I have gone a little bit ‘peel crazy’ in my ongoing exfoliation research. Most recently, I have been looking at masks that promise effective exfoliation: this one from Carita is one of the pricier examples (RRP £51 but it’s £45.90 with free delivery on FeelUnique.com) and despite early reservations, I’m actually very happy with the results. The mask is intended to exfoliate in two different ways – using enzymes and using micro ‘scrub’ particles. Personally, I much prefer chemical – or enzyme – exfoliation to the whole ‘scrub’ scenario, and so I was a little taken aback at first that the mask was partially a scrub. I always associate the word ‘peel’ with either acid or enzyme exfoliation and I felt slightly cheated!

However, despite the fact that there were definite ‘particles’ in the mask, it wasn’t by any means a scrub in the traditional sense. (By the way, I’m not condemning all scrubs – I do use them every once in a while, I just prefer the non-abrasive approach in general!) A thin layer of mask was applied to cleansed, dried skin and then left to set. I only used a very small amount because the instructions tell you to spread thinly, so this might actually work out to be a great value product overall! After about ten minutes I checked the mask and it had totally dried out, so I then set about removing it by massaging my face as directed in the instructions. It was quite difficult to remove – you have to ‘rub’ it off, so I did feel that it was a little bit of a performance! The dried-up mask comes off in little rolled up strands and balls, and I got bored towards the end and used a wet facecloth!

My skin, though, after removal, was brilliantly smooth. I mean very, very noticeably smooth and soft. I have no idea whether this is because of the enzymes or the rubbing, but I’ll hazard a guess that it’s the ‘enzyme mask’ part, because I was so rubbish at removing it, I can’t imagine it was my scrubbing and rubbing that did it! I think in future I might even skip the last step and remove with a muslin cloth.

This might not be the best exfoliating option for very sensitive skin, but if you want to give your face a good going-over and get it looking fresh and sparkly, this is a nice (if quite expensive!) option. I’m becoming more and more enamoured with Carita products – the Lagoon Eye Contour Gel is a cracking little soother! – and so keep your eyes ‘peeled’ (sorry…) for more recommendations!

You can see the Carita Intense Smooth Out Micro-Peel Mask here at FeelUnique: http://tidd.ly/4c010796