💕😌 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💗

[sonnydee]

that is pretty packaging @itsfi & the mask sounds Zen like as well🤗.....

[itsfi]

Zen, indeed! It was a well timed mask,  @sonnydee! 😊 All the masks in this “I Wish“ line are super cute! ♥️ I picked up a few earlier this year and will definitely be picking up more later in the year. 😉 

[WinglessOne]

A is for my old friend, Biobelle Afterparty. 

Macarons are my favorite cookie and this sleeve always makes me want some.

Notes: 

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Claims: Smooths, brightens, and moisturizes skin; protects against environmental stressors. 

Ingredients: Ah, how I miss the days when Biobelle front-loaded their masks with star ingredients! I suppose it’s cheaper for the brand to formulate their masks the way they currently do, but I’m not a fan of that at all—especially when I can look back to their old masks, like this one, and see yogurt and blueberry listed upfront, along with lactic acid (probably here more for moisture than exfoliation) and amino acids. This is one of my favorite Biobelle masks solely because of its ingredients. I mean, niacinamide? Licorice root? Panthenol? Allantoin? Yes please! And fragrance is where it should be: near the end of the list. 

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Water, Glycerin, Propanediol, Lactococcus/Milk Ferment Lysate, Saccharide Isomerate, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Lactic Acid, Sodium Lactate, Corn Gluten Amino Acids, 1,2-Hexanediol, Pentylene Glycol, Niacinamide, Xanthan Gum, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Panthenol, Allantoin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Phtalate Free Fragrance, Sodium Citrate, Hydroxyacetophenone, Phenoxyethanol 

Performance: This tencel sheet was full of blueberry scented watery serum. I usually get a handful+ of Afterparty serum from the sleeve, and this time was no exception. No trimming was necessary but, as usual, this sheet was too narrow. (Not as narrow as some others I’ve used, but definitely not wide enough to cover my jaw.) Sometimes I cut perimeter slits at the temples and jaw (well, what should be my jaw) so I can overlap parts of the sheet without bunching it up, but I didn’t do that tonight. 

The first time I ever used this mask, I expected to find a cream serum in the sleeve—because you know, yogurt. I remember how surprised I was. 😄 Something about this particular serum always makes this sheet feel relaxing on my face. I can't smell the blueberry much after smoothing the sheet on my skin, which is probably a good thing if that scent is driven mainly by added fragrance elements. 

After 30 minutes of wear tonight, it took just a minute to massage and press residual serum into my skin. I had no pilling or tackiness. 

Results: Hydrated and well moisturized skin that looked brighter and felt soft and bouncy to the touch. Now that I’ve used a few new-to-me masks that are more hydrating and moisturizing than Afterparty, I can knock its rating down to a 89-90. It’s still a good mask and I still plan to restock it while I can, before it disappears from all retailers. 

Tonight I topped Afterparty with Drunk Elephant F-Balm (received as gratis from Sephora), a sleep mask that totally fails me in cold weather but fairs much better in heat. For me, it’s lightweight enough to use after a moisturizing sheet mask without making my skin feel heavy or smothered. 

[faeriegirl]

This one sounds great @WinglessOne! I have it pulled out to use this week!

[ather]

@WinglessOne  This one sounds Devine!! 

[Shosh85]

@WinglessOne  The last place I saw still had these was Kohl's, but that was like 6 months ago. I don't remember which ones they had, but I liked all the originals so I wish I would've grabbed them when I saw them. 😢 I'll have to go back soon just in case there's still some there 🤞

[lmaster]

@WinglessOne I've never tried a macaroon... They look yummy

[WinglessOne]

@lmaster  Macarons have magically crispy shells and chewy airy interiors, with delicious cream or jelly filling. I've tried several times to make them from scratch but man, the dough is super fussy. I mean my macarons have turned out okay, but not nearly as good as I'd get from a French bakery. The best ones i've ever had were from Laduree during a trip to Paris. There's a shop here in Chicago (Vanille Patisserie) that makes great ones, but Laduree's are perfect. 

I don't like to eat anything while wearing sheet masks, but this one always tempts me to eat cookies. 😄 

[itsfi]

Laduree macarons are delicious! 😋 They have a shop in Vancouver, near Sephora. I felt spoiled having both so close by. ♥️♥️ @WinglessOne @lmaster @eshoe 

Tagging @heartsmyface, you’ve had these macarons, yes?!!! Amazingness. 😍

[eshoe]

Ok favorite flavors are necessary @heartsmyface , @itsfi @WinglessOne @lmaster!!!

[eshoe]

@WinglessOne @lmaster Macaroons!!! I made them from scratch once and it was a multi-day process. The eggs sitting at room temp, powdered vs liquid flavor/color...they turned out but it was unbelievably difficult. I wasn’t even aware of Ladurée when I went 😕 Still haven’t tried them, but some day!

[lmaster]

You guys are Killin me!!! 😆 @eshoe @WinglessOne 

[eshoe]

It always goes back to the snacks, @lmaster 😉

[lmaster]

That picture is a beautiful work of art for my tummy @eshoe  🤣 @WinglessOne @itsfi 

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  I will say Laduree's macarons were even better back in the late 80s when I first visited France. They're still fantastic, though! They now ship to the US through Goldbelly, so if you ever want to blow lots of money on some super tasty treats... not to enable but, I'm just sayin'. 😈 I ate macarons at several different patisseries in France and there are great ones out there, so it's not like Laduree is the only source of greatness. But still, theirs have remained my favorites. 

And omg, the effort involved in making these little finicky things from scratch... it's not enough that they taste good. They MUST have good "feet" (the wonderful crust on the bottom of each half) and the correct airy texture. My first couple attempts didn't product good enough feet, which meant the dough texture was off. I think anyone who bakes should attempt to make macarons at least once, if for nothing else than to truly appreciate these cookies. 😄 

[eshoe]

It’s a completely different level of messing around in the kitchen, @WinglessOne.

Now see, I will probably be exploring Goldbelly all night, tonight. Plenty of time to go back and forth on them, thank you for the (very enabling) suggestion😉

[PrettyPaint]

@WinglessOne  I do like those ingredients! I don't think I realized this was getting discontinued. I think I'll grab a few before they are gone! 

[WinglessOne]

@PrettyPaint  I don't know if Biobelle has ended Afterparty for good, but it hasn't been available at their site or Ulta for a while now. Neither have some of their other older masks. 😞 I never got to try their red wine mask... I keep forgetting its name... Happy Hour? Anyway, I hope I can still find it somewhere! And I hope you can get more of the old masks before they're gone! 

[PrettyPaint]

@WinglessOne  Aww that's too bad that they are possibly discontinuing some of the older varieties. I just went through my stash to see if I could find Happy Hour, but maybe I never picked that one up either!

[eshoe]

This sounds like a stellar mask, @WinglessOne. I like your ‘front-load’ assessment; first time I’ve heard it said quite like that! It is disappointing when so much that is good takes a back seat to cutting costs. A few others ( @Shosh85 I recall) noted that the tencel material had changed over time, too. 

[WinglessOne]

@eshoe  Yeah, the sheet has definitely changed. 😞 It seems Biobelle has cut corners to reduce expense. I could be wrong about that, of course, since I know nothing about their cost model. But I wonder how much money they save with the new sheet. Hmm. 

Things like this make me want to study cosmetic chemistry and learn a lot more about product formulations. I'm always curious of how different a product would perform if certain ingredients were omitted, increased, or reduced, and exactly what kinds of chemical reactions are created or avoided via certain formulations. Like I really need more educational outlets 😄 ... I'm constantly in learn mode.