Stealth vs Wealth - face masks a go-go

I’m not the only one with a skincare/haircare/beauty addiction. My darling friend Jo is also a card-carrying member of BA (Beautyholics Anonymous) and she likes to buy stuff too. Thankfully for us, she can also string a sentence together. Here’s what Jo had to say after she recently had the taxing task of trialling a couple of face masks:

I've recently started a new job and with it has come earlier starts, longer days, and a tired little Jo. As a result, I've been a little lax in looking after myself and my skin has certainly noticed; it has thrown a small tantrum consisting of that charming combination of breakouts and dry skin.

The lovely Elise had given me one of SK-II's Skin Signature 3D Refining Mask to try out, so over a couple of weekends I decided to relax-o with everyone's favourite product comparison – Splurge or Steal!

The fiance will tell you that every trip we take to a supermarket, chemist or department store involves a period of “I just want to look at the skincare aisle” from me and some “But I'm bo-ored” from him (don't get me started on my one true love, Priceline). So with SK-II sitting pretty in its role of Splurge, when I recently popped up to Woolies to pick up some milk I also picked up a pack of Olay Regenerist Facial Treatment Masks, to play the part of Steal.

Cost: Olay's the clear winner here – their 5 pack of masks retail around $39, with the SK-II coming in at $190 for a pack of 6.

Fit of mask: I'm a bit of a fence sitter here... while SK-II's mask is cleverly split into two halves horizontally, allowing you to fit each half exactly to your face, I personally found it difficult to manoeuvre, and preferred the “just stretch it 'til it fits” mentality from Olay.

Scent: Olay's serum has a quite nice fragrance to it, SK-II smells like alcohol (and I mean like metho or something, not a nice chocolate port).

Serum: While SK-II's serum had a nicer feel to it, they're both quite thick and lovely, giving you the impression it's really doing all those great things they say it does. The one thing I'd note is that both masks come loaded with way more serum than is required, meaning once you peel the mask off you either have to spend the next 15 minutes rubbing excess serum into your face and neck, or wiping it off with a tissue. There is one upside to this however...

Entertaining instructions: Olay tells me that I can “wipe off the extra mask juice on your face with cotton wool or tissue”. Mask juice?? On the other hand the sachet from SK-II was labelled entirely in an Asian language I don't speak, so I can't vouch for the entertainment value of its instructions.

Overall result: I highly recommend both of these masks, they both made my skin feel instantly plump and moisturised, and left a beautiful glow for a few days. They're both of great quality, so if you're looking to save a few pennies, I'd be telling you to go Olay.