Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask Review and Giveaway

I must have some traces of dragon blood in my veins, because the moment I saw Peter Thomas Roth's 24K Gold Mask, my jaw dropped and I latched onto it and wouldn't let go. It's not just how hypnotic the swirly, bouncy, iridescent gold gel is to look at. It's also the curiosity about colloidal gold and whether this product would really firm and smooth.

Now face masks don't always get me excited. They're mostly a hassle to apply and take off, and I usually prefer to invest in serums or creams that will not be washed away. But I have used and enjoyed quite a number of Peter Thomas Roth's anti-aging products, including Instant FirmX for temporary fine-line reduction, and that gorgeous, gorgeous Oilless Oil, which just makes skin feel like silk. So of course, the 24K Gold Mask was just something I HAD to try.

Gold itself, as far as I know, does not actually do anything to make your skin act or look younger. How these metals actually work in colloidal (solution) form is they serve as delivery catalysts for other active ingredients, speeding up effectiveness.

In 24K Gold Mask, the 3 main ingredients I see are quite simple really. 

• Glycerin
• Caffeine
• Peridot (Magnesium)

Hyaluronic Acid and Glycerin are humectants, and they give this gel that sticky slippery texture, and that sensation of warmth when you rub it on. Humectant substances like glycerin and honey absorb and hold moisture, which also coincidentally traps heat. (As opposed to substances like alcohol, which vaporize and dehydrate, making the skin feel cool when applied.) Here, it helps to lock moisture into the top layers of the skin, smoothing and plumping.

Caffeine constricts blood vessels, which can quickly reduce redness and inflammation or the appearance of veins. It also is an effective diuretic, making cells shed excess water, so there is a temporary slimming and tightening effect. Recent research has also found that caffeine has antioxidant properties which can protect the skin from skin cancer. 

Peridot is a semi-precious gem which contains high concentrations of Magnesium, which is the 4th most prevalent mineral in our cells and necessary for DNA repair and other essential functions. It's effective at reducing inflammation and oxidation in the skin, and significantly reduces the rate of oxidation damage our cells suffer. 

So the colloidal gold in the formula, in my personal opinion, does nothing more than enhance the effectiveness of these three ingredients. 

At SGD$158 per tub at Sephora, this is no drugstore mask, and after using it for a couple of weeks, I have to say I really enjoy it personally. But you have to be clear what its main benefits are, so that you're not disappointed. This is not the typical hydrating or purifying face mask. 

1. The slightly sticky colloidal texture can be hard to rinse off if you live in a hardwater zone. You might want to use a cloth dampened in warm water to wipe it off.
2. This mask is not one of those fresh hydrating gel masks. It's a humectant mask and it almost feels warming on the skin. If you live in a warm climate or are using this in Summer, it will not feel "refreshing".
3. Remember this is a diuretic mask. Instead of applying it to typical problem areas like the T-zone, I actually would recommend applying this to the fleshier areas of the face, like the cheeks, down around the jaws and down the neck. These are the areas which can benefit most from the draining, tightening effect.

The very first time I used this, I stayed away from the press information or the ingredients so I could do a less biased review and observe the effects for myself without any pre-formed expectations. The first two things I noticed were how smooth and hydrated my skin felt after rinsing it away, and how it felt tighter.

Only after I read the ingredients did I realize it contained caffeine.

Now I use this as a regular "quick-fix" because it not only hydrates and smooths my dry skin, but also really helps to sculpt the face, especially around the jaw line. If you don't really need much firming or de-puffing, this mask probably won't benefit you that much. There are hydrating masks that cost less, and this is probably not for you.

As for the gold?

It doesn't really stay on the skin or impart any sheen or radiance that I noticed, so I'm not sure about the company's claim to "brighten". As far as I'm concerned, it's there to support the other ingredients. And for me to stare at.

And that's perfectly fine.

NOW - GIVEAWAY TIME!
Sephora Singapore is kindly sponsoring full-size tubs of the Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Mask Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Mask for 2 Makeup Box readers. Simply be signed in with a valid Google account (so I can contact you for details) and comment below to name one of the key active ingredients that helps this mask to work, and say why you'd like to win it. Winners will be picked on 8 Mar Sunday.
Winners will need to be in Singapore to redeem the prize from Sephora Takashimaya between 11-17 March.

Sloane Inc S8.8 Aqualicious and S9.8 Skin Superfood

I've got 2 skincare products I've been testing recently.

Sloane Inc is perhaps better known as an aesthetics clinic, but they also have their own proprietary skincare line, all coded in numbers. I haven't looked into the line to see if the numbers have a specific meaning (i.e. all those beginning with 6 are of a specific category, etc), but the 2 I'm going to talk about today are S9.8 Skin Superfood Red Algae, and S8.8 Aqualicious.

S9.8 Skin Superfood is a special nourishing gel-cream treatment which contains Astaxanthin, a super-charged antioxidant with 6000 times the strength of Vitamin C. I'm a huge believer in using antioxidants daily for anti-aging maintenance, and this product not only contains plenty, but also also ceramides, which are fantastic molecules that behave like dry oils and keep the skin smooth and supple by forming an ultra-thin and comfortable barrier on the skin surface.

The most interesting thing is this comes in a fresh jelly form that melts into the skin and does a strange water-to-oil transformation, becoming silkier and richer as you rub it in. If you have dry or mature skin, this does a fantastic job of conditioning the skin and plumping it up.

The smart time-formula also releases the astaxanthin and ceramides slowly over a few hours, so the effects last for several hours.

S8.8 Aqualicious is a simpler formula which is great for oily and combination skins. If you've got blemishes or use a lot of anti-blemish products and exfoliants to try and keep your pores in control, you will be no stranger to the "Dry outside, Oily inside" feeling, which can be the most annoying and paradoxical feeling ever.

You barely keep your breakouts in check, and the surface is often tight and flaky, so makeup doesn't sit all that well.

If you experience that, then you probably need something that is fresh but that can pack a lot of punch in terms of oil-free hydration.

As you can probably tell from the name S8.8 Aqualicious, this product is designed to deliver a burst of hydration to the skin with encapsulated water in a light gel form.

There isn't a whole lot of magic to this product. It's literally a lot of water mixed with a little alcohol to help it penetrate quickly, and a lot of silicones to lock it in on the surface. Now I'm personally not against silicones in skincare. It's gotten a bit of a bad-rep, same as mineral oil. But it's really not a bad thing, especially for skins that can't handle oils. 

But then again, Aqualicious is effective and delivering quick moisture to the skin, at least compared to other gel formulas I've tried before. It actually managed to make my dry skin feel hydrated for a couple of hours. But for a longer-lasting effect, it isn't fantastic for dry skin, which needs a more hefty barrier protectant to lock the moisture in. 

For oily skins though, I have to say it's quite a nice-feeling treat that won't weight your skin down or cause more breakouts (unless for some reason you are sensitive to silicones).

Click to expand for product description and ingredients