💕😌 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💗

[itsfi]

Sheet masks are an easy rabbit hole to fall down @QueenMarceline and it's so tempting to pick up a 10-pack of a favorite or well loved sheet mask. Been there, done that! I've used a few different approaches to sheet masking, incluing a sheet mask and skincare journal. 📓

There's definitely something to be said about keeping a few within reach and where your eyes can see them. I previously had a mini fridge and I'd place a couple of sheet masks that I wanted to use in there on a weekly basis. Or, I'd place my overnight mask on my nightstand. When I first started using sheet masks (feels like eons ago), I would put a post it note on my bathroom mirror "Remember to use a sheet mask" which at one point just became "sheet mask" 😅. Tagging the fabulous @missjeanie as she has some great tips & tricks for that, and working through your stash. 

[QueenMarceline]

@itsfi Those are some great tips, my little doc includes overall reviews/thoughts about the products and to be honest, some of the 10 packs I bought I had no business buying in retrospect. 🤣 Definitely need a sticky note on the mirror to help keep me on track, I could see that being really beneficial for me in the long-run. My past job was definitely a hinderance on my masking and skincare game in general for the past year simply by taking up any ounce of time I had, so even in the past month I've seen huge improvements but the stash is something I need to proactively tackle, would love to hear any tips @missjeanie may have to offer to help me along the way 🙂

[missjeanie]

@QueenMarceline @itsfi Oh wow.... sheet masks.... At one point I had something like 800 of them?  It was mostly a matter of me getting into masking and always looking for the next best one, always in 10 packs of course. lol.  When I finally decided enough was enough and I had to tackle the situation I went through all the masks and sorted them out by what year they were expiring in.  I kept out anything that was expiring in the current year and put the other three years away in a suitcase.  I had a goal to use one mask per day so I pulled out 31 masks from the current year that I had out and put them into a box.  I tried to pick masks that either fell into the mask of the week challenges or that would be a big benefit to my skin in that season.  THis worked out for me in a few ways... I kept the box right on my bathroom counter, so they were out and right in front of my face.  It also gave me an ability to still feel like I was picking out something that day that I wanted to use, rather than trying to decide from such a large selection.  Only having the one years expiring masks out to pick from narrowed it down and made sure that I was using the older masks first.  This worked for me for about six months.  If I had leftover masks in one month, I'd roll them into the next month.  I also did a firm no buy on sheet masks... which I'm still on.  If I happened upon a mask that I wasn't into, I'd use any extras as a mask on my neck or decollete. 

I will say that I took a big break from masking after the 6 months or so.  Everyday just isn't realistic with my current work and life schedule.  I am however back at it and I've used a similar method where I put a box (the same one) with about a dozen masks in it with my project pan items.  Having them back on the counter where I see them both while I'm getting ready for the day and when I get home from work is incentive to wash my face right away and mask.  

I hope you find a way to tackle your stash @QueenMarceline !  And maybe find some more mask loves along the way!

[QueenMarceline]

@missjeanie Wow, those are some great tips. Hearing you got through 800 definitely makes me believe my stash is doable, the organizing with weeks for themes sounds like a fantastic idea too. Also have a ton of SC masks I would get in bigger sheet kits, using them on my neck and décolleté is a fantastic idea as opposed to trying to force myself to use them up by picking them over masks I actually enjoy. I think this could be a game changer for me. 

Also, fully agree with your more recent comments of spending time looking through sheet masks to the point where you end up just not doing one due to being overwhelmed. Thought it was just me.  🤣

Thank you so much 🙂

[missjeanie]

lol.... well @QueenMarceline I havent gotten through all of them just yet... There's probably still two hundred or so left.  Maybe more?  I 100% refuse to go count them anymore, it's not good for my mental health lol But you've inspired me to do a big push for the end of the year!  

[itsfi]

Kudos to you for sticking to your sheet mask no buy for so long @missjeanie; that's impressive. Strong will power you have! I love how you broke it down too so that even the choice of mask to use became more manageable. 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi I remember sitting on my floor flipping through alllllll the masks trying to pick one out to use and I'd spend a half hour just looking at them and then run out of time.  I'm someone who needs things narrowed down a bit !

[itsfi]

I hear ya on that @missjeanie! It reminds me of how many of my mornings go ... get up, open my closet door, look around, shuffle a few hangers to the left and the right, look around some more and, while scanning the several dresses, skirts, pants, jeans, tops, etc. in the closet, think "what am I going to wear?" and "I don't have anything to wear" 😂🤣😂 

As much as I like having options when it comes to a lot of things, there are definitely instances and things where I'm better served having a very finite, well curated assortment of things. Sheet masks are one of them, though to be fair, I do appeciate the innovation and newness in that space and picking up new sheet masks here and there. 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi The number of times I've gotten dressed and said 'I have nothing to wear".... if only I had a nickel every time!  I'd love to get to the point where I can pick up one or two sheet masks... I see so many fun ones, then remind myself of the suitcase days.

