ARCHIVE - 2020 Mask of the Week Challenge! - PART 1

[eshoe]

Please join us on Part II of this year’s challenge:

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Skincare-Aware/2020-Mask-of-the-Week-Challenge-PART-II/m-p/5433327/...

Welcome to a new year of masking adventures! ***The second half of the year thread will be up June 28th (or earlier), thank you for the suggestion @heartsmyface, @Kim888 & @quspork!***  

Thank you @Aaliaa for starting this thread and giving us a place to share our love for masks💗 Below is the 2020 schedule. Post as frequently or infrequently as you would like, with or without following the challenge. We love hearing about every masking experience, and suggestions are always welcome. Looking forward to sharing some new masking 💖 with you all this year!

This Week’s Theme: Masking Duel - Dare to compare 2 (or more!) masks in one session

Letters of the Week: “Z” and “A”

Spoiler

Jan 1 - Jan 5	A & Z	Mask Stash Clean-Out! Finish those masks before they expire.	l8totheparty/ShortErica
Jan 6 - 12	B & Y	Masks that Make you Hungry	itsfi
Jan 13 - 19	C & X	Favourite Mask in your regular routine - What do you buy in bulk, so you always have it on hand in case of masking emergency?	itsfi
Jan 20 - 26	D & W	Clean Week - Masks that give your skin a boost without the guilt	eshoe
Jan 27 - Feb 2	E & V	Transportation Masking	@lmaster/@ShortErica/@missjeanie
Feb 3 - 9	F & U	Best fitting mask - Mask that best fits your facial features	PrettyPaint
Feb 10 - 16	G & T	Special Occasion Masks - the mask(s) you use to pamper yourself	itsfi
Feb 17 - 23	H & S	Gross Masks - whether it's the scent or results, share the details please!	Aaliaa
Feb 24 - Mar 1	I & R	Snubbed It: Masks you don't want to use & are continually passed over	ShortErica
Mar 2 - 8	J & Q	Female Owned Brands - In honour of Women's Day March 8th	Aaliaa
Mar 9 - 15	K & P	Masks Good Enough to Eat	heartsmyface
Mar 16 - 22	L & O	Sample that made you buy the FS - You tried it, and decided to buy it!	itsfi
Mar 23 - 29	M & N	Favourite Smelling Masks - Watermelon, Kale, Spa??
Mar 30 - Apr 5	N & M	Mask While You Task	l8totheparty
Apr 6 - 12	O & L	Most Outrageous Mask Claims	ShortErica
Apr 13 - 19	P & K	Hi-Lo Week: Mix or duel of $$$$ and $ masks
Apr 20 - 26	Q & J	Sample Dive - I know we have them!	Aaliaa
Apr 27 - May 3	R & I	Targeted Skin Concern - Mask to address a current skin issue	PrettyPaint
May 4 -10	S & H	Overnight Masks - Sleeping miracles in a jar
May 11 - 17	T & G	Mask with a Partner	Alphaboo
May 18 - 24	U & F	Vitamins Week - masks that nourish your skin with vitamins and minerals	kim888
May 25 - 31	V & E	Best/Cutest Printed Mask	Shosh85
Jun 1 - 7	W & D	Mask that best describes your personality or mood	PrettyPaint
Jun 8 - 14	X & C	Fruits & Veggies Week - masks that use natural goodness to nourish your skin	Keana1
Jun 15 - 21	Y & B	Forgotten Wonders - Shop your stash for an unloved mask	missjeannie
Jun 22 - 28	Z & A	Masking Duel - Dare to compare 2 (or more!) masks in one session	eshoe
Jun 29 - Jul 5	A & Z	Masking Pet Peeves - use a mask that has some component that drives you crazy!	ShortErica
Jul 6 - 12	B & Y	Masking Hacks - share your masking secrets that make your life easier and your skin happy	eshoe
Jul13 - 19	C & X	Lip, Hand or Foot Masks to help that summer skin
Jul 20 - 26	D & W	’Weird Mask' Bubbling, Peeling, Colour changing other worldly wonders!	Aalia
Jul 27 - Aug 2	E & V	Multi-Masking How many masks can you use at one time or in One Day??
Aug 3 - 9	F & U	Blind Pick Your Mask - Let's make it fun to use the masks in our stash!	veronika23
Aug 10 - 16	G & T	Sheet Mask Focus - from cotton to cupra, coconut gel to bio cellulose, what are your favorites and why?
Aug 17 - 23	H & S	Drugstore & Grocery Brands Week	eshoe
Aug 24 - 30	I & R	3-Step Masks/Multi-Step Masks	heartsmyface
Aug 31 - Sep 6	J & Q	Rainbow Week - Bring out the colorful masks in every hue	Sonnydee
Sep 7 - 13	K & P	Autumn Masks - Fall goodness in a mask
Sep 14 - 20	L & O	When you are getting GLAM for a night out and want that inner GLOW
Sep 21 - 27	M & N	BIC Made you do it! Masks recommended/inspired by other BIC members
Sep 28 - Oct 4	N & M	Sephora Collections Week - House Brand Goodness
Oct 5 - 11	O & L	Masks that Make you Hungry - Fall/Winter Edition	itsfi
Oct 12 - 18	P & K	Forgotten Wonders - Shop your stash for an unloved mask
Oct 19 - 25	Q & J	Overnight Masks - Sleeping miracles in a jar
Oct 26 - Nov 1	R & I	Masking Duel Week II
Nov 2 - 8	S & H	Buddy Up! Dare to compare the same mask with another BIC-er	eshoe
Nov 9 - 15	T & G	Gross/Odd/Unusual Ingredients - Spirulina, donkey milk, bee venom, snail mucous - what masks have you used that have strange ingredients?	Aaliaa
Nov 16 - 22	U & F	Flash Masks - masks that do doubly duty in half the time	eshoe
Nov 23 - 29	V & E	Morning Masking - Masks that help give a pep to your step
Nov 30 - Dec 6	W & D	Mask that would make a good band name (kinda silly, I know)	PrettyPaint
Dec 7 - 13	X & C	Holiday Party Prep Mask
Dec 14 - 20	Y & B	Most Artistic Sheet Mask	Kim888
Dec 21 - 27	Z & A	Favourite Masks of All-Time	itsfi
Dec 28 - 31	123	Masks you discovered this year

