Dispatches from the world of high-performance, science-driven skincare

It’s fair to say that face masks have changed a lot over the last few years. Thank the lord. Gone are those powdery sachets of years gone by. You know, the ones you might have used back in the day – or seen your mum use – that required at least an hour of one's time; 30 minutes for the application and waiting around and another 30 until the recurring redness had gone down. Ridiculous.

The face mask of today is quite different. It has risen up to become one of the more important, if not the most important trouper of the skincare world. Quite literally. Feel Unique has reported a huge 23% increase in the sales of face masks within the last year alone and ever since Harvey Nichols launched the iconic Sisley Black Rose Mask, £90, last year it has quickly become it's firm best-seller. 

"A face mask is the best way to instantly lift the skin and add immediate radiance and glow. It’s like having a mini facial, just at home." - Nichola Joss

The new generation of face masks are a whole different ball game. Truly. Far more powerful and most important of all, a lot more practical in terms of use, these new power players are just what's required in the ever-busy world in which we live. I mean, who has time to dilly-dally about with a sachet of this and a tube of that, along with an inflamed and irritated complexion that requires cancelling dinner plans? No one. But that doesn’t mean we don’t still crave the glorious, I’m-going-to-have-skin-like-Gisele-when-I’ve-done-this benefit of a good old face mask. 

‘A face mask is the best way to instantly lift the skin and add immediate radiance and glow,’ says skin expert and A-list facialist Nichola Joss. ‘It’s like having a mini facial, just at home.’ The point exactly – nothing needed but your good self and a tube of amazingness. And said tubes come in the form of a few innovative game-changers, fresh from the clutches of men in white coats who’ve been squirreled away for many years now, making and remaking the very, very best.

Clayspray, £44.50, is the first to note. And it’s quite unreal. So brilliant and bold are these masks (there are six within the range), they contain the highest percentage of clay compared to anything else on the market, all within an air-tight chamber to keep the ingredients fresh and untouched until they hit your skin. And that's before we've even touched on the macromolecular hydrogels it contains. Those guys hold 800 times their weight in water, so the skin benefits are only imaginable. All within a matter of minutes, no less.

And for those wanting something less, er, clay-like, there’s trusty old Clarins. Its own, noble scientists have come up trumps with a Hydra Quench Cream-Mask, £33, that contains not one, but two types of that good guy everyone dotes on, hyaluronic acid. Velvety and as rich in texture as the finest French farm butter, it comes as no surprise that Polar explorer Ann Daniels uses it when she braves the extreme weather of the North Pole. Enough said.

"It looks like the kind of thing that Emmanuelle Alt would have tucked inside her Celine make-up pouch."

But for fashion folk alike, attention will be firmly on cult new skincare line Sampar. Hot from the well groomed arrondissements of Paris, it’s So Much To Dew Midnight Mask, £34, is quite wonderful. The kind of thing that Emmanuelle Alt would have tucked inside her Celine make-up pouch, it’ll give any bathroom cabinet serious street-cred. It looks like a giant Touche Éclat, but fatter and better, and the application is a total pleasure thanks to the silkiest of brushes.

A quick squeeze of the chic, powder pink tube releases the probiotic sugar, mint and shea butter serum. Oh and there's hyaluronic acid in there too, of course. But best of all, the lightweight cream (so sheer you can sleep in it) soaks in immediately and almost without a trace, meaning you can carry on with life as normal. No cancelled dinners necessary.

These aren’t the only heroes to waft into the face mask market of late, oh no. Check the gallery above for the definitive edit of time-saving, glow-inducing ones worth giving a whirl.