💕😌 2024 Masking Challenge 😌💖

[eshoe]

Welcome to the 2024 Masking Challenge! 

This year is going to be a little different - simplified. Easy. Every month will have a new theme, and that's it. Feel free to join in whenever and wherever. Most importantly - have fun!

Spring Fling - Baskets and bouquets, showers of much-anticipated rain...this month's focus is herbal and floral sensory delights 💮

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January	Fresh Starts - Time for a re-set, or morning masking? However you see it, this month is all about new beginnings.
February	Winter Love - Whether it's a mask you adore, or something extra-special to care for dry winter skin, this month is for some soothing TLC.
March	March Madness - Competition is in the air! Find a $ dupe of a $$$ mask that is share-worthy? Or find a dupe that works even better than the original? Details, please!
April	Spring Fling - Baskets and bouquets, showers of much-anticipated rain...this month's focus is herbal and floral sensory delights.
May	Dew Drops - May Day lore says to wash your face in the dew you collect in the morning of the first day of May for radiant skin. This month is for absorbing all of that good-for-you H2O.
June	Summer Sunshine - Ice cream, sunglasses, SPF, check! Once the sun is down (or before it's up), extra care is most necessary. How do you give your skin cooling repair?

Mask of the Week Misc. Info & Previous Year's Links:

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To Post:

Each week features a different theme, as well as a letter of the alphabet for coming up with new masking ideas. 

Please include the brand and name of the mask you are trying out, as well as a photo if possible. Any other details are greatly appreciated, including scent, fit, adherence, mask type (hydrating, brightening, exfoliating, detox, sleeping, etc.) as well as your overall experience.

Most importantly: Would you repurchase it? 

Second most important: Have fun and merry masking!

2023 Mask of the Week Challenge

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2022 Mask of the Week Challenge

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2021 Mask of the Week Challenge

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2020 Mask of the Week Challenge:

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Skincare-Aware/2020-Mask-of-the-Week-Challenge-PART-1/m-p/4995162/h...

2019 Mask of the Week Challenge:

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Skincare-Aware/2019-Mask-of-the-Week-Challenge/m-p/4497678/highligh...

2018 Mask of the Week Challenge:

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Skincare-Aware/Mask-of-the-Week-Challenge/td-p/3615125   

Thank you @Aaliaa for starting this thread, and giving us a place to share our love for masks💗

[itsfi]

V is for Vitamin C

E is for Eminence and Extravagent (wash off mask); and Economical (sheet mask)

Multi-masking: How many masks can I use at one time or in one day? I went with a cherry theme (inspired by the cherries I had for a snack) and used these 2 masks yesterday. 🍒🍒

Did you know that cherries are an excellent source of Vitamin C? I didn't until I was doing a bit of research on the ingredients in the wash off mask. 

Wash Off Mask:

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Mask:	Eminence Organic Skin Care Cherry Masque
Scent:	The cherry scent on this reminds me of the filling for cherry pie. Mmmm....
Intended Purpose:	* Balancing - Tones skin; minimizes the look of large pores * Rejuvenating and revitalizing (skin renewal)- Diminishes appearance of discoloration, fine lines and wrinkles; promotes collagen production * Moisturizing
Key Ingredients Marketed:	* Sour cherries - there are five forms of cherries in this mask, with the first ingredient being the brand's proprietary blend which includes cherry juice and cherry bark extract. * Honey - two forms of honey is included in this mask as well - in the proprietary blend as well as a stand-alone ingredient. My skin responds well to honey so I'm on board with having more forms of it in this mask. 😉
Other Notable Ingredients:	Aloe; lactic acid; salicylic acid; and CoQ-10 (though it's the last ingredient listed)
Performance & Results:	The consistency is a bit goopy but not thick, with a bounciness to it. It also contains chunks of sour cherries. The directions suggest emulsifying the product with a few drops of water. An aesthetician has also recommended using a toner in lieu of water. I've tried both and also mixing in The Ordinary Marine Hyaluronics (it's water-thin so it lends itself to providing for a smoother application here).  It's challenging for me to say how well this particular product alone reduces discoloration because my skincare routine includes a few different products for that purpose, but I did see a healthy, fresh-glow. In addition to this slight brightening effect and the aromatherapy of the luscious cherry scent, the mask lightly moisturizes my skin and I notice that my pores look smaller. ❤️
Best Suited For:	Any skin type, provided no allergies to any of the ingredients
Would I Repurchase?:	Yes; most likely. There are other masks from the brand that I'm interested in trying so I might not repurchase this one immediately, but it's definitely one I'd be happy to repurchase. It's a splurge, but I usually pick up a mask when my aesthetician hosts an occasional sale. It's a lovely treat for my skin and senses.

