Drunk Elephant F-Balm Review

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I decided to wait a while before I wrote my review of this product as I wanted to make sure I'd given it a really thorough test! Especially as reviews of it seem to be completely polarised. I'm thinking it's the Marmite of skincare - you either love it or hate it! Anyway, I bought this on the day it became available in the UK - 1st January. It took about a week to arrive because of the sales but I've been using it ever since.

So what does F-Balm Electrolyte Waterfacial Hydrating Mask promise to do? It's an overnight mask that's designed to strengthen and hydrate skin. It contains:

• Niacinamide to strengthen your skin barrier,
• Squalane to hydrate,
• Ceramides and fatty acids to nourish,
• Vitamin F (hence the name) and antioxidants hydrate and plump.

Texture wise, it's a fairly light gel / cream that contains little balls containing Vitamin F, which pop when rubbed into skin. You can't really feel these though. This ensures the Vitamin F stays fresh.

Now when this was first released, there was a lot of confusion about how to use it. It's called an overnight mask and the instructions say to apply it at night as the last step in your routine, on top of your moisturiser and / or oil. However, DE like to say all their products can be mixed / used together / used both AM and PM, which is where the confusion came in. I'd seen people saying it could be used in place of your moisturiser or that you can use it in the day etc. which I guess you can do but you're unlikely to get the full effect of the product as that's not really what it was designed for. For me, it's been developed to be used as an overnight mask and that's how it should be used (In my opinion anyway. If it works for you when used otherwise, that's great!)

So what do I think of it? I love it! When first applied it soothes and hydrates skin brilliantly. It feels like a protective layer on my skin. It's not heavy or sticky either. My skin the following day is always plump, hydrated and nourished. For me, it give skin an added boost, a bit of oomph.

I know F-Balm caused a lot of people to break out (likely because it contains coconut oil). I was really worried as I've very acne prone. As I break out often and as spots can take weeks to appear, it's very hard for me to say for certain that this did or didn't break me out. What I can say is that I haven't had an increase in spots since using it, nor have I had break-outs in areas other than my chin and jaw (which is wear all my acne is). I would think that if I'd had spots appear on my cheeks or forehead, it would have been a different story! I'm certainly happy keep using it anyway. Plus what breaks one person out, might not cause spots on another! 

As it stands, I'm really impressed with F-Balm and will definitely repurchace it. It's certainly not an essential product but it's a lovely added extra to my routine. I've found I prefer to use it every few nights. I don't think my skin needs it every day. It's a fab treat!

Drunk Elephant F-Balm is available from Space NK & Cult Beauty for £44.