When it comes to the beauty industry, I’ve always held a fascination for the weird and wonderful products and treatments that are invented each year. Whether it’s the snake skin manicure or the fast-fading fish pedicure (what happened to all those fish?!), I can’t get enough of them.
Victoria Beckham always seems to be the pioneering member of the celeb circuit to use these treatments. The internet is littered with articles claiming that Victoria’s tried everything from the sheep placenta facial, nightingale guano facial, to the snake venom facial. I think it’s amazing what people are willing to do in the name of beauty, that’s why I jumped at the chance to try the Ościem Black Pearl Masq. Whilst it’s nowhere near as extreme as putting bird faeces or animal entrails on my face; I thought the inclusion of black pearl extracts was innovative and opulent.
The Black Pearl Masq is face mask to use as part of your weekly skincare regime; or you can save it to use for special occasions. It contains a decadent blend of ingredients including; Tahitian Gardenia, Pineapple extract (yum!), Pacific Saffron and Wild Basil, in turn these help to deeply cleanse oil prone skin. There is also a powerful mix of essential oils which stimulate mature and dry skin types.
I was so excited when this arrived in the post, the packaging is exquisite. I love the art deco design on the front of the box; it gives it a retro feel, whilst the product is so obviously modern. The mask itself is a blue/black colour; I was expecting it to have a slightly gritty texture, but in actual fact it’s sublimely smooth. When applied to the face, it gives the skin an iridescent sparkle (this has to be the most glamorous mask I’ve ever used) and you can see the tiny specks of black pearl throughout. As it dries out you’re not left with that tight feeling that a lot of masks give you, it just feels very soothing and luxurious, and when you wash it off your skin feels soft and purified.
Ościem has a wide variety of products in its range, making it easy to construct a full skincare regime. The Black Pearl Masq retails on the Fragrant Earth website at £58.09 for 50ml (1.76 fl.oz.), whilst this is expensive when you compare it to the 99p masks you can buy in Superdrug, it’s nothing when you compare it to going to a spa or salon for a facial. If you want to include a little luxury to your home skincare regime, this product is the perfect addition. It’s also less intimidating and more effective than putting bull semen on your face, fact.
A couple of weeks ago I attended an acoustic session at the Ben Sherman store in Islington, band of the moment Bastille played a set. See if you can spot me wearing my Super Happy Sunglasses in the video!
Black Pearl Masq is PR sample*