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

Spoiler

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, if it's an exfoliating mask (include acid info if known), your overall experience, and whether or not you would repurchase. Don't forget to include a grade (thanks to @ShortErica for the idea) to help others along the way.

Most importantly, have fun and merry masking!

Mask Hacks - Here are a few to get started thanks to our lovely BIC-ers, a big thank you for these fabulous ideas!

Spoiler

Trim off long chin and add to forehead for sheet masks	itsfi
Squeeze tube lip balms (like Bite) into pans and place in magnetic palette	sonnydee
Layer lip sleeping mask (such as Laneige) over regular balm	cianni
Derma plane prior to a peel-off mask to ease the pain of removal	heartsmyface
Warm water helps remove clay masks quicker than cold	cianni
Lay sheet masks flat prior to use so the serum is more evenly distributed	eshoe
Remove clay/difficult masks in the shower to keep towel clean and removal easy	itsfi/BIC
Use an HA serum prior to trying a mask with alcohol high on the ingredients list	keana1
Use a Makeup Eraser to remove wash-off masks	lmaster
With a detox mask, apply a thicker layer where pores are	Ather
Use a resurfacing exfoliating spray (such as Kate Somerville’s Liquid ExfoliKate) before a detox mask to better clear out your pores	Miamia27
Re-use a large sample jar for a blank sheet mask pellet and fill it with essence/toner	Itsfi
Use a nail clippers to trip a mask if scissors are not on hand	ShortErica

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 

NEW!!! Got an idea for next year's challenge? Let me know! Was there a challenge you'd rather not repeat? Share below, so we can start building the 2021 schedule:

Spoiler

https://forms.gle/JYfmPU7YXR4k6Sb19 

[eshoe]

First time I’ve peeled at the Biorè, @ShortErica - pretty good stuff😄

[ShortErica]

The first time I had him use one was so memorable. He always gets some out @eshoe but I kinda dont want to have him do one for years just to see if it could be that bad again. 🤣

[eshoe]

Yep @ShortErica that would be phenomenal, but I can hardly look at my own😆

[l8totheparty]

Those look like fun masks!  Good job on cutting your stash down. We have no excuses to use them up! 

