💕😌 2024 Masking Challenge 😌💖

[eshoe]

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 💮

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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:

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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, 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

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2022 Mask of the Week Challenge

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2021 Mask of the Week Challenge

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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   

Thank you @Aaliaa for starting this thread, and giving us a place to share our love for masks💗

[eshoe]

@Kim888 it is unfortunate, but I have to agree with you. The new formulation is everything you mentioned, with is too bad. Why do companies keep messing with things that are already great 😂

[lmaster]

Oh yes! An absolute must!! The farmacy is heaven!! @Kim888 

[Cissy63]

@Kim888  Sounds like the Farmacy brand is the better one . Thank you for your review!

[itsfi]

@Kim888, happy to see your review of this one. I completely understand your description of the reformulated version just being “less” than the original - the same could be said about the reformulated honey bear mask. At least it falls in the good camp. 

[Kim888]

@itsfi @I never ended up trying the new honey bear one but I remember people being a bit disappointed - brands need to stop reformulating, don’t change a good thing. 

[itsfi]

A couple more masks from last week's open week theme. 

tl;dr: The Lumina Skin Glow Serum Mask is an incredibly thin bio-cellulose sheet mask saturated in a slightly herbal and floral scented essence packed with a plethora of fabulous ingredients (17 amino acids, 8 types of hyaluronic acid, and 5 ceramides in addition to extracts of honey, propolis and royal jelly), geared towards reinforcing a healthy skin barrier through hydration and moisture. 

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Touted as the first of its kind, the third-generation nanofiber bio-cellulose sheet in the Japanese brand BCL (Beauty Creative LAB) Lumina Skin Glow Serum Mask is incredibly thin and lightweight, the thinnest bio-cellulose mask that I've ever used. So thin in fact that I almost couldn't find (or feel) it sandwiched between the netted backings. Incredibly thin and delicate.

Adherence is excellent and, except for the openings of the eyes and mouth being too narrow even for my smaller, almond-shaped eyes, fit was fabulous width and length wise, a rarity for me.

The sheet is soaked in a clear, thin, cooling, watery essence that did not run or drip once applied onto the face, even if some of it ran off the material coming out of the packet. The essence has a faint and fleeting fresh, slightly herbal and floral scent. It's actually one that I would have been fine with if it lingered just a bit longer.

If all this goodness wasn't enough, the mask boasts an amazing set of ingredients - 17 amino acids, 8 types of hyaluronic acid, and 5 ceramides in addition to extracts of honey, propolis and royal jelly. With an INCI list like this, you'd expect hydrated, moisturized, plump and glowy skin, and that's exactly what I experienced after a half hour with this sheet mask. 💖 

Except for the driest part of my face, which on this occasion was the philtrum area, there was a good amount of extra essence remaining on top of my skin after I removed the sheet. It absorbed smoothly, easily and fairly quickly, without stickiness. In fact, my skin looked brighter and felt soft, smooth, bouncy, hydrated, and lightly and comfortably moisturized. If my skin were on the oilier side or it was the peak of summer, I might have considered skipping moisturizer, another rarity for me. 

This is definitely a mask I'd recommend for those whose skin could use a pick me up or whose skin barrier is or can be easily compromised, either because of products, ingredients, the weather, sensitive skin, or a combination of those elements. The mask comes in a set of 3 and while not (yet) discontinued, it is limited edition and seems to be out of stock in most places. Of course, it is - ugh, @lmaster, another one that I know will be discontinued. Given all that, if I were to happen upon it, I will most definitely be hitting 'pause' on my mask no buy to swoop it up! 

JVN Nurture Deep Moisture Mask 5 oz/ 147 mL 

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Not a new-to-me mask but probably too early to call it a tried-and-true as I just started using this one late last year / earlier this year. JVN Nurture Deep Moisture Mask is a fruity-floral scented, medium-thick cream mask that does a nice job at detangling and leaves my hair looking and feeling silky-soft, light, smooth, fuller at the crowns and with a healthy shine. I first tried this wonderful hair mask when I picked up the JVN Complete Hydration Hair Set (love sets like these with DS / travel sizes where you can really put a product to use). After using it then, the mask quickly went onto my list of beauties to repurchase after I worked through a few more products in my stash, but I lucked out and received this full size as a gift; I didn't wait very long at all before breaking into it. 😊 

Thank you @missy94612 for a fabulous theme!

