💕😌 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 💮

Spoiler

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:

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, 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

Spoiler

2022 Mask of the Week Challenge

Spoiler

2021 Mask of the Week Challenge

Spoiler

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]

This sounds like a great one to have on hand, @Shosh85, especially for the warmer months! I don’t think I have tried anything yet from this brand, so when I start, it looks like this will be the one to try👍🏼

[Shosh85]

@eshoe  I definitely agree, love having a good stash of Aloe masks to use in the summertime! Out of the 7 masks I've tried from this line, so far this is my favorite!

[itsfi]

@Shosh85, the packaging on these always get me. 😃 I’m a big fan of having aloe masks on hand! Adding this one to my list. 

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  Yup, I definitely like having some good Aloe masks on hand, especially in the summertime! Do you have a favorite? 

[itsfi]

@Shosh85, can I have favorites? 😊 Most aloe sheet masks agree with my face, but I tend to keep on hand at least one of either (or both) the Benton Aloe Soothing Mask and the Merbliss Wedding Dress Aloe Honey Soothing Clear Seal Mask. 

Photo from jolse(dot)comPhoto from jolse(dot)com

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  Oh yes, I've heard great things about both of these! I've only tried one Benton mask, but would definitely love to try more! 😃

[itsfi]

@Shosh85, is it the Benton Snail Bee sheet mask that you’ve used? I like that one, and the serum is good too. 

[Shosh85]

@itsfi  Nope, haven't tried that one yet, but I definitely want to! I tried the "Goodbye Redness Centella Mask Pack" - which is a great one to always have on hand. 

[itsfi]

@Shosh85, that’s a good one! I’m not sure if Benton has come out with more masks; I think they have 3 - the centella asiatica one, the aloe mask and the snail bee mask. All are loves for me.

[eshoe]

For this week, a “J” for “Juicy Peach”

Spoiler

This Lather Honey Moisture Mask with Propolis Extract is just ok. It has a rather strong honey-ish scent that borders on laundry on it jus isn’t my cup of tea. My skin does feel softer after using, so there is that!

The Avatara Juicy Peach Beach also looked promising; I couldn’t wait to test out the scent. Rather than fresh peach, it exudes that clean, sheet-mask familiarity. The mask itself was medium weight, and average in fit. The thin, clear serum was just the right consistency and remained on my face rather than requiring a stand-over-the-skin masking sesh. I left it on around 20 minutes, then removed. My skin appeared slightly plumper, and felt soft and cool, not at all tacky, to the touch. It was a decent filler mask because 1) no snipping 2) no dripping 3) no irritating, but I wouldn’t repurchase. I finished up with the Peach Slices Peach Lip Balm, which does have a sweet, true-to-its-name scent, yum!

Ingredients:

Spoiler

[lmaster]

@eshoe sorry it's not a  repurchase!! Sounded so promising

[eshoe]

Peach as an ingredient should come with a disclaimer for a likewise scent, @lmaster 

[Shosh85]

@eshoe  Too bad both masks were just ok - the scent on both sound disappointing. A name like "Juicy Peach" would definitely get my hopes up for something more. Glad to hear the lip balm was enjoyable! 🍑

[eshoe]

Well, lip balm to the rescue, @Shosh85! I am still on the fence about the LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask Peach Iced Tea; only reason being if that I just started a good effort kn my LANEIGE Lip Sleeping Mask Intense Hydration with Vitamin C Gummy Bear. Which will likely take a couple of years with earnest effort to finish!

[Shosh85]

@eshoe  I wish they'd offer minis of ALL of them! It took about a year to finish the full size, and I'm not sure I'd ever commit to a full size again 

[eshoe]

@Shosh85 this sounds like my Holiday set dream🥰 What other product can you think of that you love, is enjoyable to use and works, and seems to last forever? Such a problem to have😂

[itsfi]

@eshoe, I’m bummed to hear about the no peach scent on the sheet mask. 😞 From my use of the avatara masks, the older versions like aloe, hyaluronic acid, etc seem to perform better than the fruit line.

