Product Review : PDC Liftarna Masks

Adorable Snoopy marketing aside, anything that promises to minimise pores immediately gets my attention!

This was the second of two packs of Liftarna masks I'd picked up while in Japan. The first pack was their Deep Cleanse Mask.

Both pack contain 7 masks which I think you're supposed to use in a week but the package just says to use within 30 days of opening. The first pack I used over a couple of weeks.

The Snoopy ones I used over about 3 and a half weeks, with a couple of other sheet masks in between, along with a long haul flight!

I feel like they actually do minimise pores a bit, especially on my nose but the masks also seem to draw out little spots on my chin.

They feel a bit tingly on and instructions say to only leave on for 5 to 10 minutes which feels quite long when the tingly feeling translates to a slight stinging around the eyes.

Which brings me to my main problem with Lifterna masks. The fit. Mainly around the eyes. The length above the nose was nowhere near enough for the mask to sit flat between the eyes and the eye holes were too small and too close together, meaning the mask sat awkwardly over the corners of my eyes. I did like that they were quite long in the forehead though.

Although the picture on the front implied the deep cleanse masks would sit snugly around my nose (for maximum impurity drawing action) they didn't.. no matter how much pressing down around my nose, the mask never sat snug against my nose!

Overall I wasn't hugely impressed with either pack of masks and wouldn't buy them again. I think I'd stick with clay masks for cleansing and there's just so many other sheet mask options out there than to suffer through a bad fit.

Not to say the masks can't be a perfect fit for someone's​ face, just not mine!

Review: Edinburgh Coffee Festival 2016

Having missed the inaugural Edinburgh Coffee Festival last year, I was excited to get along to this year's event held at Summerhall as it had outgrown Mansfield Traquair. Previous engagements meant I arrived quite late and had missed all the talks and workshops which was a shame.

I was assured the coffee cocktail workshop involved many delicious cocktails, so will have to look out for that returning next year!

It was great to chat to some familiar faces, such as Mr Eion and the folk at Burr & Co. where I'd recently been for a lovely lunch. As well as get to meet some new faces, such as the folk behind Alfie, who are using an air drum roasting technique. It was one of the cleanest cups of coffee I've tasted, will definitely be ordering from the website when I next run out of beans!

Really enjoyed chatting to the folk at Johan & Nystrom from Sweden. Their limited edition Gigisa Lot5 was fantastic as was their bottled iced teas! Their loose leaf tea tins were adorable but unfortunately not for sale at the festival.

They weren't the only ones there offering both coffee & tea, Edinburgh Tea and Coffee Company also had their wares on show. Tea lovers were not left wanting though as Pekoe Tea and Shibui Tea both had impressive selections to taste and choose from.

Tasty Buns Bakery were pretty much sold out of treats by the time I got there, but I did sneak an amaretti biscuit which was divine! Luckily Pinnes & Poppyseeds still had a healthy supply of Pumpkin Spice Caramel Cups to satiate my sweet cravings. The Chocolate Tree and The Marshmallow Lady were also on hand to supply sweet treats.

Rost were there with their food truck but I couldn't pass on a burger from Jones & Sons!

Overall, I had a fantastic couple of hours at the festival, even if my companion did throw a cup of coffee over me! Will hopefully have more time to explore next year. Although it was apparently much busier earlier in the day and it was difficult to actually stop and speak to exhibitors, so maybe arriving late had its perks!