Services
From makeovers to personalized skincare consultations
From makeovers to personalized skincare consultations
Get inspired, play with products & learn new skills
Exciting launches, parties & more
Explore what's hot in your store
Ask questions, join challenges, and get recommendations from people like you
Discover topics tailored to your beauty interests
Add your photos and get inspired by fellow beauty lovers
View activity, savings and benefits
Redeem items, samples and more
View and track online orders
Reorder it from in-store and online purchases
View saved products
Recommendations from your store visits
Manage your services, classes and events
Complete your beauty traits for personalized recommendations
Payments, contact info, addresses and password
View activity, savings and benefits
Redeem items, samples and more
View and track online orders
Reorder it from in-store and online purchases
View saved products
Recommendations from your store visits
Manage your services, classes and events
Complete your beauty traits for personalized recommendations
Payments, contact info, addresses and password
Ask questions, join challenges, and get recommendations from people like you
Discover topics tailored to your beauty interests
Add your photos and get inspired by fellow beauty lovers
From makeovers to personalized skincare consultations
Get inspired, play with products & learn new skills
Exciting launches, parties & more
Explore what's hot in your store
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 ๐ฎ
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 I regularly use the COSRX Centella Water Alcohol-Free Toner as a hydrating mist. You've probably seen me post it several times in the skincare routine of the day thread. ๐ It's my favorite mist for hydration between skincare steps, mild redness reduction, and mild soothing. My skin responds very well to centella asiatica, and this "toner" has a rather simple ingredients list with no fragrance or anything my skin hates:
Hopefully your skin won't need healing again. But yeah, it's good to have things handy in case it happens again. This COSRX mist isn't really part of my bad reaction/broken barrier kit, since I use it daily. A COSRX cica serum is, though.
I don't know how stringent Korea is when it comes to cosmetics laws, but I assume Korean products must list all ingredients used, aside from incidental* ingredients. If I recall correctly, the ingredients rules for Japanese skincare products are similar to US rules. Have you seen reports of hidden ingredients included in masks? Or is it just something you've wondered about? I'm curious if there's actually data/studies on this topic.
*Here's how the FDA defines incidental ingredients (copied/pasted direct from the cosmetics labeling guide on the FDA's site, because hell if I always remember all of this ๐) :
Incidental Ingredients
Definition:
Any processing aid added and removed or converted to a declared ingredient
or
Any ingredient of another ingredient or processing aid present at an insignificant level and having no technical or functional effect
Need not be declared
Incidental ingredients need not be declared on the label.
An incidental ingredient is defined in ยง 701.3(1) as:
Ok the CosRx mist sounds like a future buy. Heading to Notes to add it. And the serum๐
Re: the ingredients, I read something awhile ago that more than anything, just made me consider the possibility that maybe some manufacturers are not being 100% transparent with their ingredients. This is an excerpt from an article back in 2019.
Sheet mask manufacturers use steroids in their formulations because they offer immediate positive results. โSteroids act fast and give visible results on skin immediately, tricking customers into thinking that these are high performance products,โ explained Phoebe Song, founder of Snow Fox skincare.โ
Glucocorticoid is a banned ingredient, but itโs still sneaking its way into sheet masks and due to the sheer amount being produced, it hard for regulatory bodies to keep up.
We reached out to Fatma Ben Ammar who is the brand manager at The Face Shop, South Korea-based skincare and cosmetics manufacturer, retailer. Speaking about the use of steroids in face masks, she said: โAll the ingredients for sheets masks at The Face Shop are derived from natural plants which are then put through the natural grinding extraction process, where in the plants are ground and extracted and then blended with moisturizing water-based ingredients. We do not recommend the use of steroids in masks or any skincare products for that matter. Healthy skin, healthy life is the motto we go by.โ
Leija Cas also weighed in on the topic. The founder of Knesko Skin, a holistic brand that produces serum-infused collagen gel masks, she was also adamant that steroids do more harm than good in the long run: โAt Knesko Skin we do not use steroids in our products. Our brand is clean, nontoxic and natural brand that uses only clean and safe ingredients that do not have negative effects on the skin. Unsupervised use of topical steroids such as glucocorticoid will actually inflame and damage skin cells causing skin sensitivity, irritation, redness etc. Steroids also will trick customers initially, into believing that they are investing in high performance skincare when in reality they are only hurting their skin. There is absolutely no reason to put any kind of steroids into your skincare.โโ
I only think about this often because of the fact that my skinโs sensitivity has increased, whereas I had zero issues three, four years ago. Yes, it could certainly be an accumulation of EOโs. But for someone who masks nightly, it is certainly in the back of my mind. Idk, maybe it just comes with the years!
