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๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ˜Œ 2024 Masking Challenge ๐Ÿ˜Œ๐Ÿ’–

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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!


March Madness
 - Competition is in the air. Find a worthy dupe of a ๐Ÿ’ฐmask that is share-worthy? Or find a dupe that works even better than the original? Details, please!

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JanuaryFresh Starts - Time for a re-set, or morning masking? However you see it, this month is all about new beginnings.
FebruaryWinter 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.
MarchMarch 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!
AprilSpring Fling - Baskets and bouquets, showers of much-anticipated rain...this month's focus is herbal and floral sensory delights.
MayDew 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.
JuneSummer 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 masks๐Ÿ’—

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@PrettyPaint, itโ€™s amazing what I learn from what starts out as researching a mask or skincare products, or ingredient(s) in it. ๐Ÿ˜† I didnโ€™t know of the micro / macro distinction either until trying to figure a common denominator for what doesnโ€™t sit well with my skin. Thatโ€™s an excellent call on avoiding the eye area - such a sensitive zone. 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

Oh no @itsfi I was excited to see it wasn't the white sheet,,, but the scent sounds...well,,, not for me ๐Ÿ˜ฃ

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@lmaster, Iโ€™ve been lucky that the seaweed sheet masks Iโ€˜ve used havenโ€™t had this smell. It makes me wonder what this mask sheet would have smelled like if they didnโ€™t add fragrance to it. ๐Ÿ˜ฑ๐Ÿ˜ฌ 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

That's unfortunate about the seaweed mask, @itsfi. I think there were a couple other folks in the gratis thread for this collection that mentioned having a reaction to this one as well. Definitely not rushing to add this one to the cart!

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

Thanks @quspork! My skin has had a not-so-good history with certain seaweed / kelp / algae sheet masks. Iโ€™ll just lay low on trying anything new until I can do a little more research of my own, including checking ingredients lists of products Iโ€™ve used to get a better idea of what has worked and what definitely does not work. 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@itsfi  Yikes, that scent... now I'm doubly glad I passed on that seaweed mask. (I originally skipped it because it contains eucalyptus water.) Sorry it was so stinky and irritating! At least the Origins mask helped soothe your skin afterward. ๐Ÿ™‚ 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@WinglessOne, Iโ€™m glad you passed on this mask. I was hesitant to pick it up because my skin has been hyper sensitive to some, (but not all) kelp / seaweed sheet masks, but I decided to give this one a try. Lesson learned. I also learned that if I haaaaad to choose between a strong scent that dissipated almost immediately and a noticeable one that lingers, Iโ€™ll choose the former. It seemed like I picked up the scent every time I moved my head. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ As with all things, this one really isnโ€™t for me but it may be someone elseโ€™s treasure. 

Hmmm... interesting about the eucalyptus water. Is it just eucalyptus water or are  ingredients like eucalyptus oil or eucalyptus extract also a no-go for you? 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@itsfi  Yeah, I try to avoid as many essential oils as possible. Most of them contain volatile fragrance components my face is sensitive to. Eucalyptus oil is a no-go for my face, but sheet masks made of eucalyptus pulp are fine. Sometimes perfumed water is less irritating to my face than perfumed oil. But my face doesn't like damask rose water or damask rose oil, so I didn't want to take a chance on eucalyptus water. 

 

I don't remember if eucalyptus extract plays nice with my face... sometimes it seems "extract" is just another word for "oil." Rosemary is an exception: rosemary leaf extract is fine with me, but rosemary leaf oil is definitely not. Anyway, I just avoid eucalyptus everything in products whenever possible. ๐Ÿคฃ Well, except for the pulp used in mask sheets. 

 

If you haven't yet, I hope you can zero in on which types of kelp/seaweed/algae irritate your skin. Some folks say it's no big deal if your skin develops a sensitivity; "just stop using those products at that point and switch to something else!" Yeah well, it's not a big deal unless you're the one with super painfully inflamed skin that requires hours (or days, or weeks) of TLC to heal. Anyway, sounds like you might need to avoid seaweed altogether. ๐Ÿ˜ž 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

Yeah, me too @WinglessOne, but I donโ€™t know if I want to go through the effort to isolate which type kelp/algae/seaweed my skin doesnโ€™t respond well to. ๐Ÿ˜ฌ Fortunately, whatever irritation it brings has subsided quickly, but Iโ€™m not looking to test that too much. So far, seaweed / kelp masks are a no go. Iโ€™ll cross reference ingredients in those masks at some point. Weโ€™ll see if I decide to be adventurous again when it comes to that ingredient in a sheet mask (or other skincare), but for now, any seaweed for me will be in food form, and Iโ€™m okay with that. ๐Ÿ˜‰๐Ÿ˜† 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

Two More Glam&Glow Masks 

 

111 Skin Rose Gold Brightening Facial Treatment Mask 

With actual gold, this brightening mask claims to brighten your skin for that glow. I think I've reviewed this mask before, but I have a box and they're expiring mid next year and I'm likely getting another box in a sub box, so thought I'd use for the theme. I was going to use one for my doctorate convocation this year, but alas, that did not happen, so I had an "extra" special occasion one. Friday's mask as Friday is a brightening mask night.

