Origins Out of Trouble Mask

When my skin is feeling rather on the spotty side and needs a bit of extra care, I like to add another product into my skincare routine to clear it up. I've never been a believer in face masks, I always used to see them as something people use for more of a cosmetic purposes and not thought they did much good from previous use. That was before I invested in my first 'high end' one in the form of a sample first.

Origins is a brand known for their natural products, the mask contains; Zinc Oxide and Sulfur which absorbs all the build up under your skin and Camphor which is super calming for the skin. The mask does three things, gets rid of oiliness, removes of dead skin cells and eliminates excess debris on the skin. The mask removes any rough texture to the skin and tackles potential outbreaks during/before they occur. The mask is targeted to those of us with problem skin prone to acne, and because of Origin's natural products, it's perfect for those of us with super sensitive skin too.

I apply the mask to a cleansed face once a week of an evening after removing my make-up. I used a index fingers length and then apply to the skin evenly avoiding the eye and mouth area. I then leave the mask on my face for 10 minutes (or usually more as I'm very forgetful). It cools the face down instantly and smells very fresh and natural like plant extracts. When it's time to remove the product, I like to use damp cotton pads or a wet muslin cloth and gently wipe away the product. I also like to splash my face with cool water once it is all removed and pat the skin dry with a clean towel.

I fell in love with this product from the first use, it's so refreshing and doesn't dry the skin out at all. Straight away my the surface of my skin had reduced in redness and irritation and overnight my blemishes have slightly reduced in size. It's quite a miracle product for me and I absolutely swear by this and recommend it to those of you with a similar skin type to me. Although it is quite pricey at £22, the bottle lasts a good time as you only need to use it once a week and it's always worth investing in good quality products that good the job properly.

Origins Super Spot Remover

I gave up on tough spot treatments a few years ago. The more things I put on them, the more irritated and inflamed they'd become. I found that keeping my regime simple and leaving out treatments worked well for me, but it wasn't quite enough. However, I've heard nothing but good things about this little gem from Origins. On my recent trip to Nottingham I poped into John Lewis and they had a special 10% offer so couldn't resist giving it a whirl.

Usually priced at £14, it isn't the cheapest of treatments at all, especially as you only get a tiny 10ml bottle. However you only need to use a tiny amount which helps. They advise you to apply a tiny amount to a cotton bud and then apply to blemishes and any lumps and bumps on the face as a treatment for occasional spots. I obviously have permanent acne but I thought I'd give it a go as anything is better than nothing right? It contains salicylic acid as do many other spot treatments so I wasn't expecting any miracles from this little bottle despite the price tag.

I'm seriously impressed with this stuff. I did everything I was told to do twice a day or once if I was wearing make-up, you can wear it under make-up but it does create a little film over the area and I didn't want to be picking at my face even more. Right from day one it got straight to work at drying out and reducing the size of my spots in a matter of hours. In fact, one pesky spot disappeared in a matter of days, incredible. I used the treatment on all kinds of spots from white heads to cystic acne which wouldn't budge, I'd say it was pretty effective of all of them. It can sting a little if the spot has broken skin at first but it quickly wears off and the cooling agent of a gel really refreshes and tightens up the skin getting to work quickly. It also works at fading the spots and the discolouration and scaring caused by them so keep applying it to them even when they look like they're on their way out! It's definitely a must have when you're having a skin crisis and your skincare routine alone isn't cutting it. It won't get rid of them in a zap but it will give you that peace of mind that they won't be sitting on your face as long as they would have done without it.