💕😌 Mask of the Week Challenge 😌💖

[eshoe]

Hello March ☘️ 🌈, moving right along in 2021!

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: Female-Owned Brands - in honor of International Women’s Day, and courtesy of our wonderful Mask of the Week Challenge OP, @Aaliaa (we 💖 you!)

Letter of the Week:  K

Spoiler

Mask of the Week Misc. Info & Previous Year's Links:

Spoiler

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   

[lmaster]

Let me check and see if I have any @ShortErica 

[itsfi]

I was able to get in some masks that fit all three of this week’s challenges – woohoo! This trifecta is thanks to @l8totheparty (thank you!) who generously sent both of these masks my way. R is for rinse off; I is for initial use, as this will be the first time that I've ever used these masks, let alone in a duel. The theme of this duel is manuka honey infused rinse off sheet masks manufactured and distributed by Lanocorp in New Zealand! 

Let me start off by saying that these masks are nearly identical to one another. In fact, except for the order in which certain ingredients appear on their respective ingredients list (which I’ve highlighted in the spoiler), they have the same ingredients.

Spoiler

Mask	Lanocreme Manuka Honey Face Mask	by nature Botanical Active Manuka Honey Sheet Face Mask
Mask Material, Fit & Adherence:	Medium-thick cotton sheet mask; fits and adheres like most sheet masks I’ve used – about an inch too long at the chin / jawline, a smidge too wide at the temples and short at the top. Corners of eye holes and mouth need some slight adjustments to make the fit more comfortable and to minimize the likelihood that essence may run into the eyes or mouth.	Cotton sheet mask that is similar in overall fit and adherence to the Lanocreme sheet mask, but this by nature one is noticeably wider than the Lanocreme one.  This one also felt just a touch heavier/thicker too.
Essence Type & Scent:	Clear, slightly viscous essence that seems very common to most sheet masks. I picked up a couple scents with this mask, good and bad. At certain occasions, I picked up a chemical, almost metallic scent. It was less prominent but still noticeable. The more prominent scent I detected reminded me of almond jello.	Clear, watery essence with scents that were nearly identical to the scents I picked up on the  Lanocreme mask.
What I Liked:	Results were good with this mask – my skin looked at felt soft, smooth, plump and nourished. My skin felt more hydrated with this mask than the by nature one, perhaps due to glycerin and hyaluronic acid appearing higher up in the ingredients list with this Lanocreme mask.	My skin felt soft and smooth and lightly hydrated, though not as much as with Lanocreme sheet mask.
Area(s) For Improvement:	Making the holes for the eyes and mouth slightly wider. Also, not having to wash off the essence.	Same as for the Lanocreme sheet mask and if it were more hydrating. The latter comment is not a big deal and probably wouldn’t have even been made if I hadn’t pitted this mask against the Lanocreme one.
Ingredients:	(from lanocreme (dot) com😞  AQUA (WATER), ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE, HAMAMELIS VIRGINIANA (WITCH HAZEL) WATER, PEG-60 ALMOND GLYCERIDES, POLYSORBATE 20 (COCONUT DERIVED), GLYCERIN, LEPTOSPERMUM SCOPARIUM MEL (ACTIVE MANUKA HONEY), HYDROLYZED (MARINE) COLLAGEN, HYALURONIC ACID, ARGANIA SPINOSA (ARGAN) KERNEL OIL, CUCUMIS SATIVUS FRUIT (CUCUMBER) EXTRACT, CITRULLUS LANATUS FRUIT (WATERMELON) EXTRACT, XANTHAN GUM, CARBOMER, BENZYL ALCOHOL, SALICYLIC ACID, SORBIC ACID, TRIETHANOLAMINE, TETRASODIUM EDTA	(typed out from a photo of the back of a box of these I found at Marshalls):  AQUA (WATER), ALOE BARBADENSIS LEAF JUICE, HAMAMELIS VIRGINIANA (WITCH HAZEL) WATER, PEG-60 ALMOND GLYCERIDES, POLYSORBATE 20 (COCONUT DERIVED), LEPTOSPERMUM SCOPARIUM MEL (ACTIVE MANUKA HONEY), ARGANIA SPINOSA (ARGAN) KERNEL OIL, HYDROLYZED (MARINE) COLLAGEN, CUCUMIS SATIVUS FRUIT (CUCUMBER) EXTRACT, CITRULLUS LANATUS FRUIT (WATERMELON) EXTRACT, HYALURONIC ACID, GLYCERIN, CARBOMER, TRIETHANOLAMINE, BENZYL ALCOHOL, XANTHAM GUM, SALICYLIC ACID, SORBIC ACID, TETRASODIUM EDTA

Final Thoughts: Both these masks have a common disadvantage going into the duel; namely, I prefer traditional sheet masks where you do not rinse off the essence after removing the mask. I suppose I could just disregard the directions on these masks and not rinse off the essence, but I did that before, inadvertently, with a mask similar to these sheet masks, and my skin was not happy with me at all. So, lesson learned there and one I have not repeated since. 😉 Overall, these masks were fine. I would use them again if I had them, but I don’t feel the need to seek them out (although I've been working my way though my stash at a good pace, I still have a very healthy collection of masks! lol), but if you are inclined to pick up either of these masks, or both of them, I often saw these brands at my local TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores, pre-covid-19. Of these two, I prefer the Lanocreme mask.  

