💕😌 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💗

[Weetart]

I had to look ganoderma up and went "ooooh" that's' what those are called. @lmaster too bad it was not a great experience.

[lmaster]

Yep good ol fungus 🤣 @Weetart 

[Weetart]

For the theme I decided to test out these finger masks I believe @itsfi gave me in unicorn mail at some point. It’s been a while and I forgot about them. I was very surprised at how moisturizing they are! My finger tips are no longer dry and less brittle. Impressed. Plus the rose lavender smell was lovely. Odd one for sure, but I’m pleased.

[quspork]

Ooh, I think I have one of these to dig out and use, @Weetart - thanks for the reminder! Sounds like they worked out well for your fingers!

[Shosh85]

@Weetart  These are super fun and super cute! I had no idea finger masks even existed until I got one from @itsfi! 😃 Glad they worked well for you! 

[Weetart]

Same here! The work incredibly well. @Shosh85

[lmaster]

How cute!! @Weetart happy to see they all worked out great!

[Weetart]

They are pretty adorable! @lmaster Surprised I didn't get to them earlier.

[Shosh85]

C is for The Creme Shop Vitamin C from the wonderful @mrsmouse!

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The Creme Shop Vitamin C Face Mask

This is a medium thickness cotton sheet mask that was saturated with a slimy gel-like serum. It had a citrusy rubbing alcohol kind of scent, but it wasn't very noticeable while the mask was on. Unsurprisingly it had a large fit - pretty much the whole circumference of the mask was too big and the space between the eyes was too wide. Despite all the smooshing and folding, it adhered well and was comfortable to wear. I kept it on for about a half hour. There was some very light tackiness after removing that lasted less than 10 minutes. My face felt refreshed and soft and smooth and my skin tone looked brighter and more even.

I purposely put off using this mask for awhile because I haven't really used retinol before and wasn't sure how my face would react, but it ended up working out great! I enjoyed this one and loved the results and I'd use it again but because of the alcohol denat is 4th in the list I probably wouldn't purchase.

[lmaster]

Love that it says it can be refrigerated! @Shosh85 

[Shosh85]

@lmaster  I love putting masks in the fridge beforehand- especially in the summertime! ☀️🌞

[itsfi]

C is for Comparison, with aloe being the spotlight ingredient 

 

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For the last 5 or 6 weeks, I've been doing a little experiment with aloe-focused sheet masks. I pulled out what I think are most (I can't be sure this is all of them - lol!) of the aloe masks in my stash of masks to work through by 2020 and came up with this lot of 12. I chose aloe in large part because I was working on addressing some maskne issues and thought aloe sheet masks would be nice ones to incorporate more regularly into a maskne routine. I had some trouble uploading my chart so I'll just give a short and sweet summary of these sheet masks.

The thin, soft material of the Leaders Insolution Aloe Soothing Renewal Mask feels soothing on my skin, especially when it's irritated and/or very sensitive. The cooling sensation helps to calm it down as well and the ingredients in the clear, somewhat runny essence infused in the mask does a nice job of reducing any redness I have, lightly hydrating my skin, and giving my complexion a fresh faced dewiness. 

Benton Aloe Soothing Mask Pack has been and continues to be one of my go-to aloe masks - I keep one in my skincare first-aid tin and I bring one with me whenever I travel. One of the many things I love about this mask is that aloe leaf water is the first ingredient listed and aloe leaf extract is the 7th. Actually, much of the top 10 ingredients listed in this mask are heavy hitters in the skincare world - there's green tea leaf water, sodium PCA, sodium hyaluronate, beta glucan and cucumber in addition to the two forms of aloe. With such a great list of ingredients, it's no wonder my skin looks and feels soothed, refreshed and hydrated after an half hour of wear.

The packaging for the Scinic My Juice Bottle Mask is hard one to pass up. What's even harder to pass up is how soothed, softened, refreshed, dewy and hydrated my skin looked and felt after an half hour with this soft, thin cotton mask. It's a good one to keep on hand for when my allergies get the best of me and it shows on my skin. 

I was drawn to this mask by the cheeky name of Jeju:en Are You Sheeting Me?!? (and good experiences with other masks in this line). I'll stay with the mask for the results - bright, hydrated skin. 

Secret Nature Aloe Mask Sheet and Entel Aloevera Mask Pack are good filler masks - the thickness of the mask material and the consistency of the essence in both are what I'd consider standard for sheet masks. I didn't experience any irritation from either mask and they both left my skin feeling hydrated. 

