The best morning masks to start the day off right

Now that the bathroom has become our spa, wellness sanctuary, hairdresser and facialist, what we do in the ‘morning’ has become quite different. It can stretch much longer into the day without a commute and office to consider. Breakfast and showers can be a slightly lengthier luxury without having to allocate for traffic and acceptable hair. The time once spent on make-up can be devoted to skincare.

During lockdown, sales of masks are rising and rising. According to beauty trend analysts WGSN, during the pandemic, the out of stock (OOS) rate of sheet masks in Britain increased by 39 per cent. If you’re looking to introduce a little bit more skincare and luxury into your new, stuck-at-home routine, but can’t find the energy in the evenings, morning masks are your saviour. They’ll not only leave you with clean, refreshed skin; some will help you wake up, help you shift a grey face and give you that satisfied feeling of having done something for yourself before you’ve checked your inbox.

Stick one on while you make your coffee to help you rise and actually shine. Here’s our edit of the best morning masks to start your day off right.

First up, Ole Henriksen’s Cold Plunge Mask. Think the Wim Hof Method, but for your face. Ole Henriksen’s Cold Plunge Pore Mask is like dipping your face into a bucket of ice or giving it a cold shower; it forces you to wake right up while leaving skin feeling clean and comfortable. Give this turquoise clay mask 15 minutes on your face in the morning while you potter around making coffee and scrolling. Snow lotus, alpine willow herb, neem seed oil and AHAs get to work on oil, blemishes and large pores while tingly coldness shocks you awake. Remove with the coldest water you can (for a cold smack in the face that will really wake you) for soothed and refreshed skin. It’s your go-to to really rev yourself up on a morning after very little sleep.

For those who don’t fancy a bucket of ice in the face in the morning and are looking for something a little more zen, give your skin it’s morning dose of vitamins with Lixirskin’s Vitamin C Paste. It’s an oily flash-mask with a luxurious scent of jasmine and mandarin that you leave on for five minutes then rinse off to activate. It smells and feels like you’re starting your morning with a facial in a fancy spa. Your skin is protected for the day and it transforms a grey face to luminous one. Plus, it looks beautiful in your bathroom cabinet.

Feeling dull and dry and looking for something a bit stronge? Dermalogica’s new Hydro Masque Exfoliant will take care of that. It’s a creamy mask that packs a punch; it comes with exfoliating bubbles that you massage into the skin until they disappear. The more you massage, the harder they work. You leave it on the skin for five minutes, where exfoliating bamboo gets to work on sloughing off your dead skin and snow mushroom starts plumping the skin with hydration, vitamin D and antioxidants. It leaves your skin feeling like you’ve given it a deep clean, and feels smoother and softer to touch, while the skin’s barrier is left strengthened.

Finally, Trilogy’s beloved rosehip oil has been reimagined in jelly form. Keep this jelly textured face mask in the fridge for a cooling, hydrating dose of moisture-boosting ingredients of rosehip oil, hyaluronic acid and manuka honey. Perfect for tired dull skin, your face will feel revitalised, hydrated, calmed and wide awake.