It’s that time of the month again. (“What, the middle?”) No, dear friends, it’s that time of the month, which means that I will walk into at least three doors today, cry when the kettle doesn’t boil fast enough and quite possibly, kill somebody. But never mind that – what about my skin?

Yes, it’s oil central again. There’s more oil on my skin than there is floating about the Gulf of Mexico. Now I know that I only recently posted about this, but that’s because it was a video post (Goodnight Oily Skin!) and by the time I’ve shot, edited and published the bloody things, a decade has passed by. So here we are again: me, with chronic PMT, a half-dead postman trussed up in my garage (he lost a parcel!) and skin that is threatening to break out its army of pustular warriors.

REN’s Clearcalm3 Anti-Blemish Treatment Mask is something of a wonder – it really clears the skin instantly, leaving it toned and matte. It does this without inflaming or aggravating any existing blemishes, and it actually soothes and calms skin that’s feeling a bit over-wrought. I have just given it an extra test and I rinsed it off precisely one hour ago. My skin feels very smooth, and the enlarged pores to the sides of my nose have been reduced in size. My skin feels soft, and ever so slightly tightened, like it would after using a toner. It’s a clay mask, but it’s easy to apply from the pump-action machine gun – I mean bottle, and you leave it on for fifteen minutes. Use those minutes wisely (I went and kicked a wall whilst screaming obscene phrases) and then rinse off the mask.

If you suffer from breakouts, this is ideal to use in prevention, just to get those pores unclogged and remove excess oil. The great thing is (and this is also very important) that the mask doesn’t strip away all oil – so your skin doesn’t panic and produce more to overcompensate. A tiny bit goes a long way – I used it just on the T-Zone and along the jaw-line where I can feel the little gits getting ready to pop up – and so I can imagine this bottle lasting a good long while. The ‘Bio Actives’ in this (just in case I haven’t bored you enough!) are: Sulfur (smells like eggs – nice), Licorice Extract (yum), Zinc Salts, Salicilin, Calcium Carbonate, French Clay (or Ke-laaaay-yu, as they would say) and Essential Oil Complex. It’s free of sulfates, parabens, and loads of other stuff including ‘PEGS’. Thank God it’s peg free! I hate it when I find pegs in my beauty products.

Treatment Mask, £28 and Clearcalm 3 range all from LookFantastic HERE