After 10+ minutes of the Lune + Aster 5-Minute Rescue Sheet Mask - Soothe, the redness in my cheeks seemed to have been reduced and my skin looked more hydrated and plump. Good results but I'm sure I could get the same from other sheet masks, including others of these aloe sheet masks, and for less than the $8 price tag attached to this one. I don't mind splurging on a sheet mask, but there are other masks I'd splurge on before this mask.

What's not to love about the calmer, softer skin that results after the fresh scented, thick clear gel serum infused in the soft, thin Tencel fiber of LookAtMe Aloe Vera Face Mask has been fully absorbed?! 

avatara Chill Out Face Mask is a Taiwanese sheet mask made of 100% Tencel. Aloe can be found in the middle of the ingredient list (9 out of 24 ingredients). As with most Tencel masks, this one wears extremely comfortably, like second skin. It feels cooling and refreshing and leaves my skin feeling the same and hydrated. It's one I would happily repurchase.

The aloe vera, honey extract, cucumber and propolis in the clear, gel like essence infused in the super thin Eucalyptus fiber (could this be Tencel?) material of the Merbliss Wedding Dress Emerald Aloe Honey Mask leaves my skin feeling wonderfully bouncy and nourished that the slight tacky-to-the-touch feeling after removing the mask can be easily overlooked (as well as adequately addressed with my moisturizer that follows). If the packaging didn't get me, these results certainly would ... and have!

I *think* this Sephora Aloe Vera Face Mask is being phased out, along with other sheet masks from the original face mask line, with the launch of the new clean formula, which at present does not include an aloe version. The bio fiber of this mask feels really nice - it softly conforms to the shape of my face and the cooling sensation against my skin helps with relaxing and unwinding after a long day, especially when the weather is warm, but I'm not certain it yielded any noticeable results as far as acne is concerned (though to be fair, it may be because I suspect this particular mask is past its prime). It's a nice enough mask, but ultimately, not one I'd necessarily seek after, especially given the other great aloe sheet masks out there. I am interested to see whether an aloe version is introduced into the Clean line and if so, how it compares with this original version. 

I typically prefer thinner sheet masks but there's something about the thicker-leaning Tosowoong Pure Aloe Mask Sheet that keeps it a part of my library of masks. I find it works very nicely when I'm dealing with cystic acne along my jawline or feel one about to sprout up - this mask seems to calm down redness or swelling from those little buggers. That alone makes it a keeper in my book. 

 

[lmaster]

What a great experiment! @itsfi with aloe you can't go wrong in the summer

[itsfi]

@lmaster, it’s such a great skincare ingredient! 💚 I’ve been trying to find new ways to whittle down my pile of sheet masks and focusing on a particular ingredient seemed like a good project. 😃

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  Oh wow, that's a lot of aloe! I love that you did this! I've only tried a few of these and have had my eye on the Benton mask - and the Merbliss Wedding Dress mask definitely sounds like a winner as well! Do you have a favorite from this group?

[itsfi]

Aw, thank you @Shosh85! 🤗 I’m chuckling right now, 😆 because wouldn’t you know it?!! The two you mentioned are my most loved of this group of aloe masks. 🥰 The Benton mask has been a part of my skincare first aid kit for years now. The key ingredients in that Merbliss mask just really speak to my skin!!! 💚💛 I’ll have to put them to the test against each other one of these days.

[quspork]

Love this comparison, @itsfi! There are some great aloe-forward options in there! Now you've got me looking up the Merbliss one. Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes. 

[itsfi]

"Do I need it? No. Do I want it? Yes." It's like you're in my head @quspork! 🙂 I've used this gif before but it's fitting for the need vs. want debate when it comes to sheet masks for me:

I do love aloe; one of the best skincare ingredients I discovered for myself a few years ago after a very bad reaction to a sunscreen. Ever since, I've kept a supply of aloe gel in my house and aloe sheet masks. We're working on keeping an aloe plant thriving as the next stage in my love for aloe as a skincare ingredient. We'll see how well I do; I have a feeling I'll be more skilled at keeping a bottle of aloe gel or a handful of aloe sheet masks around. Hahaha! 🙂

[quspork]

Ooh, good luck with the aloe plant, @itsfi! I've always got plenty of aloe gels and things around, but haven't tried an actual aloe plant yet due to my terrible track record with living (not for long) plants. 

[itsfi]

@quspork, you understand me! 😆 I think it’s been 4 weeks since I picked up the aloe plant, I think it’s 4. I feel like I should get a gold star for it still being alive. 😂 

[lmaster]

@itsfi this gif is literally my life with all beauty products 🤣