💕😌 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: Most Artistic Sheet Mask 🎨 Thank you to the wonderful @Kim888 for this week’s theme!

Letter of the Week:  J

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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   

[WinglessOne]

After several weeks of babying my skin, I did 2 very stupid things early this month that made my face a big ol’ mess. 

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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. I’d intended to apply tranexamic acid only to my forehead and hairline during the intro period, so I thought I’d be okay. And I might’ve 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. You’d think that would teach me a hard lesson but nope, I mindlessly did the exact same thing 2 nights later. 🤦‍♀️ 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. 😞 That skin's also starting to flake and peel, which isn't a bad thing in this instance. 

"Oh, you have a red undertone!" No, I have surface redness + inflammation issues. It looks so much better in this photo than it did earlier this month, thank goodness. In real life, I kinda look like I'm recovering from black eyes. 😞 But still, it's an improvement!

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. I’ve mentioned my surface redness and my skin’s inflammation issues before but wow, those missteps threw my face into a tailspin. I couldn’t even apply cream moisturizer without my skin burning like I’d applied way too much glycolic acid without neutralization. I’ve 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). 

Will definitely reuse this photo for the October Favorites thread. 😄 

I’ve 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. I’ve talked about this balm at least a couple times in this thread so I won’t repeat myself, but it’s one of my favorite multifunctional things ever. 

I’ve also used my dear old friend Herbivore Emerald CBD Oil as an overnight mask many nights this month. I’ve 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, I’ve applied a thin layer of either Aquaphor Ointment or CeraVe Healing Ointment to my undereyes and oily zone. Aquaphor contains lanolin which my skin’s usually not angry about. But as raw and extra tender as my undereyes have been lately, I’ve found the CeraVe ointment works better with less irritation on that skin, while Aquaphor’s still worked well on my irritated oily zone. So I guess you could say I’ve used both ointments as overnight masks on specific parts of my face. 

These aren’t the only products I’ve used on my skin to reduce inflammation, but they’re the ones that most qualify as “masking.” 🙂 I'm very much steady-as-she-goes with these products until my skins' healed enough for more new-to-me mask adventures. 

[Shosh85]

@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! 🤞

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Shosh85 ! I can hardly wait to get back to using all the masks I’ve got on deck! 

[eshoe]

Oh @WinglessOne, hugs to you😭💕 At least it sounds like you’ve got things under control now, though it must not feel back to normal just yet. Thank you for sharing, it’s good to be reminded that our skin can be finicky and we need a backup plan for when things backfire:(

[WinglessOne]

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. 🙂

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. 

[eshoe]

@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, too😂

[tjffc]

@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. 😳

[WinglessOne]

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. 😄 

[tjffc]

@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.😊

[lmaster]

@WinglessOne holy ouch!! Chemical burn,,, do you think it's going to scar?

[WinglessOne]

@lmaster  I'm not sure if I'll have a scar under my left eye, but my right undereye is healing nicely—slowly, but nicely—so hopefully the left will follow suit. If not, well, I'll just have to up my concealer game under that eye. 😄 🤦‍♀️

[Kim888]

@WinglessOne Oh No! I hate when that happens. it looks like you have a good routine! I got a bit too rough with one of those under the skin acne spots on my chin and I've also been finding the CBD Herbivore oil to be super helpful in calming things down! Totally one of the best gwp I've selected from Sephora and I'll for sure buy the full size when it runs out

[WinglessOne]

Thanks @Kim888 ! Herbivore’s CBD oil is (IMO) the best thing the brand’s ever made. I’m glad it’s helping you, too! 

[ShortErica]

For P & K / Forgotten Wonders week

First up was the 7 wonders mediterranean mask sent to be by @eshoe. She sure has shared a wonderful range of masks and introduced me to different styles and materials. Biocellulose is always awesome and I wonder why I waited

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Bad news bears..my picture of my face is missing from my phone. The fit was good but it did have fold over spots around my nose and chin. The biocellulose was sandwiched between two layers to help you apply. I wore it for 25 minutes but couldn't do my usually neck trick because of the material. I had a strong whiff of floral out of the packet which was intriguing considering there was no scent during wear and the packet itself only lightly smelled floral. Afterward I felt some tack but it faded and was gone with moisturizer. I used extra serum (which was kind of leaning gel vs serum texture) on neck, décolletage, and hands. The ingredients looked good though sometimes my skin is fine with a bit of witch hazel and other times not. This one worked well, my skin looked nice and I enjoyed it. I feel a bit bad about the waste with two coverings but you truly can tell the difference in the Leaders lines and that this (Insolution) is superior to the Mediu ones I have. A-

Next were some eye masks from @faeriegirl - Panda Eye Essence Mask

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I always compare to the Skyn Iceland and was a bit disappointed these weren't the sticker kind but they showed me!

