Rachael Reviews - Liz Earle Deep Cleansing Mask

My mum was a huge fan of Liz Earle and the smell of Cleanse & Polish and Instant Boost Skin Tonic never fails to remind me of her. She used to sit me down and give me a full Liz Earle 'facial' when I was about 15 and I remember one of my friends coming round one day whilst we were mid-facial and saying 'You're so lucky, I wish my mum did that with me!'

I've kept up my love affair with Liz Earle ever since. Nowadays I always have Cleanse & Polish and Instant Boost Skin Tonic in my bathroom, I usually use these at night but prefer a foaming cleanser in the mornings. The moisturisers are a little too rich for my oil-prone skin but I've recommended them to many friends with dry skin who have been instantly converted to the Liz Earle way. The Liz Earle masks and treatments never disappoint.

So when I decided I needed a deep cleansing mask I was instantly drawn to this one. It's had great reviews and wasn't as expensive as many of the others I looked at. Liz Earle products are the perfect price point in my opinion - expensive enough that you know you're treating yourself but not so ridiculous that you stretch yourself to the limit to buy it then daren't use the stuff!

This mask is clay based and is specifically aimed at oily, congested skin. As you would expect from Liz Earle, it contains naturally active ingredients (including green clay to draw out impurities, manuka honey to soothe and rose-scented geranium to tone and balance) Unusually though, you aren't hit by a gorgeous scent when you squeeze the tube! I think this is down to the high concentration of clay, which also makes it dark in colour. It applies smoothly, dries within 10 minutes and doesn't tingle at all - it's not recommended for sensitive skin so I was expecting it to feel a little tingly on application.

The mask comes complete with two small facial sponges which are absolutely perfect for removing it - the exact texture you need to remove a dried clay mask. On removal my skin felt soft, matte and refreshed. I followed up with Instant Boost Skin Tonic and my usual moisturiser. My skin felt smooth, and looked brighter and a couple of days later I had a couple of tiny tell-tale pimples which let me know that the mask had done it's job. This only happened the first time, subsequent uses haven't causes any blemishes

This lovely mask has become part of my regular skincare routine and if you're in the market for a deep cleansing mask I can highly recommend it. You can buy it from lizearle.com

Do you use face masks regularly? Which would you recommend?