[eshoe]

The Lanocreme does have a sweet honey scent that is enjoyable, @itsfi. But yes, washing off after removing a sheet mask has always seemed counterproductive to me, too.

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  Awesome duel! I've never done them close together, but I'm pretty sure I liked the Lanocreme one more as well. 😉 Interesting about the similar ingredients! I've never noticed that before 😳 I agree with you though, wash off sheet masks just aren't my favorite 

[itsfi]

Thank you @Shosh85! 🤗 At some point I made the connection that both these were manufactured at the same location and that’s when it occurred to me 💡 to use them near the same time. 😆 I still wonder what the thought is with rinsing off the essence. 🤔 If I don’t get distracted by something else, maybe I’ll do some research on that (i.e., email the brand and ask) next year, if someone else doesn’t know or hasn’t checked with the brand. 

[lmaster]

@itsfi marvelous duel!! 

[itsfi]

@lmaster, thank you, hon! 😀 I'm glad I was able to try these out, thanks to @l8totheparty. Honey is always a good ingredient for my skin, especially in the winter; my preference is just for the traditional no-rinse off sheet mask. 

[eshoe]

R masking including Round Lab, a Rose Mask, with a Hair Mask Duel:

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Learned another beloved mask is possible no longer (I haven’t contacted the brand to confirm), the Biossance Squalane + Vitamin C Mask. Vitamin C has been a favorite of mine this year as with consistent use, I’ve noticed diminished dark spots. Not with this mask alone, but with other products on a loose 2-4x a week regimen. While there are other products that are effective for me, it will be sad to finish this one. 

The Round Lab Mugwort Calming Sheet Mask though a bit floppy, fit well. It carried a scent that reminded me of a pool float. No residual tack that I noticed, a decent mask overall. Not a repurchase, but one I would try again just for fun and comparison. 

I’ve been eyeing the Phillip Kingsley Elastisizer for awhile now. It seemed that it might be similar to the Olaplex Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 3 3.3 oz/ 100 mL , which made me very curious, as I haven’t had much success with that one. I made sure to follow the instructions, something I did not do with the Olaplex the first few tries. Which simply meant applying prior to shampoo, not after; I attempted this with the Olaplex and gave up. This time, I took it more seriously and also used the recommended post shampoo and conditioner. The results were immensely different. I should add I’ve been deep conditioning my hair 2-3x a week regularly now, after recognizing that my hair seemed frizzy no matter what I did. After my first Elastizer treatment (and rinsing twice as recommended for thin hair), I was impressed with the bounce, swing, and silky feel my hair held. It’s still thin, and not perfectly maintained after letting my daughter give me a ‘trim’ and bangs for fun. But I’m starting to see life in it again, and hope that it just might stick around for a bit. Even if this one doesn’t pan out over the long run, it makes me reconsider Olaplex, and that user error may have inhibited those results all along. Thankfully I have enough left to try, try again!

[ShortErica]

Thanks for sharing a hair mask duel @eshoe! I've been digging the Briogeo honey bear mask and using it once a week. I feel it has helped with my "wet frizz." I started incorporating Olaplex Olaplex Hair Perfector No. 3 3.3 oz/ 100 mL on a different day and am not sure of my verdict yet. I wonder if I'm using enough. I think my hair is fine and also thin, at most medium density (like the circumference of my ponytail seems small) and I tried to read about how to saturate but not waste the product on your hair. So if you have any do's or don't do's, I'm curious to try to make the most of it.

[eshoe]

@ShortErica I wish I was more versed on the Olaplex, but I am just beginning to understand it myself. I’ve been working with it for awhile and it’s never made a significant impression on me. But now that I’ve been spending more time focusing on my hair, I will keep you posted:)

[ShortErica]

Yeah, I've been reading and watching a lot about it. Clean hair, damp when applying, make sure to shampoo and condition after, so hopefully I'm doing it right. Hope you find the trick so it's magic works for you @eshoe. I know lots of people love it.

[eshoe]

That’s why I haven’t given up @ShortErica!

[Shosh85]

@eshoe  Boo! Sorry to hear the Biossance mask is discontinued! I seriously hate when that happens! Hopefully you can find a good dupe! 😃

[eshoe]

@Shosh85 this has been a tough year getting too attached to any skincare product! Moving forward, its going to be love lightly and don’t get too attached 😉

[lmaster]

@eshoe I noticed that awhile back,,,I was going to buy it,,, and it was gone 😭

[eshoe]

Maybe we were talking about it, @lmaster - so annoying though. I might send them a message to see if there are any plans to bring it back.

[lmaster]

If you do please keep us posted @eshoe 🙏

[eshoe]

@lmaster this is the info I was given:

”The reason you can no longer find the Vitamin C Rose Mask on our website is because it has been discontinued.

For now, you can find a limited amount available in our Amazon store (with link included).”

After inquiring as to the reason behind it, this was my second response:

”I not privy to specific details, but many factors are taken into consideration that involve sales, upcoming new products, etc.

You might try our Glycolic Facial which is another fantastic mask.”

So, on to the next I guess!

[lmaster]

😔 @eshoe 

[eshoe]

I’m waiting to hear back from them @lmaster, I will let you know!

[itsfi]

Interesting about the Biossance mask @eshoe. Maybe Biossance is just reformulating? Or repackaging?