My face

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These stayed in place during wear and let me tell you I went way way way past the wear time recommended. They have a gold serum and the scent was unique and I couldn't pinpoint it. They temporarily plumped lines though later (thanks car mirror) they didn't look as great as maybe my bathroom mirror made it appear. They definitely provided a nice brightening too. I also appreciated there was some extra serum to use another day. A different kind from my preference but I was impressed. A-

And for a forgotten mask..oh yeah, remember I did all those Mediheal masks a few weeks ago, well I saved their combined serum in a jar and added a cotton mask round from @eshoe. I meant to do it during that week and refound it on my counter

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My face

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I think I drenched it in the right amount of serum because with a little spritz of the Avene facial water (thanks @lmaster) before placing it on my skin, it had a good 20 minute wear. The scent was not distinguishable (kinda floral and clean I think) since it was everything combined but it didn't stay around. My skin looked nice afterward but I don't know what the results should have been. It is always a decent way to use some extra serum and makes me appreciate the amount of serum required for face masks. I wish the fit was a bit better, the gaps by the sides of the nose annoy me but let's be honest, the occasional frankenmask is fun to do. B

Last up was a Kina jelly mask from @emaisgr8 

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My face

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I am so for jelly masks and they might be one of my favorite kinds. Something about the thickness of the jelly soaking in is very satisfying. Also there tends to be extra jelly (spoiler - there was a ton) which can be used later. The mask had a decent fit though it touched my hair on the sides. It had a floral scent. I wore it 25 minutes and then applied on the neck while the jelly residue on my face absorbed. My skin was sticky and it lingered even with moisturizer. My skin did look nice and was hydrated. I was able to use the extra jelly two separate days and both times had that sticky feeling. The other tweaks like touching my hair and the floral scent (just not my preference) would make it an A- mask on my scale but the sticky quality bumps it down to a B+. Still a good mask in the scheme of all the masks I've tried. I have some SNP jelly masks from @missjeanie to use and compare this week so I'm excited to see how I feel about this brand.

[Shosh85]

@ShortErica  The fraken mask sounds like  fun experiment! Glad it turned out decent!

I really enjoyed those eye patches too! I agree though, they'd be perfect if they were the sticker type! Happy to hear they worked for you! 😃

[ShortErica]

@Shosh85 I'm thinking I'll use the tabs when I'm working though what I bought in 10 packs. That way I'm merging all the same serum. Though I'm sure more frankenmasks will be in my future too 😁

[lmaster]

Love those panda eye masks @ShortErica 

[eshoe]

I’ve been curious about that Kina one, @ShortErica - thank you for sharing your thoughts on it! The Panda eye masks are very pleasant, I agree 😊

Happy to hear that the Leaders worked for you. When is still my favorite biocell, but this line is lovely, too.

[ShortErica]

You're welcome @eshoe. From this Kina mask I'd considering taking another to try out of MOtM but wouldn't buy a 10-pack if I saw it at TJ Maxx if that makes sense.

[eshoe]

Yes it does, @ShortErica. 10-packs are such a gamble unless you have others willing to play a masking guessing game🤷🏻‍♀️

[sonnydee]

Used this Sunday night  to finish my forgotten mask week..

I have forgotten to take a pic of the mask but i want to post while i still remember the details so screenshot! 

The Creme Shop Chia sheet mask

Fit?this mask was thicker than the usual CS masks. It was also smaller. I ended up ripping off the below nose part it was really wide, they have been really plaguing me lately 😒

Smell? Typical sheet mask scent but strong

Consistency?very saturated & the serum was sticky at first . Not tacky but plain sticky! I skipped my night moisturizer because I doubt it wouldve helped..😳

Ease of use?this is one that i did watch the clock. Its thicker so I did have to press it down a few times. I like low maintenance masking😂

Would I  purchase/try again? I do have more &, the results were good, my skin felt good waking up & I wasn't sticky anymore. I hope,if they even make this one anymore, that the mask itself improved. 

 

But i do love the coconut/chia