[itsfi]

Ya @missjeanie, I really have no business saying “I have nothing to wear.” 😂 The irony is that I tend to reach for the same pieces, but when I make an effort to try doing a capsule wardrobe for the month, nope! Suddenly, I’m mixing and matching everything, but when it comes time to actually getting dressed, it’s still the same handful of pieces I go for all the time. 

I’ve picked up a couple few more sheet masks. BUT that’ll be it, until this stash gets down to … 🤔 5 maybe? It’s a smaller volume than I’ve ever had but at the same time, I’m masking less often than before.

[missjeanie]

@itsfi I feel this.  My closets (yes plural) are jam packed and yet I could probably get dressed for a few months just with the clothes that end up living on my bench after they're washed, never getting put away.  

I need to do a solid skincare push over the next month and half.  I want to try and focus on my project pan items, but also.... sheet masks.  I'm feeling like I need to get a head of the dry cold weather this year.  

[itsfi]

Ooooh, you should bring sheet masks into your project pan @missjeanie! There are some great seasonal project pan themes on the thread but you could have a rotating sheet mask panning project, either a handful or a number to target every month or a stash to challenge yourself to work your way through monthly, every other month, quarterly, whatever cadence works for you. I feel like you will whittle your collection down a lot by this time next year, if not before then. You got this! 👊🏼 

[missjeanie]

@itsfi I've finished off a few of my project pan items this last few weeks and decided that I'm not going to add anything back in to the official project.  Mostly so that I can feel like I succeeded in finishing things, but also because I got some newness going on here and I'm sure I'll find a few things during Black Friday sales.  The rest of the next six weeks will be spent figuring out 10 items to start my project with next year.  That said... I did put 10 masks into my washroom this week.  Down to 8 tonight!!  

[itsfi]

That's great news @missjeanie! 2 sheet masks down, 8 to go. I am going to try to resist Black Friday / Cyber Monday sales as best as I can, at least where beauty products are concerned. I have me some packages to get to opening up so I'm taking a snail's pace to them to hopefully get me through the upcoming holiday sales. I've made a list of things I can buy and will try my darndest to resist anything else that catches my eye. Problem is that (1) there are many things that catch my eye and (2) I'm weak. Oh, a third thing, (3) I get easily distracted, though maybe that is also part of (1). Hahaha. 

I'm thinking of 10 items or 10 goals for my project pan for next year as well. Will have to figure out what to bring in or to bring back.  

[lmaster]

Very interesting on the scent!! @itsfi plastic? I have two more, I will try to notice if the others smell different to me. I have to say the holiday cinnamon version is my favorite! What do you think of the lip mask?

[itsfi]

@lmaster, I’m hoping the one I used was just an outlier. I have another one that I picked up in store (vs purchasing online like with this one) and have my fingers crossed 🤞🏼 that it has a cocoa smell. The lip mask for me had a super faint scent that went away very quickly; that has been my experience with the lip masks from this collection that I’ve tried in the past.

[QueenMarceline]

The other day I decided to mix a couple of "traditional" masks I enjoy on their own. My skin is going through a break out but the weather here has also turned much colder in the recent weeks which has impacted my skin into the dry zone. 😕 I thought this combo would be a perfect pair to combat both of these issues: 

Glow Recipe Watermelon Glow Hyaluronic Clay Pore-Tight Facial Mask 2.03 oz/ 60 mL 

Farmacy Honey Potion Plus Ceramide Hydration Mask 

I applied this by mixing thoroughly with one of my mask applicators and applied it with SEPHORA COLLECTION Vegan Face Mask Application Brush (which is a gem for this particular consistency). Since the clay can be quite... "muddy" in texture whilst the Farmacy mask truly looks like honey but resembles more of a smoother vaseline consistency this combined like a dream. Not too dry, not too thick and sticky almost lotion-like. Honestly I was surprised at how much I liked these two paired together that I wonder if it might become a common mix for me.

As the results, definitely left an intense hydration which is to be expected with the Farmacy mask, my skin felt extremely glowy, dewy and supple throughout the rest of the day. On the next day, I still felt like my skin had a little bit more hydration and "pep in its step" in comparison to the norm. Will definitely try out this mix again but try to add in more of the Glow Recipe mask this time around.

[ather]

@QueenMarceline  Oh I love this combo! 

[QueenMarceline]

@ather It's a great one 🙂 was my first time giving this mix a go.

[eshoe]

How fun that you blended these together, @QueenMarceline - you have inspired me to try that sometime!

[QueenMarceline]

@eshoe Let me know how you like it when you end up trying 🙂