💕😌 Mask of the Week Challenge 😌💖

[eshoe]

Time to reset and begin again. The first challenge of 2021 is here! 

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: Sample that made you buy the FS! Thank you to the lovely @itsfi for this week’s challenge🙌🏼

Letter of the Week:  C

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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   

[itsfi]

That's what I tell myself @eshoe. 😆 The other alternative is that my right ear, the one that usually has an issue with ear loops, is a bit wonky. Truth is probably a combination of both.

[eshoe]

Whatever the reason @itsfi, I guess looking at the bright side is always the best solution ☺️

[missjeanie]

@itsfi  I support your procurement and use of the snail version.  For science. 

[itsfi]

Oh my goodness, yes @missjeanie! For science. It's all for science. 😂🤣😂 

[itsfi]

Apologies in advance for the deluge of posts that may come as I try to catch up. More masks from last week:

V is for Vitamin C

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The Creme Shop Vitamin C Infused Face Mask is an overall overly large medium-thick cotton face mask, which probably makes it one that can be worn by a lot of people though many folks may need to make some adjustments because of its size.  Adherence was good, and even better after making the necessary adjustments to the perimeter of the mask as well as the corners of the eyes and mouth. The essence has a gel consistency and some slip to it. It also has a very strong smell of alcohol, almost a sterile scent to it. This mask contains retinol and my skin has in the past been highly sensitive to retinols so I was a little wary. As such, I only kept the mask on for 10 minutes and then I decided I would rinse off the essence. I KNOW. I just said that. I really can't believe I did that but I wasn't about to take any chances on having a breakout.  Fortunately, no negative side effects, though I did experience a bit of redness on my cheeks (which is a common place for me to experience redness when using items that I'm sensitive to) but it faded away quickly. My skin looked soft, smooth and slightly brighter. Overall, other than the scent, I can see many folks liking this one. For me, it's an "okay" mask but because there are other vitamin C sheet masks out there that do not contain retinol, I'll pass on repurchasing this one.

Ingredients (from thecremeshop (dot) com) : 

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Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Alcohol Denat., PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor oil, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Betaine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Beta-Glucan,  Retinol,  Yeast Extract,  Ascorbic Acid,  Tocopherol,  Lecithin,  Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Isohexadecane, Polysorbate 80,  Carbomer,  Triethanolamine, Allantoin,  Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance

All 3 themes in one shot - V is for VT Cica Daily Soothing Mask, E is for Everyday and morning masking

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For the most part, I used one of the VT Cosmetics VT Cica Daily Soothing Mask every day in November, usually in the mornings, but occasionally, twice per day when the soothing aspect of the mask was what my skin craved, or when I was too lazy or tired to think about what mask to use. Most mask packs are primarily aimed at hydration and my skin tends to do fairly well with daily mask packs like this so it's often just a matter of personal preference in terms of scent, fit, thickness of the sheet as well as the packaging. This one also claims to be soothing and I found that it worked fairly well at reducing or calming any redness I might have had whether because of the cold weather, redness from breakouts, or a reaction to a product. Based on my experience going through these masks last month, this VT mask pack is on the short list of mask packs I'd repurchase. 

[lmaster]

@itsfi ok I'm really going to have to try the cica masks!! 

[itsfi]

@lmaster, cica is such a great skincare ingredient. 😀 The sheet masks, wash off masks and sleeping masks I've used that contain cica have all been great.

[eshoe]

Before I even read your review, I suspected the Cica Daily Soothing Mask might be a repurchase @itsfi. Haven’t met a bad cica mask yet!

[itsfi]

I've found that Cica masks generally include ingredients that play nice with most skin types @eshoe. Makes sense given its soothing aspect.

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  I wasn't too fond of the scent on The Creme Shop mask either, which the main reason I won't be repurchasing it. Happy to hear it didn't cause a breakout! 😃

So glad the Cica mask pack worked out so great for you! This is kinda random, but is there some correlation between tigers and the ingredient Cica that I don't know about? I feel like there have been other cica-tiger masks as well, like the The Creme Shop one, for instance. 🤔

[itsfi]

Not random at all @Shosh85! Another name for centella asiatica / cica is "tiger grass" or "tiger herb" so that's one connection to tigers. I also read that the "tiger grass" or "tiger herb" nickname was given to cica because in Bengal, people hunting for tigers would track the tigers by looking for and following damaged centella asiatica brushes.  Tigers would roll in centella asiatica to heal their wounds or injuries. 

