Magic Masks

Ancient Egyptians simply smeared mud all over their faces – an effective beauty ritual, but what did they really know about pollution and sun damage? These days, the ingredients in masks are targeted at specific skintypes and all manner of skin woes – from clogged pores to dryness, fine lines to dullness – that your regular daily regime may not address. They're 'fast fixes': good for putting back radiance when skin's got the 'blahs'. (Case in point: peering at my extremely knackered-looking reflection in the mirror the other night, I slapped on Liz Earle Naturally Active Skincare Brightening Treatment Mask for two minutes, and hey presto: after just 120 seconds, I had colour in my cheeks and a much perkier complexion generally.)

Certainly, masks are no longer a mere indulgence, the facial equivalent of bubble bath. Certainly, they can be intensely pleasurable – cooling, warming, just generally cocooning. But without a facialist on hand, how can you choose from the dozens – no, probably hundreds – of masks out there? The key is to recognise how your skin varies from a normal, 'balanced' state – then, once you've identified your complexion's problem, find the mask to treat it. Does your skin feel taut and dry? Sometimes, especially in winter, regular moisturisers are unable to keep pace with the dehydrating double-whammy of Sahara-dry heat indoors, cold outside. Hydrating masks are usually a gel or cream, containing a mix of humectants (which attract moisture from the air) and oils, to help trap moisture in the skin. If dryness is your skin challenge, avoid masks which feature clays as these absorb moisture and are best for oilier skins, and check these out: Neal's Yard Remedies White Tea Enriching Facial Mask, £24 for 50g (recipient of a Soil Association Organic Beauty Award); Montagne Jeunesse White Chocolate Mask, £1 per sachet; Trilogy Ultra-Hydrating Face Mask, £15.95 for 75ml; Urban Retreat The Mask, £19 for 75 ml; Liz Earle Naturally Active Intensive Nourishing Treatment, £12 for 50ml; Temple Spa Quench Rejuvenating Face Mask, £20.50 for 65ml at victoriahealth.com . Does your skin look dull? Does your make-up 'cling' to certain areas of the face? This calls for a mask with some kind of exfoliating action – usually from tiny grains or jojoba beads; the idea is that when you rub off the mask with your fingertips, you dislodge the dead cells. The word 'gommage' indicates that the mask has a scruffing action. Alternatively, there are masks based on enzymes which work to gently 'melt' the dead skin cells, before they're rinsed away, such as Dr. Bragi Marine Enzyme Intensive Treatment Mask, £10.25 for 16 ml (www.victoriahealth.com); Korres Wild Rose Instant Brightening Mask, £16 for 40ml (); Organic Surge 1st Class Face Mask, £6.99 for 50ml, Guinot GomMask Absorbing Exfoliating Mask, £28.50 for 50ml and Bliss Sleeping Peel Exfoliating Mask, £38 for 28g.

Is your skin oily at the end of the day? Clay is superporous – nature's great purifier: it absorbs the dirt and dead skin cells on the skin's surface, while the mask hardens. The clay and impurities are then swished away when you remove the mask. Best bets: Nude Deep Cleansing Mask, £28 for 75ml; Montagne Jeunesse Deep Sea Mud Pack, £1 per sachet; Montagne Jeunesse Apricot Scrub, £1 per sachet; Dermalogica Skin Refining Masque, £25.30 for 75ml; Estée Lauder Sparkling Clean Purifying Exfoliator Mask, £25.50 for 75ml; Yes to Carrots C The Difference Exfoliating and Soothing Mud Mask, £9.21 for 50ml. (); Caudalie Vino-Perfect Radiance Mask, £29 for 40ml, and The Body Shop Warming Mineral Mask, £7.50 for 100ml (the top-scoring mask with our testers for Beauty Bible Beauty Steals – it is suitable for all skintypes, but a special favourite of the shiny-skinned).

