💕😌 Mask of the Week Challenge 😌💖

[eshoe]

It’s May, Hurray! 🌸 We are almost 1/2-way through the challenge🙌🏼

Thank you @Aaliaa for starting this thread, and giving us a place to share our love for masks💗 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. 

This Week’s Theme: “Favorite Mask in Your Regular Routine” - the lovely @itsfi would like to know - which mask do you buy in bulk, to always have on hand? 

Letter of the Week:  S

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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, 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!

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   

[Shosh85]

@sonnydee  These Bears sure are a favorite around here! It was so exciting finding them at TJ Maxx/Marshall's! Happy to hear you loved this one! 🐻

[sonnydee]

I was lucky enough to find them more than once @Shosh85 so exciting & money saving! 🤑

[quspork]

Ah OOZOO bear. 🐻 Always a good one to have hanging around in the stash, @sonnydee!

[sonnydee]

Definitely will find a permanent place for the bears in my stash @quspork @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@sonnydee @quspork that’s a good indicator of how well a mask performs - a permanent place in the stash is high praise.

[itsfi]

Yaay @sonnydee! The Oozoo bear 🐻 makes another appearance on the thread. Such a great mask! ♥️

[eshoe]

These are such great and easy-to use masks, @sonnydee! I think collectively we picked up quite a few boxes of their stock of this mask last year 😄 

[ShortErica]

@eshoe @sonnydee 

...it was the summer of 2019. Such a simpler time then. When a younger ShortErica was collecting masks beyond her needs. She wasn't alone in this endeavor. There were maskers around the country grabbing up the goodness of the bears 🤣

[emaisgr8]

@ShortErica   🤣🤣🤣

[sonnydee]

Lol @ShortErica whatever are you talking about! 

 

[ShortErica]

hahaha @sonnydee 

[sonnydee]

 

And I bet we would do it all again @eshoe

[WinglessOne]

@sonnydee Hooray for Water-Bang! Glad I'm not the only one who keeps a stash of this mask on hand. 🙂 

[sonnydee]

I found a box or 2 ?🤔 at TJ or Marshalls along with some of the other bears. 🐻 @WinglessOne

[itsfi]

U is for Ultru (sheet mask) and Ultra moisturizing (lip balm)

F is for funny name (of one of the ingredients in the sheet mask - houttuynia cordata, aka fish mint, fish leaf, fish wort (oooh, more f's), rainbow plant, chameleon plant, heart leaf, Chinese lizard tail - wow, that's a lot of aliases for this plant)

Sheet Mask:

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What Is It?: Ultru I'm Sorry for My Skin S.O.S. Jelly Mask - Calming is a soft, thin cotton mask completely drenched in a thick-ish, juicy, fresh scented, jelly essence, of which there is plenty extra in the packet for use on other parts of the body and/or on another day. The I'm Sorry for My Skin line is marketed as an SOS for the various challenges, vices or the daily activities we engage in that may be cause or exacerbate our skin troubles. This particular version of the mask claims to calm, moisturize, relieve skin stress, and soothe irritations as a result of a lack of sleep resulting due to insomnia to working late and everything in between. 

What's In It?: This sheet mask contains a host of botanical ingredients, including centella asiatica,  houttuynia cordata, and panthenol. This also contains AMF (artificial moisturizing factors) which includes nanoparticles that work to slow down moisture from evaporating. It should be noted that this mask contains added fragrance for those allergic, sensitive or seeking to avoid it in their skincare; it is the last ingredient listed. Cica and panthenol have been mentioned on this thread a fair amount and is found in a lot of skincare, with cica really being prominent on the skincare scene in the last couple of years, but what exactly is this houttynia cordata?

First, it's pronounced how-too-nee-ah kor-day-tah. I've noticed this plant ingredient popping up more and more in Korean skincare products late last year and the beginning of this year. Houttynia cordata extract contains polysaccharides, which from what I read, when polysaccharides are found in skincare, it helps to maintain the skin's moisture level. The plant extract also contains natural astringent properties which has been known to be an aid in regulating sebum production. Additionally, houttynia cordata is also known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. It's touted for its ability to calm and detoxify skin and is said to be helpful in the fight against acne, because let's face it, it does seem like a fight at times, doesn't it?!

How Did It Perform?: The instructions call for keeping the mask on for 10-20 minutes but with the amount of essence in this mask, I found that I could have kept the mask on a lot longer if I wanted to, and I did. I had it on for a good 45 minutes. There was a lot of essence remaining on my face after I removed the sheet mask but my dehydrated skin slurped it all up pretty quickly. After the jelly essence had completely absorbed, my skin felt very hydrated and soothed, and when I woke up the next morning and looked in the mirror, my skin looked smooth, fresh-faced, more even-toned, and the PIH (post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation) seemed a bit less pronounced. I did have a very large pimple on my face and while the essence from the mask didn't completely get rid of all the redness, the color around the unsightly zit did look more diffused. 

Overall Thoughts?: The cooling feeling from the mask lends itself beautifully to unwinding in the evenings and feeling more calm and relaxed before bedtime. My skin loves the hydration from the mask (and the extra essence) and there's a welcome calming and slight soothing effect on my skin's redness and breakouts. Overall, I found this to be a good mask and one I would reuse and repurchase again. 

Lip Balm: Bioderma Atoderm Ultra-moisturizing balm is one of my new favorite lip balms and I owe its existence in my lip balm collection to the fabulous @missjeanie! Thank you so much for sending me this! It's balmy and moisturizing without being too thick, emollient or greasy; an unscented, no frills lip balm that gets the job done. It would be safe to say that I'm not lacking in lip balms; so while I don't need another one of these Bioderma balms, I will pick another one up when I've gone through this tube.  

[lmaster]

@itsfi a repurchase sounds like a winner

[itsfi]

Yep @lmaster, 😃 that’s usually how I determine whether a mask is good. There are a lot of good masks out there, but if it’s worth the effort to purchase again, it’s better than others. 

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  Just did one from this line yesterday! Glad to hear this one turned out beautifully! I think I may have seen Houttuynia Cordata in a mask I used before, but I didn't know it had so many other names - interesting!

[itsfi]

@Shosh85, masks with a jelly type essence are some of my favorites, and I love they Ultru has so many versions of these.

[missjeanie]

As much as I love my tinted balms for day time, I love the untinted for night time!  I'm glad you liked this one @itsfi !

And a cooling mask is always great for the summer!

[itsfi]

100% agree @missjeanie! 👊🏼 The Bioderma is also a nice one to apply on my lips in the morning before I start my skincare routine. Makes my lips soft, smooth and moisturized by the time I get to my lippie, if I’m wearing one for the day. Thanks again! A new found Bioderma love!