💕😌 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💗

[QueenMarceline]

@Mellmars1185 It really was, we ended up going to a friends porch area to exchange gifts. Very fun 🙂

[itsfi]

Alphabet Spotlight: B for blueberries, B vitamins (strawberry), and brightening (maple)

Weekly Challenge: Winter Masking Routine: The Weekend Edit (with a slight nod to last week's mask organization challenge) 

My skin thirsts for more hydration during the winter months. Another masking "routine" I have during this season to get in some extra hydration is to use a sheet mask twice a day on the weekends (if and when my skin can tolerate twice sheet masking sessions), with at least one, but more times than not, both, of those daily masks, being a hydrating, nourishing or soothing mask. 

These are the last of my Kocostar waffles masks - I used the the honey and ice cream varieties last year and meant to use these last year as well, so technically, I guess they could have been part of last weeks' mask clear out / organization theme - well, they could have if I had gone through all three by then. But I did not, so here we are. 😆

The blueberry variety is said to rejuvenate the skin. Strawberries contain 5 of the B-complex vitamins - thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pyridoxine (B6), and folate (B9) and the strawberry mask claims to "refine skin texture with a boost of vitamins." The maple mask pledges to revitalize and brighten skin. 

tl;dr: the waffle cut French fry grid pattern on each of these soft, medium-thick, gauze-like 100% cotton fiber sheets is heavily coated with a clear, thick gel that feels cooling and refreshing against the skin. There's a lot of gel but it's not overwhelming; at least not for someone with dry, very dry or dehydrated skin, it wouldn't be too much, but I can see that someone with oily or combo skin might need to make adjustments to the amount of serum. While the scent varies from flavor to flavor, the end results are generally the same - skin looks and feel soft, smooth, brightened and nourished, with a supple bounce to it. 

Sheet Masks:

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Maybe it’s just me but I feel like the primary differences, possibly the only differences, between the masks in this collection is the star ingredient and the scent associated with each mask. Everything else, including the results seem to be identical - soft, medium thick cotton gauze-like sheet resembling waffle cut French fry pattern saturated in a clear, thick gel that leaves skin soft, smooth, slightly supple, brightened and nourished after as little as 30 minutes. 

Having used all of these masks, here are my preferences, in order of most favorite to least, with the scent my nose picks up for the particular flavor -

1. Blueberry 🫐 - smells deliciously of blueberries
2. Strawberry 🍓 - fruity, generic berry scent at first; I do smell a faint strawberry scent but it’s discreetly mild
3. Honey 🍯 - an overall sweet scent with a subtle honey twist.
4. Ice Cream 🍨 - I primarily pick up that signature sheet mask scent. There’s another note to it but I can’t decipher what it is.
5. Maple 🍁 - I was expecting a sweet maple syrup scent, and not the slightly floral one I picked up. 
   

I know a few others here have used these waffle masks before and I'd love to hear their takes on whether they had a preference for any of the flavors. The packaging on these Kocostar waffle masks are fun and make fabulous gifts. My dry and dehydrated skin enjoys the thicker gel serum in these masks - cooling, soothing and hydrating - and plenty of it to help quench my skin's thirst. 

What else I enjoy about these Kocostar masks are the waffles (gluten free) I'm inspired to make when I see these masks in my mask library. I've been reaching for one of these masks every weekend for the last few weeks and trying different waffle combinations and recipes afterwards, so that could give another shout out to the B theme, with B for brunch! 😉

gluten free waffles

[elleb810]

@itsfi 

OMG, those waffles! It's near bedtime but I want waffles now. They look delicious and those masks look like a lot of fun for all ages.

[itsfi]

@elleb810, hahaha! These masks are great  fun and do give a good amount of hydration. Waffles are delicious anytime of the day! 🧇 

[lmaster]

@itsfi absolutely love your waffle theme!! Delicious 🤤 great comparison between the masks, you've given vital information!! 😊

[itsfi]

@lmaster, I don’t know what this thread enables me to do more - mask or cook. 😆 These waffle 🧇 masks are fun; I think the gel essence did a good job standing up to the winter’s fury. Not as good as a cream-essence mask but still a solid performer! 👍🏼 Do you have a favorite among these waffle masks?

[lmaster]

I've only used the maple version so far, was hoping for a different scent, but was nice otherwise @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@lmaster, I was disappointed in the scent on the maple waffle mask as well. The scent on the fruit based ones in this line have been the best in my opinion.

[lmaster]

Yaaaaaaay!! That gives me something to look forward to 😊 @itsfi 

[sonnydee]

@itsfi I really like those waffle masks but like you said I got to use them when my skin is extra thirsty (oily skin here😁) excellent job on the pictures as usual. 😍🤤

[itsfi]

Well hello there, waffle mask enabler @sonnydee!! 😊  And, thank you for that. Your enabling abilities are always great. These are definitely best suited when skin is dry or dehydrated or parched from the weather or a long day in the sum. I like that there's a lot of the gel serum now, but come summertime when I'm more combo/combo leaning oily, these waffle masks will be too much. Ahhh, thanks; I only took snaps of the good ones - trust me, some were definitely not ready for their close up. 😂

[missy94612]

@itsfi  

You're enabling more sheet mask purchases and waffle brunches. 😂 My husband has proposed that we do monthly waffle brunches and waffle sheet masks. My daughter is all on board (with the waffles) and she's already let us know the order - no surprise that ice cream is first. 

Do you use a mix for the gf waffles or make your own?

[itsfi]

@missy94612, hahaha! Love it! 💓 That's awesome that your daughter has put together an order for the waffles and sheet mask flavors. Of course, ice cream is first! The question though is, what flavor ice cream will your daughter want? 😆 I followed the recipe for "Easy Gluten Free Oat Waffles" from Cookie + Kate for these waffles.

[missy94612]

@itsfi

My daughter is over the moon that you've asked about her choice of ice cream and was putting a list, a rather long one, together. Her first choice is rocky road (for now at least), followed by chocolate and then cookies and cream and then chocolate again. 

[itsfi]

@missy94612, she’s got good taste! 😍 All excellent choices! 🍨 

[sister13]

So cute and lovely! And your waffles look amazing too! @itsfi 

[itsfi]

Thank you @sister13! The packaging is really cute; love that they perform well too. Gel serums can be too thick for some, but I just love ‘em in the cooler months. 😃

[eshoe]

Mmmm the waffles look delicious, @itsfi! Gluten-free always seem to taste sweeter (and crispier!) to me. It was fun to read your mask rankings, too. And masking twice a day in the winter sounds like a great way to keep flaky skin at bay 😉  

[itsfi]

@eshoe, upping the hydrating products has been helpful for me this winter, and the weekends lend themselves to more masking time. 

Interesting about how gluten free taste sweeter to you. I haven’t noticed gf foods tasting sweeter; I notice more of a difference in texture. 

[eshoe]

With almond flour, @itsfi, it seems like it brings out the sweetness. I made GF/DF berry muffins this week with coconut flour and they were incredibly crumbly. They completely apart while trying to eat them, made for a very messy breakfast. Next time, back to almond flour😁

[itsfi]

@eshoe, I don't think I have used coconut flour before but will make a note about it being crumbly. 🗒 I used oat flour (certified gluten free one) for these.