Is your skin sensitive? This is the reason why some women avoid masks altogether. Fragrances are often the cause of skin irritation, but you can find a number of masks that are targeted at touchy skins, where the fragrance level tends to be very low. Preservatives are another potential irritant in all store-bought cosmetics (so I've listed a few D-I-Y mask recipes, below) – but if you want something in a tube or a jar, try these. (If you're truly hyper-reactive, do a patch test first behind your ear, 24 hours before applying to the rest of your face. And of course, with any mask, avoid skin that has broken out, is red or irritated. You're likely to make the problem worse, not better.) Try Origins Mega-Mushroom Skin-Calming Face Mask, £31 for 100ml; Carita Ideal Douceur Cotton Mask, £30.25 for 50ml (www.salonskincare.co.uk) Clinique Derma White Brightening Moisture Mask for all skintypes £38 for 100ml. And these are a few of my favourite masks… As something of a face mask obsessive (I never miss the chance to slather on a thick layer once or twice a week), I've narrowed the options on my bathroom shelf down to the following, all of which I rate incredibly highly…

Liz Earle Brightening Treatment Mask, £12 for 50ml – the fastest-fix ever. (It does contain clay, which I don't usually like, but doesn't set hard.)

Neal's Yard Remedies Nourishing Orange Flower Facial Mask, £24 for 50g. (www.nealsyardremedies.com) - just love that orange blossom smell and the super-rich texture.

Elemental Herbology Facial Glow, £36.50 for 50ml – fantastically skin-brightening (it contains fruit acids but I normally react to these, so they must be super-gentle).

Clarins HydraQuench Cream Face Mask, £30 for 75ml.

Homemade mask for sensitive skin

Mix half a cup of oatmeal with the same amount of Greek yoghurt, and a spoonful of honey. Mix the ingredients together and apply to the skin for 10-15 minutes, then rinse off with warm water.

Starflower mask

50 g (2 oz.) aloe vera flesh
30ml (2 fl. oz.) plain yoghurt
2 capsules of starflower (borage flower) oil
10 fresh borage flowers (in season)

Aloe vera flesh is quite hard to blend, so I like to zoosh all these ingredients in an electric herb chopper. (You'll need to snip the starflower oil capsules, and squeeze out the oil.) Then massage the mixture into the skin of the face and neck, whereupon the most extraordinary thing happens – within 15 minutes, your complexion will have soaked up almost all of the mask, and look plumped-up and younger. This is my all-time favourite mask – I love the way it softens and 'plumps' my dry skin.

Cucumber anti-blemish mask

A 2.5 cm (1 inch) chunk of cucumber, 1 drop rosemary essential oil,
1 egg white

Whizz the cucumber in a blender until it's a liquid consistency and then add the drop of rosemary essential oil. (Rosemary is a super-effective antiseptic.) Whisk the egg white until stiff, then fold in the cucumber mixture and smooth over the face. The egg white will tauten on the face; remove after 15 minutes using a clean, damp cloth.

How to get the best effects:

Cleanse first A face mask can't get to clogged pores if make-up and impurities aren't removed first. Lay it on thick: With very few exceptions, masks work best when coverage is generous. Sealing skin with a mask packs its nutrients into pores; because moisture is trapped while you've got the mask in place, skin emerges well-hydrated. Put your feet up: You'll redirect blood from your lower body to your head, bringing oxygen to the face to boost the mask's action. Moisturise immediately: With all those dead cells removed, your moisturiser will penetrate deeper for maximum results. (N.B. Some of the more skin-quenching masks can, alternatively, be left on and smoothed into the skin – although personally, I always like to remove them and the gunk they take with them…)

Stop if irritation occurs: Anything more than the merest tingle isn't normal; if redness or patchiness happen after a mask, discontinue use.

Josephine Fairley's latest book, Beauty Steals, co-written with Sarah Stacey (Kyle Cathie, £8.99), is available from all good bookshops.