Ingredients: courtesy of dermstore (dot) com

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Ingredients list from dermstore (dot) com

Sheet Mask:

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Mask:	SpaLife Hydrating Facial Mask - Wild Cherry + Collagen
Material:	Type: Thick cotton mask, with eye flaps Fit: Fairly standard for sheet masks (long at chin and the opening for the eyes and mouth is on the narrow side), not as wide as most sheet masks which worked in my favor. Adherence: Not bad given the thickness of the material, but there's far less essence in this mask than what I consider standard for sheet masks and as such, I can see that it might start lifting depending on how long it's kept on.
Essence / Serum:	Formula: Watery Consistency: Thin and light; there's not a lot of it. Just a smidge more than enough to cover the mask; not sure if that's the way the mask is designed or if I was nearing the end of its shelf life. Scent: Very light, but the scent made me think of a cherry-cola slurpee Extra In Packet?: Nope
Intended Purpose:	Hydration Skin Renewal
Key Ingredients Marketed:	Wild cherry and collagen
Other Notable Ingredients:	Aloe leaf juice; beta-glucan; panthenol Methylparaben; added fragrance
Performance &  Results:	I like that this mask has just a dozen ingredients and that it's affordable. I wasn't able to keep the mask on for the recommended 20 minutes though because my skin started feeling itchy around my eye and cheeks, right around the 10-minute mark, which is when I removed the mask. I didn't notice any irritation but the itching was bothersome enough that I contemplated rinsing off the essence. Hard to describe the results - I don't think it's hydrating enough for dry or dehydrated skin types and it's just a challenge to know what skin renewing results you get with just one use, and where the wear time was cut short.
Best Suited For:	Probably someone with normal or oily, and non-sensitive skin.
Would I Repurchase?:	No

Ingredients: from myspalife (dot) net

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Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Prunus Serotina (Wild Cherry) Bark Extract, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Portulaca Oleracea Extract, Beta-glucan, Panthenol, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance

Lip Balm:

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Cherry is one of the new flavors introduced with the launch of the new clean version of Sephora Collection lip balm range. The scent reminds me of the famous cherry chapstick smell. This is a good thing, IMO. This is a tinted lip balm - @missjeanie @Shosh85, did you hear that? It's a tinted lip balm!!! 😍 It's not the most emollient of balms; a little on the dry side. I actually think the honey lip balm and scrub from the original collection is more moisturizing (and still my favorite). That said, it's a handy dandy balm to keep in my purse as it lightly moisturizes my lips while adding a beautiful pinky-red tint to them. 💋

As an aside, I find the Sephora Collection #lipstories balm to be more moisturizing than this balm, so if you're looking for a more emollient tinted balm, that's a good one. The color on the #lipstories balms is buildable and stays on my lips for a couple of hours (though my lips continue to feel soft and moisturized after the color fades away).

SEPHORA COLLECTION Clean Lip Balm & Scrub Cherry 

SEPHORA COLLECTION #LIPSTORIES Lip Balm Date Prep 

[tjffc]

@itsfi Love this.  Cherry mask and yummy cherries.

[itsfi]

Thank you @tjffc! 😃 I think cherry 🍒 season will be over soon (or it might have already gone?!) so I wanted to get it in while I could snack on some yummy cherries. 

[quspork]

The Eminence mask is intriguing, @itsfi. It sounds like this formulation of cherries and their byproducts works out nicely!

[itsfi]

I've been happy with the Eminence masks I've used @quspork! I've heard you can mix them together with other masks from the brand, which sounds like it could be fun.

[quspork]

They have so many options, @itsfi! I've never really looked them up before but what just perusing their website and it's a crazy number of masks with all kinds of different ingredients, so many delicious sounding ones. Do you have any favorites of the ones you've tried? 

[itsfi]

It's so easy to get lost with all the different products in their brand @quspork! They usually come out with a new ingredient to showcase during the year, not a ton, but typically a different and new one for the cooler seasons and again when the weather is warmer. I've tried a few samples at home as well as have had these masks in a treatment and would consider picking up or repurchasing (not all at once, of course):

Mask

• Bamboo Age Corrective Masque - I tried a DS and it was fantastic. After I get through more wash-off masks, I'll probably pick this one up. It's the only wash off mask where I've felt some firming in certain areas after using the mask.
• Balancing Masque - Pomelo Cheek Treatment - this is so nice on my dry cheeks 
• Pumpkin Latte Hydration Masque - yes, pumpkin latte. 

Peel / Exfoliating products

• Arctic Berry Peel & Peptide Illuminating System - I've had one of their peels in salon and they made me a sample to take home to use a week or two after. It's very nice; pricey but very nice. I may pick up a set after I've gone through my current peels. The acai moisturizer that comes with it can be purchased alone and that's a good one for dry skin.
• Pear & Poppy Seed Microderm Polisher - this smells wonderful. My preference is for chemical exfoliants but this one is good. If your skin is super sensitive, the granules might be too much. 

Toner, Serum, and Oils

• Rosehip Triple C + E Firming Oil - this is such a luxe oil. 
• Bright Skin Licorice Root Booster - Serum - really good for sun spots, PIH
• Stone Crop Hydrating Mist - I've used this as a toner or essence
• Mangosteen Revitalizing Mist - smells so good
• Sweet Red Rose Tonique - I like to use this as a mist
• Apricot Body Oil - this is divine, especially in the colder season.

