Mine is a face which wears experiences with no degree of subtlety. Like a child struggling to conceal a grimace when they lie, my face will often betray the consequences of my actions - a late night on the Luca-Bucas and my eyes shrink to a mole-like aperture struggling to comprehend the unbearable lightness of being; a pack of Pickled Onion crisps (or three) and the salt is visible in the contours of my skin. As such, in the days before a big event (such as a job interview or going to watch Bruce Willis films on Valentines Day) I usually practice abstinence of all my vices (crisps and Luca-Bucas primarily) with an avowed determination which would make Tibetan monks jealous at my prowess.

   To help improve my skin, however, I've decided to try and take a bit more care with the products I utilise on my face as well as kicking to curb some of my more wild excesses. Thankfully Men-U , after reading my post on their rather great refresh shampoo , my new post-swimming staple, offered to send me one of their incredible Matt packs . For a man such as myself looking to improve the condition of my skin, this was incredibly, gratefully received.


    Like their shampoo, these products all come incredibly compact and compressed; this is wonderful for a number of reasons not least the fact it decreases any profligacy when it comes to packaging, so in that respect is environmentally rather friendly. On top of this, the compact nature of the tubes means they are easy to carry and only small amounts are needed to be applied with each use! As for the products themselves, it is rather remarkable at how many uses can be procured from each tube.

   The set consists of 3 x 15ml concentrated "buddy" tubes each with a different function for skin care maintenance. My favourite of the three products was the "Deep Clean Clay Mask" (available separately  here ). Despite being only 15ml, the tube allowed up to four uses (I managed to stretch mine to five as I was accidentally overly conservative on my first use) - this means that it's perfect for if you're wanting to keep up with your skin care maintenance whilst on trips without having to worry about over-packing.The mask contains witch hazel, which is always a great sign when it comes to skincare, along with kaolin clay and zinc oxide. I found it easy to apply and quick drying too; it was very quickly quite transparent at what a good job the masks did in removing any imperfections (of which there were a few) from my skin.

   After using the masks, and indeed in the days in between, I have also been using the Matt Skin Refresh gel and the Matt Moisturiser too. Both of these have been great for not only removing any dryness that sometimes accumulates on my face (usually around my nose bizarrely enough) but also in giving my post-wash face an extra healthy shine and gleam. Using these daily I noticed that my skin began to appear more "clean" and fresh - in part this can be attributable to the impressive ingredients found in each product (which, despite only being 15ml each manage to fit in an impressive 15 uses each!). Whilst the Skin refresh gel contains witch hazel (again), salicylic acid and Japanese Konjac root powder, the Matt Moisteruiser boasted a list which included vitamin E which helps attack free radicals which age the skin.

   Overall, I was incredibly impressed with the whole pack and found the difference it made to my skin was certainly noticeable. Whilst a facial scrub or soap would need to be used in conjunction with the pack, purchasing one of these would mean their would be little else to worry about in the way of skin care. Each product leaves the skin looking, and feeling, incredibly refreshed and I have enjoyed using each of the products to a tremendous amount. Whilst the soothing, heavy cleansing nature of the clay mask may make that product my favourite, I would suggest that it works particularly well in context with the post-wash refresh gel and moisturiser and would recommend this highly to anyone such as myself looking to give their face a boost. I now just have to stay away from Pickled Onion crisps indulgences for a while.

* This pack was kindly gifted to me by Men-U. They are available to purchase at the rather incredible price of £9.45 here .