I’m something of a skincare connoisseur. I’ve tried a lot (like, a LOT) and I stick
with what I like and what works. But I’ve
changed up my skincare infinite times in the last several years, because even
if I find something that I like well enough, if I don’t LOVE it then I’m always
on the look for something bigger and better and more effective for my own
skincare woes.
Said woes are myriad, but my
primary concern has plagued me since my preteen days when hormones crept up and an effortlessly perfect and poreless complexion became a thing of the past. Dryness, coupled with frequent dehydration. What this means for my complexion is a rough,
dry, almost bumpy texture and flakiness if I don’t make sure to stay on top of
things. And forget trying to put makeup
on top of that; it just doesn't work.
When I was younger, I swore by
that old St Ives Apricot Scrub, and in all honesty it probably didn’t do my face
any favours. Then when I eventually
swore off of it in my early twenties, I discovered my holy grail facial scrub
at MAC – Microfine Refinisher, which was discontinued a few years later and
frankly it was devastating.
Because basically what I always
felt like I needed was the equivalent of a belt sander for my face, to remove
the layers of dead and flaky skin that build up and leave the baby soft skin underneath
on show. And that’s essentially what I
was getting in the physical exfoliants I had been using back then – super fine
scrubs that would leave my skin red raw.
After the MAC scrub was discontinued, I spent a very long time trying to
find an exfoliant that would give me what I wanted, that raw and sensitive
lobster realness. Only ExfoliKate gave me that feeling I was after, but it was
way too pricey to justify for a small tube of the stuff (not to mention it was
hard to get a hold of here in the UK at the time).
Of course that was several
years ago and now I find myself older and, arguably, wiser. Now I know that many physical exfoliants can
be damaging, both to the skin and complexion but also to the environment as
they’re full of non-biogradeable tiny plastic beads which are mistaken for fish
eggs and eaten by aquatic life.
Which brings me to the point
of this post.
LookFantastic £37.50 | Peter Thomas Roth $60.00
While on a brief and tumultuous
trip to Paris with my best friend (which is in itself a long story, maybe I’ll
write about it another time) we happened across a tiny little Sephora right
across from the Starbucks where we were eating lunch. And while there, I finally made a very pricey
purchase I had been thinking about for a while: Peter Thomas Roth’s Pumpkin Enzyme
Mask.
And let me tell you; it’s
almost four years later and I still love this stuff. I’ve repurchased it in
spite of the steep price point (generally in the region of £40+). Frankly it sounds a lot but I justify buying
this because in practice it’s not that expensive in the long run – a 150ml tub
of this can last me a year easily, using it 1-3 times a month.
It’s actually changed the way
I think about skin care because prior to using this mask, I was incredibly
dubious about chemical exfoliation vs physical exfoliation. I always felt like I NEEDED a harsh scrub to
literally wear away the entire outer layer or three of my face. But these days I don’t really use physical exfoliators
anymore. And if I do, it’s maybe once or
twice a year. However I’m a firm
believer in chemical exfoliants now - and have a couple others in my arsenal
that I’ll review here in another post.
The thing I love about about the
Pumpkin Enzyme Mask is that it’s potent – it contains pumpkin enzyme, AHA, and aluminium
oxide crystals to completely smooth and resurface your complexion. The aluminium oxide crystals are a physical
exfoliant, but in truth I don’t find myself scrubbing this into my skin like I would
with my old face scrubs. Instead, I
apply it to my face in a thin later, and only rub at it when I’m washing it off
(usually with a muslin cloth).
When you apply, it tingles and
kind of stings a little bit sometimes, but if I’m totally honest I enjoy the
sensation. It *feels* like it’s working,
I don’t know how else to explain it. But
I would absolutely say to patch test this if you were wanting to give it a try,
because I’m not sure how pleasant it would feel on really sensitive skin. I have a tolerance to the tingling sensation
and I like it, but not everybody will.
And ultimately, for me at
least, this is very effective and gives me the results I want; a softer, smoother,
brighter skin texture. After a serum or
two and a moisturiser, my skin really does feel like it’s brand new. It feels overall much nicer and smoother than
before, and if I do wear makeup in the following days, sits so much better afterwards. Plus it’s a joy to use because the mask
itself smells like spiced pumpkin, which I absolutely adore.
All in all I would highly
recommend this mask to anyone who has hardy enough skin to withstand the
stinging sensation from the pumpkin enzyme and AHA combo. I definitely urge you to shop around online too,
because you can save yourself more than to £10 by checking a few different
retailers – at time of posting Cult Beauty is selling for £50 and LookFantastic
for £37.50.
Which may still sound
expensive but I think about skin care like this; If I happily spend over £20 on
a foundation, what’s the point if that foundation is sticking to dry patches
and highlighting texture issues and flaking away over here and getting sucked
dry by my skin over there? Furthermore,
it takes more foundation to cover up problematic skin, and I use a lot less
product on my face when everything sits smoothly and I have fewer sins to cover
up.
