AKANE Mask Cocoon Nocturne - Review

So this is my first review, and I'm afraid it's not the most positive one!

I got a little pot of this stuff in my Birchbox in December, I think. It went in my box of stuff that I know I'll use, I just don't know when...

I was having a sort out and rediscovered it, just at the right time too - Winter has just about ruined my skin. I tend to have very dry skin but for the past 6 months or so it's completely flipped round and been excessively oily - what's that all about?! I'm currently in the process of getting to the bottom of why the sudden change, and suspect it may be something to do with those darn hormones as I've recently changed to a new birth control pill. I digress. Winter has sent my skin back to Dryville so I wanted to restore some moisture.

I found this mask and thought 'Brilliant!' I loved the fact that you could just whack it on and leave it overnight - that implied that it was some really hard-working stuff to me.

I read some other reviews online and there was a good balance of good and not so good, so I thought I'd try for myself.

I read the instructions on the pot, which were pretty straightforward, and the pot itself is really professional looking - nice and simple. Opening it up I was hit by the wall of odour which I can only describe as fruity Play-Doh (there's a market for that, no?). Not an unpleasant smell, just odd. It's a strange consistency - like porridge that's been cooked too long - stodgy and wobbly.

The pot tells you to apply a thin layer so I complied. It's surprisingly easy to rub in considering it's not exactly a smooth cream!

Once my face was suitably sticky, I washed my hands, and as I glanced in the bathroom mirror I noticed I was shiny. Like, REALLY shiny. This stuff literally forms a glaze over your skin, to really lock in the moisture I suppose. It tightens up a little, as you would expect from any face mask, but does loosen up again quite quickly, it's not uncomfortable. The only way I can describe it is as if you've painted PVA glue onto your face. We all did this to our hands at school, waited for it to dry and then peel it off and pretend it was our skin. Weird kids. But that's really how it felt!

Then I went to sleep. I couldn't wait to see my 'luscious and refreshed skin' in the morning, without a 'hint of fatigue' as I always seem to look so knackered and dull-skinned. I was half expecting it to all rub off during the night, given the amount I fidget in my sleep, but I was pleasantly surprised. This stuff is resilient, I have to admit. The instructions say to simply wash it off so I used a muslin cloth and warm-hot water. Turns out when you add water to this stuff it goes super slimy and it's very stubborn, so you have to be quite firm with it, maybe going over the same area a few times, squeezing out the cloth/flannel in between. A few bits had started to roll up and peel off during the night, and some just sort of formed little air bubbles, but most of it was still intact.

Make sure you get it all off. I left some on my neck and didn't realise for quite some time. People probably thought I had some awful skin disease which caused me to peel. Eesh.

After a thorough rinse, I patted my face dry with a towel expecting to look like I'd had a thousand hours of beauty sleep. But there was no difference to be seen! I still had dull, tired looking skin. The only difference was in the touch, it felt a lot smoother than usual, like I'd had a good cleanse.

To make sure it wasn't a fluke, I used this 3 nights in a row, and asked my mum to try it too. She was thrilled to try it - "No hint of fatigue?! Gimme!" But we were both disapointed. Mum thinks maybe she didn't use enough, but I know I did and it didn't make a difference.

Overall, I wasn't satisfied with this product and am still on the hunt for something to brighten my face up in the mornings.

Thanks for reading! x

Well hello!

It's nice to meet you. I'm Hannah, and I'm here to ramble write about all things Hair, Health, and Beauty. And perhaps a little fashion, too.

Ever since I can remember, I've been massively into hair and makeup, (and I still don't know if there should be a hyphen or a space in there?) and have always gone out of my way to try new things. I can't even remember what my natural hair colour is, I've had it so many colours in the last 10 years or so.

My makeup trends over the years have been...interesting, and I've enjoyed every minute of experimenting with the different ways I can decorate my face! So whenever I decide I want to try something new, I usually hit the net for reviews, and that's how I ended up stumbling upon beauty blogs and the like. It's just such a good idea, I had to give it a go.

Doing this combines some of my favourite things. Hair and makeup are a large part of my life, and I get to talk about them to people who share the same interest - I'm a bit of a chatterbox though, so be warned; I also love to write, but it's a struggle when writing about something of no interest to me, so this is a great outlet. My aim is to post weekly. Sometimes reviewing products, trying out makeup and hairstyles, and sometimes, just to have a catch up with you.

I'll also write regular updates on my hair situation - due to heat damage, over-processing (I was platinum blonde for a long time!), and a generally poor diet, my hair has really begun to suffer. I went brunette so that I didn't have to put it through any more hell but the damage, it seems, was already done. I've been trying to grow my hair for about a year with no real luck - it grows and snaps off, grows and snaps off etc. So I've bitten the bullet and hacked it off into a bob (pictured above left) with the hopes of regular trims and some TLC doing the trick. I'll talk more about the things I've tried as I know I'm not the only one in this sad position! We'll see how it goes.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and feel free to have a poke around, and follow me on Twitter etc. I'm really friendly and always up for a natter so feel free to drop me a message on Facebook or an email with any questions or suggestons, or even if to just give me some feedback - it's all useful!

Speak soon! :)

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