[unpaid/sample] ‘Lifting’ products always make me roll my eyes a bit – you’ll never get anything meaningful in the way of lift from a product – gadgets and treatments find it hard enough and if it really was as simple as putting on a face cream, we’d know, surely? That said, I really liked the Gatineau Defi Lift Marine Firming Mask for giving my complexion a complete smooth over and maybe a little bit of temporary tautening.

For some reason, I wasn’t expecting this to be clay based and therefore go completely dry on my face. I’m not great with clay masks so it would have served me right if this hadn’t actually been a treat at all. I could feel some vague tingling but not uncomfortable or unpleasant and I left it on for a good 15 minutes.

It has some great ingredients including polyglutamic acid, a known plumper, as well as PHAs (chemical exfoliants) and hyaluronic acid so no wonder the result was so nice. My make up went on like a dream the next day and it’s something I might use before an evening out. The stats on this are a lot about how it feels rather than any visual differences, so for example: ‘93% Agreed the product left their skin feeling instantly firmer’. So, that’s all very well for the feelings but if there’s nothing showing, I’m a bit lost on what the point is. My skin did feel tautened to a degree but I can’t say it actually physically looked lifted. ‘92% Agreed the product dramatically improved the appearance of tired skin’ and this I can confirm because there is nothing like a bit of clay to get the blood flowing. The lasting effect was smoothing without taking away any hydration – if you’re tempted, I’d say it’s a pre-makeup mask when you need to feel and look a bit fresher. The Defi Lift Firming & Toning Body Oil in the picture is actually a beautiful product – if you love a body oil, I can’t see you finding an issue with this, however, the stats are all of the feels (smooth, soft, toned) and no actual physical claims at all. I can’t help thinking that Gatineau would be better off appealing to the luxurious and pampering aspects of this oil where nobody would be disappointed with the hydrating, silky, results. But, as for lift, nope. It’s £70 too! You can find the mask (£49 HERE )