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  Duh! 🤦‍ I totally forgot about tiger grass! Now I feel silly! 🤪 I had no idea that's how tiger grass got it's name! Super interesting! Animals are so smart. 🐯 I wouldn't mind rolling around in some Cica too! 😂

[itsfi]

@Shosh85, with all the skincare ingredients out there and all the names for them, it’s really hard to keep up. I almost confused Cica with “tiger balm”. 🤣 So hear you on rolling around in Cica; I wonder if you can even grow them here? I think it’s commonly found in Southeast Asia. Wait, there’s one way to find out ... hold, please ... 

Apparently, Cica can be found in the wetland regions of the southeastern part of the US. Thank you, Wikipedia. 😊 It’s also used in a Burmese salad dish. Hmmm... there are a couple of Burmese restaurants in the city and their tea leaves salads are delicious. Hmmm... me thinks I’ll have to add that to the list of things to research. For science, of course. 😉 

[Weetart]

I’m intrigued by the Cica daily mask pack. Would take a lot of thinking out of my evening routine which is when I need a soothing mask. I think that’s the one you recommended to me before? There is a tiger in the box! Wheeee! I love cica products and the Tiger... there is a tiger! I am OBSESSED with cats, and unicorns. I think I must get these @itsfi 

[itsfi]

@Weetart, this VT mask pack is great for a box of daily sheet masks. Another great cica mask is The Creme Shop Cica-Mend, which pops up at TJ Maxx / Marshalls / Winners from time to time. Macy's online now carries The Creme Shop masks, including this one. These would work beautifully to use daily as well but it would be expensive.

[missjeanie]

Okay... I''m impressed with the VT mask pack @itsfi ... I think to re-purchases a pack of this size you've gotta like it big time.  I'm going to look more into these once I whittle down my stash.  I'm digging the idea of the packaging that could be recycled. 

[itsfi]

@missjeanie, of the larger mask packs I've tried, I probably have 3 I really like - one is no longer available, another has been out of stock for some time (and makes me think it is discontinued), and this one. I'll keep trying other mask packs but the ingredients in this one and the skincare benefits from them make this VT mask pack one that I will come back to.

[quspork]

The VT cica daily masks sound like a good pack to have on hand for winter, @itsfi. 

[itsfi]

@quspork, yes!! This would be great in the cooler months - it'll give some but not too much hydration and provide some calming to any redness from the weather or otherwise. This one is among my favorite sheet mask packs. 

[missjeanie]

My Monday masks!  Off to a good start with two today.  I'm working from home today and got a call that my presence was requested at work tomorrow for a commercial shoot.  I'm soooo glad they actually told me ahead of time (who are those people that don't give heads up???) anyhow, my tretinoin ride is still producing some flakes so I figured I had to do at least two masks today lol.  I have to say I had fun looking through my collection for possible masks this week that had good band names.  What a great theme!

 

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First mask today was from Oozoo, a fantastic band name I think.  I used the Water Bang version and realized as I cut the mask open that I forgot to burst the ear.... oppps.  I popped the ear and spread that serum on my face then applied the mask.  Not exactly use as intended but my skin sucked up the serum today super fast.  My mask was getting pretty dry on my cheeks at 15 minutes so I removed and massaged in the remaining serum on my chin and forehead. Not a lot of tack left with this mask, and the fabric was a good fit and felt comfortable.  There is a slight scent with this that to me just smells like skincare.  Once the mask was on, I didn't smell anything.  I have a few more of these and I love the aesthetic of the packaging so I'm glad to have them.  Skin felt better, but I'm battling flakes so another mask was in order within two hours.  Do I go overboard? Mayyyyyyybeeeee.
Mask 2 is the Too Cool for School Egg Cream mask.  Oh man.  Love this mask.  Its one of my favourites without a doubt.  The material is slightly thicker feeling microfibre and holds a silky feeling milky serum.  This mask felt soooo nice going on.  The material fits so nicely and feels so comfortable.  I stuck my nose in the package and could only detect a super faint fresh laundry scent.  Super light though, you need to be really looking for it.  My skin felt so nice after wearing this for 35 minutes.  Not much for tackiness with this one either, however I applied my moisturizer pretty quickly to prevent moisture loss.  Might see how the night goes and do another sheet mask before my oils and sleep mask tonight.  
What a great masking day.  Two great band names, and two great masks.  My skin is much happier. 

[eshoe]

Oooh yes, @missjeanie - OOZOO would make a fantastic band name 😂