[quspork]

Ooh, thank you so much for the recs, @itsfi! I'm definitely bookmarking their page for when I've gotten thru a little more of my current stash. (I am hard eye-balling the pumpkin latte mask haha!)

[itsfi]

@quspork, the brand is almost always excluded from sales, unfortunately. BUT, there have been occasions where if I’ve purchased products online through lovelyskin (dot) com or skinstore (dot) com, the site may send every once in a while a sample of an Eminence product with a coupon code for 10 or 15% off; it doesn’t have to be used for that particular product but it’s good for Eminence items. 

[emaisgr8]

@itsfi The wash off mask sounds wonderful and cherry pie filling sounds yummy to me.

[itsfi]

@emaisgr8, I thought about making a cherry pie 🍒 🥧 while I was masking but I wasn’t up for making the crust and heading back to the store to pick up more cherries. 😆 

[eshoe]

I love that the Eminence contains actual chunky bits of cherry, @itsfi👍🏼 I haven’t tried the Farmacy cherry products, but this makes me curious how they compare scent-wise🤔 @lmaster I think you have tried some, maybe?

[lmaster]

Yep @eshoe @WinglessOne nailed that description

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  I've used Farmacy Very Cherry Bright 15% Clean Vitamin C Serum with Acerola Cherry 1.0 oz/ 30 mL for several months now (I don't remember when I switched to it... sometime last year) and also have a jar of Farmacy Green Clean Makeup Removing Cleansing Balm Limited Edition Very Cherry 3.4 oz/ 100 mL which I use only to remove swatches from my arms/hands. The balm has a stronger scent than the vitamin C serum, but the vit C serum smells more like natural cherries. The balm has more of a cherry + vanilla + almond scent. 

Very Cherry Bright's been my favorite vitamin C serum since I started using it, mostly because it actually works but also because one of its 4 forms of vitamin C is sourced from acerola cherries instead of citrus extracts/oils. That (and its lack of other bad-for-me stuff) makes it 100% safe for my face. 🙂 The light cherry scent is a welcome bonus. 🍒

[eshoe]

Stop selling me on products, @WinglessOne 😂 Adding the serum to my list❤️🍒 

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  Yum! 🍒 The Eminence mask sounds great! I'm not sure I've ever tried a cherry scented mask before!
Good to know the cherry balm has a tint to it! I already bought the peach one, but read some of the reviews on the cherry one and decided to wait til there's a sale. The Ilia lip oils sound like something I'd love - thanks for the heads  up on those! 😃

[itsfi]

@Shosh85, the cherry lip balm looks and feels nice if your lips are already in a good state. If your lips are dry, it's not going to feel as moisturizing as you'd expect from a balm. If your lips are very dry, it's probably worth looking into another flavor within the Sephora Collection range or another lip balm.

[missjeanie]

Okay, super excited to hear your review for the balms @itsfi ! I completely assumed that the cherry would have no tint to it so was just disappointed it wasn’t a scrub. Now that I hear there’s a tint my interest has been re-peaked! And I’ve had a couple of the lipstories bounce in and out of my cart (and now in again). I should finish up a tinted balm this week and this will be motivation to finish it.  

[itsfi]

@missjeanie, the lipstories balms are good - I have 2, one in Date Prep and I just received Are you jealous? last night. Not to throw you a curve ball, but Ilia is coming out with tinted lip oils on Tuesday (8/4) and they look really good too. There’s supposed to be 6 shades but there’s only one coming up on Sephora at the moment. I mean, it's called Balmy Gloss Tinted Lip Oil!!!! 😍

The 6 shades in this range are:

* Linger - berry mauve

* Maybe Violet - soft lavender

* Only You - neutral nude

* Petals - tropical pink

* Saint - rustic orange

* Tahiti - burnt coral (shown on Sephora site)

Tagging (and some may say, enabling 😉)  

@lmaster,  @sonnydee, @Loretta55, @Shosh85, @ather (you may be on a no-buy, in which case, oops, I'm sorry, you didn't see this at all, hon!), @SportyGirly125, @eshoe So sorry if I'm missing someone on here who also loves a good tinted lip balm / lip oil.

[missjeanie]

@itsfi Well doesn't this look enticing!  Did I just buy another lip oil?  Oh man.. I can't even remember, how sad is that!  The 'burnt coral' doesn't do a thing for me, I'm a mauve girl through and through, but I mean.. sometimes you need to go out of your comfort zone right?  

The SC balm is back in my cart again.  It's about time for a summer sale right?  I need something to push me over the edge after getting a few packages this week already lol

[itsfi]

Hahaha @missjeanie! I’ve made plenty of  “you should go outside your comfort zone” purchases. It’s so weird how those orders  usually include a color inside my comfort zone as well. 🤪😂🤣😂 

I’m so happy you’re getting a few packages! Yaaay! 📦 🙌🏼 Exciting! 😃