@ShortErica 

[ShortErica]

Very true @l8totheparty!

[Shosh85]

@ShortErica  Nice job using up your masks - I'm impressed! I'm currently masking daily so I can make a dent in my 2020 and 2021 masks. 😉

These masks sound great! I totally didn't realize the May Coop mask had alcohol - it's always a bit of a bummer to see, but I'm glad it turned out great despite that!

[ShortErica]

My next expiration date is end of June and I have a couple in July so I'm taking a mini break from focusing on only my 2020 expiration or no expiration date masks (29 to go!). You'll definitely get through them using a mask daily.

And oh no, I probably didn't write correctly. The raw sauce has the alcohol in it but the mask version doesn't @Shosh85 

[quspork]

I love the May Coop Raw Sauce, @ShortErica, so need to eventually try the mask. It's one of those that's been in and out of the cart for years LOL. Glad it worked out well pretty well for you!

[ShortErica]

Thanks @quspork - I would say you should try it!

[lmaster]

@ShortErica I really think you would like the mustus line, they are all really nice and only for $1 

[ShortErica]

@lmaster when my no buy ends I'm totally going to get them now. I feel like that's my mask style - decent fit and material, no or slight scent, and excellent price point.

[WinglessOne]

M = maiko. Saturday night I used the limited edition LuLuLun Premium Kyoto Geisha mask. This is one of the brand’s single sheets (not a multi-sheet pack). 

Box of 5 individual sheets. Based on the hair ornament, I assume this is a maiko, not a geiko.Sleeve out of box.

Notes:

Spoiler

Claims: Moisturized, brightened, glowing, and glossy skin. Smooths skin and improves elasticity. 

Ingredients: This is a fragrance free mask, and it definitely contains rice extract. But it appears the version sold in the US is formulated slightly differently than the Japanese version (that happens more often than you’d think), so I’ll post both sets of ingredients. They contain mostly the same stuff, with a couple of confusing omissions and a reshuffle of several common ingredients.  

From LuLuLun’s product page: 

Spoiler

water, glycerin, propanediol, squalane, glyceryl tri (caprylic / capric acid), wolfberry, cabbage extract, sake cake extract, jojoba seed oil, gentian root extract, di (phytosteryl / octyldodecyl) lauroylglutamate, (isostearyl Acid polyglyceryl-2 / dimer linoleic acid) copolymer, xanthan gum, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose stearoxy ether, carbomer, (acrylates / alkyl (C10-30)) crosspolymer, PEG-20 hydrogenated castor oil triisostearate, tocopherol , EDTA – 2 Na, hydroxide K, phenoxyethanol, methyl paraben, BG 

From the back of my mask box: 

Spoiler

water, glycerin, propanediol, squalane, caprylic/capric triglyceride, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, PEG-20 hydrogenated castor oil triisostearate, phenoxyethanol, polyglyceryl-2 isostearate/dimer dilinoleate copolymer, methylparaben, rhus succedanea fruit wax, xanthan gum, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose stearoxy ether, carbomer, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, phytosteryl/octyldodecyl lauroyl glutamate, postassium hydroxide, tocopherrol, disodium EDTA, butylene glycol, gentiana lutea root extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, oryza sativa (rice) lees extract 

Performance: 
This is the older style LuLuLun sheet with a slightly larger mouth hole, much taller nose slits, and eyeholes with flaps. I had to cut the eyeholes larger, especially in the inner corners—which was tricky because of how high the nose slits were. I couldn’t cut as much as I wanted to in that area. 