@eshoe Yep, your skin can develop sensitivity to any ingredient over time. You can also develop a true allergy to anything. That's why I had to stop using lavender extract and lavender oil on my face and neck, after decades of having no issues with lavender in skincare products. I don't know exactly how common this phenomenon is, but I suspect it's not rare. Especially when you consider how skin type/behavior changes over the years. Your recent issues probably stem from this, rather than a steroid being snuck into a product you've used. You could always try to get your products tested at a lab... it'd probably be pricey, but it'd sure be interesting!
About that article:
*Reminds me of that story from a year or 2 ago about some Korean masks being packaged inside people's private residences instead of factories, with little to no sanitary handling. Ugh.
My key takeaways:
**There are differences between look up, study, and research:
What I just did for this steroids in sheet masks issue is more along the lines of study. I haven't dug deeper than blog articles and news reports, looked for more sources on the issue, investigated the named Chinese skincare brand's track record, looked for China's standards on skincare ingredients and acceptable bacteria (and types of bacteria) limits, etc. That's a whole other journey for... later. ๐คฃ
@WinglessOne @those are the articles I read as well, and yes to some of it basing pretty vague. I do remember hearing about the packaging in questionable/not 100% sanitary conditions, but not in the detail that you provided (yuck is right).
I appreciate the clarification between different levels of analysis. I think itโs safe to say 90% of what I do can be categorized as โlook up.โ Unless it is something that really piques my interest. Now this did, but I stopped short of doing anything that required Google translate. For the most part, the masks I use are made in Korea. Not for any other reason than they seem to be more readily available.
All that being said...it is a good reminder to buy from reputable sources. It seems so bizarre to me that there are even counterfeit sheet masks out there. Of all things!
Coffee for hours,,,, @WinglessOne yes,,, absolutely yes ๐คฃ
@lmaster When I first opened the sleeve, I stuck my nose inside and inhaled deeply a few times. ๐ Fragrance is the last ingredient but I wonder if it's even needed. Maybe the sweet cream scent comes from added fragrance. I think the mask would smell even more like coffee (well, black coffee) without it.
@WinglessOne that's enough for me to want to try it!
@WinglessOne, "For the next couple hours, I smelled coffee whenever I turned my head." Ahhh, just hearing that puts a smile on my face. Your results from this mask sound lovely! I like the brand name, too - Uz Me (or "Use Me") - cute and fun. But, you had me at the smell of coffee! ๐
@itsfi Yep, Uzme themselves explain that's the meaning of their brand name. ๐ I'll admit the name grabbed my attention before the coffee theme did. The brand doesn't have a website and I didn't spend much time trying to track down info on their manufacturer and distributor. They seem to have only 3 products, so I assume they're a young brand. I'll have to keep an eye on them to see if they expand.
@WinglessOne Oooh, I'm so happy to see you liked this one! I bought a couple of these hoping they had a good coffee scent!๐โ๏ธ
....... also, speaking of BS claims, did you see where it said it prevents cancer? ๐๐
@Shosh85 ๐คฃ๐คฆโโ๏ธ I mean okay, caffeine can act like an antioxidant that protects skin cells from free radicals. But it's a bold stretch to claim it prevents skin cancer, especially without stating how much caffeine's in this mask. And you can't substitute a caffeinated serum or cream for sunscreen and expect the same level of UV protection. ๐ I'm sure some folks would call this a lost in translation thing but I dunno... now I'm gonna Google Translate the entire back of the mask sleeve and all of Uzme's Korean language marketing images.
Crazy claims aside, I hope you enjoy this mask! Can't wait to see your review.
Got both themes covered with this one ๐ฏ๐๐ง
Kokostar Waffle Mask ~ Honey
Material:
Medium thickness cotton, but gauzy and breathable
Serum:
Thin and sort of slimy gel essence. There was a lot extra in the pouch
Scent:
Sweet honey. Yummy. ๐๐ฏ
Fit:
Just a smidge too wide at the forehead and a little too long at the chin.
Wear Time:
35 minutes
Tack:
Light, but stuck around for about 20 minutes
Results:
Soft and smooth, a little bouncy, comfortably hydrated skin with a nice glow.
Repurchase?
Yes, definitely! The scent was delicious, the material was comfortable and the results were great. I'm super excited to try the others from the line! ๐๐ฏ๐ง
Ingredients:
I've been hoarding the set I bought @Shosh85 I'm using the excuse of using up some soon to be expired masks first ๐ glad you loved it!!
@lmaster I am trying to use the masks closest to expire first too .... but this one fit the theme so well, I had to let it slide ๐
@eshoe It was sooo good! ๐ฏ Definitely makes me excited to try out the rest of the line! ๐ง๐
G for Green and Galactomyces:
Love that it's better than a filler โบ๏ธ @eshoe
itโs a great everyday mask with a little extra ๐ @lmaster. Some days thatโs all that is required ๐