[eshoe]

You know, @itsfi, I feel like I have used the brand before. After all, it’s hard to leave Target without at least one sheet mask😉 This just looked and sounded so appealing. If I come across any of the older ones, now at least I know it’s worth a shot!

[itsfi]

This was included in a set of masks I received. I hadn't planned on using it when I first received it, but a friend's mom helped me gather more intel about modern day harvesting practices (more details at the end of  the spoiler) that make it a little less cringey. 

Spoiler

Lightly saturated in a thin, fresh scented, clear, watery, slightly viscous essence, the thin cellulose sheet of the Elizavecca EGF Deep Power Ringer Mask adheres nicely to the skin for the entire 30 minutes I wore it. Fit was a mixed bag - width was near perfect and length was very good - only 1/2" too long at chin.  The material for the nose was also longer than your typical sheet mask, a lot longer, but where it really went wrong as far as fit was concerned involved the openings for the eyes and mouth - both way too narrow. In fact, the narrowness of the mouth opening made me wonder if this is how Hannibal Lecter felt when wearing that infamous mask. 

Its claims seem to be far reaching - reduces wrinkles, helps regenerate cell growth, lifts, tightens and moisturizes. I'll say right off the bat that I had zero expectations that the first three claims would be noticeable after a single use. Results did not fall short of my expectations in that regard as I didn't see any of those three claims come to fruition. While I also didn't see or feel any tightening, my skin did feel more bouncy, looked fresh faced, and felt lightly moisturized. 

The masks in the Deep Power Ringer series are held out as suitable for daily masking. I can see that to be true and think these masks would be a really good match for someone whose features are more aligned and proportionate to the size of the eyes and mouth openings on these masks. 

Overall the mask isn't bad, but it's not one I would consider a standout, and also not one I'd likely to repurchase from this series of Elizavecca Deep Power Ringer masks. 

Although I'm glad to hear that the process for procuring the Swiftlet Nest extract takes a more modern, less intrusive approach (see spoiler for what I found out through a friend's mom), I'm still a little iffy about this skincare ingredient though to be fair, I haven't given it the shot that I have to snail mucin and other similarly unique skincare ingredients. Also, while I like that peptides are included in the ingredients in this mask, it's disappointing that they're the last 2 ingredients listed, after fragrance no less. 


@Shosh85 @lmaster, thought you may be interested in what I learned about modern day swiftlet nests harvesting practices. ⬇️

Spoiler

I asked a friend's mom to help me with a little research into the harvesting of swiftlet nests for the extracts that goes into sheet masks like this one because I wanted to know and also because I felt like I should do more  homework about it before using it. She's Korean American and reached out to the brand and its parent company (who states that they produce natural skincare products using modern technologies) to learn more about their practice with sourcing their swiftlet nest extracts. From what she gathered, neither brand uses suppliers that engage in the traditional form of harvesting where people go into caves and scrape the nests from the walls. From what she was told, the nests from which the extracts are procured from swiftlet farms. She wasn't able to get the names of the swiftlet farms due to  confidentiality reasons but she was told that nests are not taken until the swiftlet chicks are hatched and then the people that work at these farms move the swiftlet and chicks to other nests, before removing the swiftlet nest.

[eshoe]

The information you shared about newer harvesting techniques is encouraging, @itsfi. SNP uses that as an ingredient for a few of their masks; I wonder if they too are moving away (if they ever used) from traditional methods. I had not looked into how it was obtained in the first place for fear of discovering some very disturbing info. 

I just began looking into seahorse extract, and the first few uses for it….erm…surprised me. This might take awhile to get to the bottom of it! @lmaster 

[lmaster]

@eshoe @itsfi I just can't support this, (seahorse) as much as I want to believe they harvest them after they've passed,,, I know darn well that's not the case 😥