I cut the eye flaps off and widened the eyeholes while wearing the sheet.

The sheet was about average thickness and felt very comfy. I know for some folks, fragrance/scent is the best part of sheet masking. But for me, the best part is the tactile sensation on my face: the better the sheet and serum feel against my skin, the more I enjoy masking. The combo of this soft sheet and milky serum felt like a relaxing soak in a slightly cool milk bath. No fragrance required. 

This is a 10-15 minute mask but I wore it for 30, then spent 2.5 minutes massage-pressing the serum into my skin. 5 minutes later, my face was still lightly tacky. But I had no pilling. 

Results: Bright, glowing, and very hydrated and moisturized skin. I forgot to do my BHA spot treatment before this mask, so I did it afterward. No need to run for moisturizer. In fact, I didn’t really need moisturizer after this mask. I used one only out of habit. Luckily, it worked well with this mask serum: my oily zone didn’t feel like it was drowning in grease. I woke up Sunday morning with soft moisturized skin. I’m calling this mask a 92 point tawny port. It’ll be fun to try this mask again during summer: it’s not a refreshing cooling mask, but it is the kind of mask I can probably use when my skin needs a moisture boost that doesn’t feel too cold-weather heavy, if you know what I mean. 

[l8totheparty]

Yes, I have noticed how some masks feel so cold!  Not exactly the best for the winter some of us experience.  This mask sounds great! Plus it has visually appealing packaging.

@WinglessOne 

[WinglessOne]

@l8totheparty  Sometimes—not often, but once in a while—I like to wear a very cold mask while soaking in a warm bath during winter. It’s weirdly relaxing. It also helps during migraine recovery: after I’ve taken my migraine med, I sometimes stick my feet in a tub of very warm water and put a cold compress on my face (or vice versa); the warm bath/cool sheet mask combo has a similar effect. I’m not sure why that works so well on my nausea migraine symptom and honestly, I don’t care why 🤣 —I’m just glad it works. 

Anyway, this mask would make a great gift for someone who loves masking. It’s such a lovely presentation! 

[lmaster]

I'm a moisturizer out of habit girl too @WinglessOne  😆

[WinglessOne]

@lmaster  It’s such an autopilot thing, right? I just do it without thinking about it, until I realize “oh shoot, I didn’t need to do this... oh well!” 😂

[lmaster]

I really really try to hold off @WinglessOne just to see how long and how bad the tackiness can be,,, but 8/10 times,,,I am definitely on autopilot!!!

[Shosh85]

@WinglessOne  I really love the packaging on these! The results sound fantastic and I like that there's options for both multi-packs and singles. 😃 The changes to the ingredients are interesting- I'm curious about how different the results from each set of ingredients would be. 🤔 I'm not at all an expert when comes to ingredients, so I'm curious, what omissions were confusing to you?

[WinglessOne]

@Shosh85  Isn’t that box fabulous? I don’t usually keep sheet mask boxes, but I love this one too much to toss it. 

The confusion is kinda hard to explain without showing you LuLuLun’s product page (from their US site). They highlight key ingredients on the product page and list all ingredients directly under the highlights. For this mask, there’s a weird mismatch between highlights and ingredients on the product page: 

Screenshot of Kyoto Geisha Mask product page, from LuLuLunUSA.com.

Some of this might be due to translation error. Times like this, I really wish I could still speak and read some Japanese (though I was never fluent) so I could review the original Japanese language marketing. 

[Shosh85]

@WinglessOne  Oh, yup, that's pretty confusing - knowing the language definitely would be helpful. Cabbage instead of green tea seems like a really bad translation, but hey, they are both green and leafy 😂

I find it interesting that there's different rice extracts used and one mask has it at the top of the list and the other at the end. Do you think there's a big difference between the two rice ingredients? I also noticed they moved the parabens around too, which seems to be pretty common with reformulations.  

[ShortErica]

Sneaky of them to change ingredients @WinglessOne. Is results your main scoring point? You always give such good detail but I'm curious how you weight the different components of the mask.