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We tried the range for two weeks to see if it lived up to the hype

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Acne-prone or oily skin? This one is for you

Trying a new skincare brand is always fun for us here at IndyBest. While we all have our favourite brands for everything from moisturisers to cleansers, getting to test out something for the first time is still quite a thrill. So, when Zena Skin landed on our doorstep we were intrigued, to say the least.

The website does claim that it’s the next number one skincare brand in the UK, which raised our tester’s eyebrows to near hairline level. But, bold (and slightly suscpicious) claims aside, we put two of the eight products to the test to see whether this brand really does deserve a spot on the bathroom shelf.

You may have spotted the brand on TikTok before with one video gaining more than 100,000 views, showing the core products in the range and claiming they cleared dark spots and acne breakouts within just two weeks. Again, quite the claim that we were desperate to test out.

The eight products on the site include a cleanser, toner, serum, face scrub, moisturiser, clay mask, pimple patched and exfoliating mitt for the body. With the hero product, the pink clay regenerating mask toted as the brand’s “must-have” try.

So, of course, this was the first product we reached for, along with the coenzyme Q10 moisturiser to give it a good old IndyBest testing.

Due to the often drying nature of clay masks, we used this one twice a week for two weeks – slotting it into our usual skincare routine alongside using the moisturiser daily both morning and night.

While our tester doesn’t have any dark spots, they do have the odd acne breakout every now and again around the jaw and cheek area, so we really wanted to see whether this mask would help clear that up as the description suggests.

After cleansing the skin in the evening, we applied a thin layer of this mask to the entire face and neck with a small brush – as when using any open pot style product it’s always best to use a brush or spatula to apply it to the face to avoid any bacteria transfer from your fingers.

The product claims to have visible results after just two days, and we can’t dispute it. While we didn’t suddenly have flawless skin overnight, breakouts did seem to shrink in size, pores appeared less visible and our complexion was all-around a little bit brighter and tighter, with a similar post-facial feeling.

Core ingredients include kaolin clay, a deep cleaning pink clay that helps to remove impurities, reduces inflammation and reduces excess oiliness; alkanna tinctoria rootm; olive, sunflower and coconut oil for moisturising and oat silk to aid in the mattifying process.

We washed the mask off after ten minutes with a damp cloth and warm water and followed with the moisturiser. While our skin did feel incredibly clean, it also felt slightly dry so unless you have oily skin, we’d say once a week of usage is enough to start with.

A good moisturiser is hard to find and as the market is heaving with options, it can get a bit overwhelming knowing which one to pick. After using it both morning and night for two weeks, we became quite the fan of this Zena Skin option thanks to its non-oily finish. However, we would recommend it to those with oiler skin over dry.

Apricot kernel oil is one of the core ingredients and works to soothe inflammation, tackle dryness and keep acne at bay. Similarly to the mask, sunflower, coconut and olive oil all feature to nourish the skin alongside oat silk for its moisturising and mattifying properties and hyaluronic acid for hydration.

The key ingredient that does stand out from standard moisturisers, and is in the name, is the co-enzyme Q10 which is great at reducing wrinkles while energising and revitalising skin cells. We did notice slight signs of firmer-looking skin and are quite confident that with continued long-term use this would only become more apparent.

The brand makes big claims, which we still can’t find any justification for. But we were still quite impressed with the products. The pink clay regenerating face mask will have a firm place in our bathroom cabinet for a weekly ten-minute home spa session and the moisturiser is definitely a nice option on days where our skin is looking a little too shiny.

From what we’ve seen so far, we would recommend this brand to anyone with acne or oily skin as it seems to be doing all of the right things in targeting those areas. For anyone with extremely dry skin, this may not be one for you, but if you are really keen to try a product then it’d best to avoid the mask and opt straight for the moisturiser instead.

For more hydrating face masks, take a look at our sheet mask round-up

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