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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!
March Madness - Competition is in the air. Find a worthy dupe of a ๐ฐmask that is share-worthy? Or find a dupe that works even better than the original? Details, please!
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:
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
2022 Mask of the Week Challenge
2021 Mask of the Week Challenge
2020 Mask of the Week Challenge:
2019 Mask of the Week Challenge:
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 masks๐
@eshoe that resurfacing mask sounds really interesting! I'll totally be interested in hearing the comparison to the DE!
@Kim888 Iโm always secretly looking for a dupe for the DE, you never know when something will be reformulated or discontinued. Itโs hard to beat that one, too!
@eshoe Well, it sounds like I need to look into Alpyn beauty products! Happy to hear everything is working out great so far!
I agree, the 8 acid peel sounds intimidating! I'm glad it didn't cause any irritation! I feel like that's one that would be easy for me to over-use, especially with those results! I'll be super interested to hear how it compares with the DE Babyfacial! ๐
@Shosh85 the Alpyn mask was gentler on my skin than other acid/resurfacing masks Iโve used! I do have to say itโs best to be cautious. A heavy hand with this might be very detrimental for dehydrated/very dry skin. I feel a little disappointed in a 5-minute mask (Iโd rather keep it in for half an hour) but if the results are there, Iโm all for it.
As for their other products, just be forewarned of the scent-its strong! And the absorption is sloooooow. But Iโve already purchased a backup of the sleeping mask now that Iโm half-way through๐
This one is not on theme, but I really wanted to try it out
โ
@lmaster Oh nice! This one certainly does sound amazing! So happy to hear you loved it! It's funny, I was tempted to get this one, but I'm not a fan of rhubarb so I just couldn't ๐ I'll be going back and ordering more samples once I get through the first round, so I'll probably pick it up then. ๐
@Shosh85 oh my gosh!! Strawberry ice cream.... strawberry frosting.... ๐
Oooooh, this one does smell amazing @lmaster! โฅ๏ธ It makes me think of this strawberry rhubarb cupcake that was a special offering from a cupcake truck near an old work site. ๐๐ง I know, food is always close to my mind. Especially when it comes to masks, it seems. ๐ Eminence also makes a strawberry rhubarb exfoliating powder.
@itsfi trust me,,, it took everything in me to convince my brain it's not edible!!
Oh my goodness!!! @eshoe it was so hard to convince myself,,, this is not frosting!!! ๐คฃ
After several weeks of babying my skin, I did 2 very stupid things early this month that made my face a big olโ mess.
I introduced tranexamic acid ( The INKEY List Tranexamic Acid Hyperpigmentation Treatment 1 oz/ 30 mL ) too soon after increasing retinol frequency from every other night to nightly. Iโd intended to apply tranexamic acid only to my forehead and hairline during the intro period, so I thought Iโd be okay. And I mightโve been, had I not done stupid thing number 2.
One night, without thinking about it, I applied tranexamic acid to my entire face, including my undereyes. Later in my PM routine, I layered retinol over everything. My sensitive oily zone and undereyes were 100% unamused. Youโd think that would teach me a hard lesson but nope, I mindlessly did the exact same thing 2 nights later. ๐คฆโโ๏ธ Autopilot gone awry.
How bad was it? Well, I don't have photos of the initial damage when my face looked its worst, but here's a photo I took tonight. The redness has greatly subsided, but you can see how inflamed my undereyes still are. ๐ That skin's also starting to flake and peel, which isn't a bad thing in this instance.
Oh hey, see those short dark spots/splotches on my neck? Those are chemical burn scars. They happened after I used an exfoliant containing citrus extracts a few months ago. This is why I generally avoid citrus extracts and oils on my face and neck. It's very volatile stuff!
Result: large bright red patches of bumpy burning woe. Iโve mentioned my surface redness and my skinโs inflammation issues before but wow, those missteps threw my face into a tailspin. I couldnโt even apply cream moisturizer without my skin burning like Iโd applied way too much glycolic acid without neutralization. Iโve spent most of October trying to calm everything down. That means more extremely picky repeat masking.
So in terms of masking, October is brought to you by CBD, oatmeal, and good ol' petrolatum (and mineral oil).
Iโve used The Inkey List Oat Cleansing Balm a lot as a PM 10-minute mask this month. My angry painful skin has greatly appreciated its soothing and moisturizing abilities. Iโve talked about this balm at least a couple times in this thread so I wonโt repeat myself, but itโs one of my favorite multifunctional things ever.
Iโve also used my dear old friend Herbivore Emerald CBD Oil as an overnight mask many nights this month. Iโve kept up with retinol, applying it 6 nights in a row and giving my skin 1 night off to help it recover. A thin layer of CBD oil over retinol (which I apply over my cream moisturizer) has been a huge help, especially where my skin is most irritated. My undereyes no longer burn, hooray!
A few nights a week, Iโve applied a thin layer of either Aquaphor Ointment or CeraVe Healing Ointment to my undereyes and oily zone. Aquaphor contains lanolin which my skinโs usually not angry about. But as raw and extra tender as my undereyes have been lately, Iโve found the CeraVe ointment works better with less irritation on that skin, while Aquaphorโs still worked well on my irritated oily zone. So I guess you could say Iโve used both ointments as overnight masks on specific parts of my face.
These arenโt the only products Iโve used on my skin to reduce inflammation, but theyโre the ones that most qualify as โmasking.โ ๐ I'm very much steady-as-she-goes with these products until my skins' healed enough for more new-to-me mask adventures.
@WinglessOne Oh man! I'm so sorry to hear your skin is giving you a hard time! Looks like you got a nice routine going! Love the Emerald Oil! Hope your skin heals in a jiffy! ๐ค
Thanks @Shosh85 ! I can hardly wait to get back to using all the masks Iโve got on deck!
Oh @WinglessOne, hugs to you๐ญ๐ At least it sounds like youโve got things under control now, though it must not feel back to normal just yet. Thank you for sharing, itโs good to be reminded that our skin can be finicky and we need a backup plan for when things backfire:(
Thank you @eshoe ! I'm trying not to rush recovery, especially since the weather's changing (we're finally in fall mode here). But yep, it's good to have a bad reaction kit for unintended mishaps. ๐
I didn't mention cold compresses but I've also done lots of those this month. At night, I've been soaking 2 bamboo rounds with cold water, sometimes rubbing a bit of my COSRX cica serum on them, and tossing 'em in the fridge (inside a plastic bag) to use the next morning. It's the little things that make my skin happy lately.
@WinglessOne I had to screenshot your remedy as inevitably it will happen to me sometime soon. Love the idea about soaking the bamboo pads, it sounds very soothing and now I have to go hunt down those, too๐
@WinglessOne Oh my! Poor thing! It is amazing how the skin reacts to products it doesn't like. I'm sure you are back to pampering it. ๐ณ
Thanks @tjffc! The funny thing (well, funny now; I wasn't laughing earlier this month) is my previous weeks of babying was done to recover from a bad reaction to a different product. Good grief... I'll be glad when I can see my dermatologist in person again, though I'm bracing for lots of lecturing. ๐
@WinglessOne Yes! The dermatologist is my favorite MD. They are worth their weight in gold and in my case a miracle worker! I'm sure you will just get a tiny scolding.๐
@WinglessOne holy ouch!! Chemical burn,,, do you think it's going to scar?