Bleurgh.

That is an ENTIRELY normal response to looking at yourself in the mirror right now. There are days when the sun barely seems to rise, skin looks pale (grey, even), and any kind of ‘glow’ is just a memory…

What a perfect time for Erborian Milk & Peel Mask to land on the desk, then. Actually, it’s one of two new Milk & Peel products from Erborian (as a brand, this Korean-inspired French beauty company shelters under the umbrella of L’Occitane).

And the other night we checked them both out. The Milk & Peel cleansing balm – quite oily and rich – does the job perfectly nicely, but it’s the mask which produced a real uptick in our reflection.

First, a caveat. You’re going to look whiter than Casper the Friendly Ghost with this on. A surprisingly small amount of the creamy-textured mask, massaged into skin, creates a face that's pretty much whiter than any laundry we’ve ever pegged on a line. White, white, whiter than white!

It’s only there for five minutes, though, resurfacing with the aid of sesame milk, chosen for its ability to eliminate dead skin cells via an enzyme action, and for its softening effect. (Slightly strangely, this ingredient was chosen because sesame is a key ingredient not in Korean beauty, but ‘in cooking’, we’re told. Whatever next – a kimchi mask…?) Erborian’s 7-herb blend and sunflower oil also feature.

We were slightly nervous that our skin tingled QUITE A LOT as this got to work. Needn’t have been, notwithstanding our dry/sensitive complexions. It doesn’t quite set hard (though there’s also quite a lot of kaolin clay in there), and when swished away with a soft flannel, the results were really impressive.

Skin: radiant. Smooth. (So smooth we couldn’t stop touching it, actually.) No longer grey and drab, but generally healthy-looking and not in the least January-like, any more.

Having performed that miracle, could Erborian perhaps now do the same to the weather…?

£34 for 60ml – buy here

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