were. I asked if they did any face masks for oily skin and straight away he said "Brazened Honey". Straight away, he proceeded to get some of the pre-mixed sample from an iced bowl, along with a cleansing water and a moisturiser (I'm a bad blogger, I can't even remember what they were!). Cleansing my hand first, he explained the properties of this particular face mask and how even though it contained oil, it worked wonders for oily skin. If I had been left to my own devices, this was probably the last one I would have picked so I was curious to see if it worked well! He applied the mask onto the back of my hand, telling me the ingredients and generally having a bit of a laugh and a banter, which I love! There's nothing I hate more than sales assistants not giving two hoots about their customers, but this guy seemed to genuinely care about the products and gave good customer service.


After letting the mask work its magic, he gently washed it off my hand and applied the moisturiser. He told me to compare the hand that had the mask applied to the one that hadn't, and I had to admit that I could see and feel a difference. It felt soft and very smooth, and appeared to be brighter and more uniform in tone. At this point I was sold, and after having a little browse of the other products on display I purchased the face mask. The whole experience probably lasted no more than 15 minutes, which suited me down to the ground and I didn't feel rushed at all. The guy advised me that the mask should be kept in the fridge, and used within three weeks to see the maximum benefits. He also told me that I should get 5-6 uses out of the seemingly small pot, that I didn't quite believe at first. However, I have used it twice now (quite generously I might add) and I still have a good two thirds of the tub left, which is impressive!


Onto the mask itself! The first thing I must mention is the scent... it obviously smells strongly of honey, but there's a definite herbal quality to the scent too. The mask is extremely thick and very gritty, due to the ground almonds. These do a wonderful job of exfoliating the dry patches on my skin, leaving the honey to work its moisturising magic. I leave this on for about 10-15 minutes as directed, and quickly it dries to a hard consistency and it's difficult to move your face! I can really feel it working, especially because it is applied cold and warms on the skin. I then buff it off with lots of warm water and a flannel and pat dry. Now, I have to say for my oily problem areas I'm afraid this mask fell short, which was disappointing; it seemed to make little difference to those areas. But it did leave my skin feeling polished and smooth, with reduced redness and dry patches exfoliated away, which has made me a big fan of this mask. If I can make it into the Leeds store without feeling unwell I will be buying this face mask again!

Final verdict: A refreshing face mask that, when working out the cost-per-use, works out to be surprisingly good value at just £1. If your skin is feeling tired and sluggish after the winter, this is the perfect little pick-me-up treat it needs!

Brazened Honey Fresh Face Mask is available from Lush for £5.95.