[missy94612]

@itsfi 

Bummer about the sheet mask being limited edition - it sounds like it really covers all the bases. Your photo is pretty; those orchids are beautiful.

[itsfi]

@missy94612, yeah, it’s a good reminder for me to use LE masks first or closer in time to when I pick one up. Makes it easier to restock them. Lesson learned. Thank you. 

[eshoe]

Madly typing and searching for that LE set now, @itsfi. It sounds lovely and of course, scarce😬 

[itsfi]

@eshoe, it was a great mask. I see it’s on YesStyle, but for more than I paid for it. I’ll have to see if I can source it elsewhere; it’s promising that it’s on YesStyle though.

[Cissy63]

@itsfi  Sounds like 2 good masks! Thank you for your review!

[itsfi]

@Cissy63, it was a very good masking session. 😍

[Kim888]

@itsfi @Wow that sheet mask sounds amazing! It’s rare to find something truly innovating with so many options but that’s awesome!!!

[itsfi]

@Kim888, I was really taken by surprise by this one. 😍 I was interested in seeing how the mask performed with all those great skincare ingredients; didn’t expect the actual sheet to also offer so much newness either. It’s too bad it’s limited edition; wondering if that’s because it was the first time the brand used this type of material. Hoping to see more sheet masks like this one. ♥️

[ather]

@itsfi  I knew just by looking at the thumbnail this had to be your picture! The sheet mask sounds awesome but the hair mask sounds even better!! I am glad you got a full size!!! 

[itsfi]

Awww @ather. 😊 I was racing to get the photo done on this one. 📸 I got home earlier than usual but the sun was fading, so I rushed to take the pic while dinner was cooking. The hair mask was such a great gift. I thought the earliest I might be able to pick it up would be the holiday sale; so a very nice surprise indeed! It's one of the hair masks in my permanent rotation. 💜 You picked up the JVN hydrating set, yes?! Will be interested in your take on the products after you get a chance to try them. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Yay for perfect timing!! And perfect pictures! I did pick the set up but I need to get through a bit more of my opened products before I open it. I try not to have too much open right now I have 3 shampoos and 3 masks. I try to limit it to only 2 so that I can use it and not have things get lost in my stash. I find when I have to much open it’s so hard to work through things. 

[itsfi]

Oh, you are good @ather!! 👊🏼 I’ve been trying to figure out the optimal number of open shampoos and conditioners and shower gels. I was doing good until this month. 😔

[ather]

@itsfi  Oh nooo. How many do you have opened? I’m flawed. To much opened products makes me overwhelmed and I never know where to start. I only open foils if I feel the need to try another product. I am working through a set of shampoo and conditioner I’m not a fan of so not opening more helps me work through it also. I really hope I like the jvn cause I love it had a pump on the bottles. 

[itsfi]

@ather, I'm with ya - too many opened products is overwhelming for me too. I just went to check and we have good news and bad news. Good news, the shower gel and shampoo and conditioner situation is not as bad as I originally thought. The hair mask landscape, on the other hand, ugh. 😫

Shower gel - 3 full size and 1 travel size, BUT one of the full size products is ... wait for it ... 32 oz!! Whoa! 😮

I have 3 full size shampoo / conditioner sets that are open - Olaplex, Kerastase and JVN, the latter two I just opened this month, and I have 2 foils open but that's fine. I also have one clarifying/detox shampoo open. This is an okay amount.

Now, the hair mask situation. 😬 I had 3 full size, 2 travel sizes that were open and had been rotating through those for some time. But I just looked and I have somehow opened 3 more full size hair masks. Ack. No. more. That's waaaaay too many to have open at any one time. I'm going to have to get down to 3 full sizes again and then I'll do a one in - one out approach. 

[ather]

@itsfi  Oh no!!!! Technically I have 2 sets of shampoo/conditioner (both sets from my hairdresser and probably wouldn’t replace once gone) open not bad and I do have a detox shampoo opened which isn’t bad also. I have 2 full size and one travel size hair masks I guess if we count olaplex 3 I have 3 full size one travel 😳 but that’s not terrible either. Especially for the protein masks I limit to once a week or every 2 weeks since I’ve over used in the past. I do have a bunch of foils also opened. I’m hoping by fall sale I’ve gone through my full size and I can replace one for one for something I really like. And get down to 1 protein mask opened at a time!! See we are t in that bad of shape at all!!!