Perricone MD H2 Elemental Energy

When we tried the H2 Elemental Energy Hydrating Cloud Cream at a recent press event, the PR was offering to measure skin hydration with a clever gizmo. And after massaging the scentless, almost 'whipped' product into a forearm, the hydrometer (well, that's our name for whatever it was they were using) went off the scale. Better try that, we thought. When it arrived, the H2 Elemental Energy Firming Foam Mask was in the package.

And boy, are we wowed by both.

The cream itself isn't called 'Cloud Cream' for nothing: Perricone MD H2 Elemental Energy Hydrating Cloud Cream is a nimbus of deeply skin-quenching ingredients in a gel-cream format which really does feel like the longest, coolest drink of water for skin. It is perfect, but perfect, for post-holiday dehydration – and while deeply, deeply moisturising, it's also light enough for someone who doesn't like the feel of rich creams.

The mask, meanwhile, isn't something you might want open the door to the postman in – but boy, does it make a difference in almost the blink of an eye. Smoothing in like a serum, it then lightly foams (tickles, actually, while it's doing it) into an ultra-white kabuki-style mask – but skin is left phenomenally bright when it's removed after just a few minutes. (5-10, they recommend.) Applying the Cloud Cream onto mask-brightened is a recipe for instant glow-y radiance.

The range is powered by hydrogen – a bit like a car, only more user-friendly. (Via an 'H2 Energy Complex'.) As ever, though, we're not really into the 'why' and 'how' of these products – more interested in whether they work.

And they do, they do, they do.

So, Dr. Perricone, we toast you – with a long, iced glass of water, naturally.

Perricone MD H2 Elemental Energy Hydrating Cloud Cream/£69 for 50 ml and Perricone MD H2 Elemental Energy Firming Foam Mask/£48 for 100 ml at cultbeauty.co.uk