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Fit
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I always feel like hydrogels fit my face better, because they're able to stick better maybe? This isn't the best fit, particularly around the nose, but it is much better than cotton or other sheet masks.
Serum
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Watery. Not a ton in the package, but a lot on the mask and the surrounding foils.
Claims
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Brighten, firm and optimize skin moisture levels.
It definitely brightens. Firming, eh, I don't think a single sheet mask really does anything for firming, but it did plump my skin a bit. For skin moisture, the mask was hydrating, but I need to be better about putting on a hydrating serum before, rather than after, to really see. Next time, I still have a few.
Ingredients 
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Niacinamide, sodium hyaluronate and CICA in the middle are probably heavy workhorses here, but also (albeit a bit understudied) hydrolyzed collagen and collodial gold toward the end, as well as lecithin. No overwhelming fragrance, but some was added, unfortunately.
Wear Time 
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Suggests 20 min, I left on for 35-40+ minutes, and the whole gel was still damp, but not a lot of serum left over. A little bit of tack, but quickly patted in. I don't always notice tack because I usually mask at night, but I am trying to remember more.
Overall Grade
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B+. I am very glad I got a box in a subscription box. They are by no means worth their full price ($135 CDN for 5; $27/mask). Truly, do not spend your money on these at full price. If you see them in a sub box or in like a Marshall's for a reasonable price, definitely worth a grab in my opinion. I think they are best during the day before a thing, rather than as a nighttime mask, but we aren't going anywhere these days, so... Maybe if I have to take pictures for something or have to give a conference talk, I would try out during the day. They definitely are a nice reset, and provide a nice brightening, plumping and hydrating effect

Clarins Masque-Serum Liftant 

An even more expensive mask that I also received from a sub box. Liftant or lifting mask shape due to the ear holds for face and neck. Saturday nights are for firming masks.

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Fit
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This is a thicker cotton and wood cellulose mask. It is a thick, but soft mask, that surprisingly fit all right on the top part of my face. The ear loops took some stretching to get over my ears, but wasn't too uncomfortable wearing. The neck was way too big, and I had to fold it over on top of itself a bit. It is VERY scented, which is disappointing.
Serum
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A thin milky serum, that wasn't very present on the mask basally or in the packet, but when I was done wearing the mask, I squeezed a bunch out of the mask.
Claims
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Instant lifting and plumping. Definitely plumped my skin a bit, but firming, not so much. 
Ingredients
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There is a LOT of fragrance in this mask and from my limited knowledge, not too many lifting ingredients. The info online points toward the oat, harungana and chestnut escin as hero ingredients, but I don't know a lot about these ones.
Wear Time
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Says to leave on for 15 minutes. I wore for 30+ and it was starting to feel dry, but when I squeezed it out there was a lot of serum left, but maybe that was mostly in the neck, as that was still more damp. I think these ear looped firming masks are supposed to be worn for longer to see an effect (did I see someone else recently wear one here?), so it is weird that it is marketed for 15 minutes.
Overall Grade
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C-/D. This is not a good mask. It is not worth the value. It could be, potentially, as it really does cover a lot of area and fits well-ish (I can't imagine cutting all those different holes is cheap and contributes to the price), but it contains too much added perfume and there wasn't a ton of benefits. No terrible side effects, so not a complete failure. Just very disappointing.  

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@haleyvvvv  The 111 Skin mask sounds nice! It's great you didn't have to pay full price to try it! The mask would have to do a heck of a lot to get me pay that much for it! 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

I'm not, opposed, per se, but definitely wary of paying so much for sheet masks @Shosh85. It is A LOT, though, so I'd always hope they're so much better than ones that are $10, which is even a lot.

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@haleyvvvv  I'm just super cheap ๐Ÿ˜‚ I've never spent more than $6 for a mask and really try to stay in $3 or less category. Although, knowing me and my FOMO, if there's an expensive mask that people are constantly raving about, I'd probably break down and buy it ๐Ÿคฃ

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@haleyvvvv  Sorry these didnโ€™t work out too well for you. Those ear loops look very uncomfortable. Congrats on getting your doctorate, but Iโ€™m sorry you didnโ€™t get to have the ceremony. 

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

Yeah, those ear loops weren't the worst, but they weren't great, I think I took them off halfway through, @PrettyPaint.

 

Thank you!! In the grand scheme of things its not the worst, but I was looking forward to my silly gown and the whole pomp.

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

I feel like I keep seeing some mid and low level grades - you're due for an awesome one @haleyvvvv!

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

Haha, @ShortErica, I'm just so picky with sheet masks, and I pulled out a bunch the past few weeks (gotta get through that stash...also, they easy to wear when tired). I'm sure the next one will be a winner.

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

So true about getting through your stash @haleyvvvv!

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

 that's so disappointing!! @haleyvvvv  for the price tag,,I would expect better

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

Same, @lmaster, but at least I got them in a sub box and didn't buy them outright. If I did, I probably would've scored even lower.

Re: 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge

@haleyvvvv  Sorry these were both subpar. Clarins has a patent for harungana madagascariensis extract as an anti-aging skincare ingredient. I haven't read through it, but now I'm curious about any testing they did. I have a different 111 Skin mask and you just reminded me I haven't used it yet. (Note to self!) 

 

Also, assuming your PhD graduation didn't happen because of covid: congratulations! 

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