Let’s Talk: Face Masks

Face masks were my entryway into the skincare community. I didn’t know much or where to start, but in my mind, a face mask could solve all of my problems. It’s the ultimate indulgent ritual. Taking time out of you day to focus on yourself just feels so luxurious.

My obsession with face masks has gotten a bit out of control, I’m aware. I currently have 2 drawers filled with masks: a sheet mask drawer & an everything else drawer. I’m planning on going into more detail on my sheet mask drawer, so for today we will focus on my all other masks drawer.

I have spent the last few years offering up my face in the name if face mask science!

This is gonna be a long one so strap in people!

Let’s break it down my favorites by category:

 

Hydrating/Soothing/Brightening

Sisley Express Flower Gel Mask ($140.00)

So refreshing and cooling! This brilliant mask has a slightly tacky feel after it sets in and leaves a jelly, wet looking, dewy glow. I love that I can use it around the eyes. It is like two masks in one! Because it never fully dries down, sometimes I will slather my face in it & use it as an overnight mask. When I wake up it’s like my skin has had a tall drink of water. It hydrates, plumps, calms my redness and refreshes my skin.

I will sometime use one of my exfoliating masks first and then follow with the Express Flower Mask. It helps calm any sort of irritation I could have gotten from over exfoliating and leaves me with plump, smooth, & soothed skin.

NIOD Voicemail Masque ($45.00)

This mask contains hyaluronic acid for hydration and plumping, and some polyphenols that are usually used in skincare for anti-aging purposes. Also some silicones to form layer on your skin to keep all the moisture in overnight.

For me, the jury is still out on this mask. I’ve only recently added it to my collection, so I’m not 100% sure how I feel about it. I do think that I wake up with more hydrated looking skin, but it feels hard to tell if it is helping with my “cell communication”. How does something help with cell communication anyway?

Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask ($162.00)

I like to use this when my skin is feeling extra dehydrated and tight or if my skin is looking incredibly dull & tired. I’ll also use it if I’ve been a little heavy handed with the acne drying products and I have dry, flaky patches around my healing acne spots. It has tons of anti-aging ingredients (black rose, padina pavonica, and alkekengi calyx extracts) that help reduce my signs of fatigue (since I rarely get a good nights sleep anymore, this has been life-saver).

 

Decongesting/Acne

Boscia Luminizing Black Mask ($34.00)

This is my boyfriends favorite mask. He has only recently been willing to let me slather his face in skincare. Overtime we do face masks together, he always requests that he gets to use this pell-off mask. I think he just gets so much satisfaction out of being able to physically see everything that it pulls out of his skin.

May Lindstrom The Problem Solver ($100.00)

This powder mask really is a problem solver. Any problem my skin is having, this will help with (besides maybe dryness?). Acne, fatigue, congestion, this bad boy helps with it all! This is definitely my favorite does everything mask in my collection. With raw cacao, activated bamboo charcoal, and exotic spices, it detoxifies & purifies the skin. The amazing thing about having a powder mask is that it doesn’t loose it’s efficacy like premixed masks can since you are not activating the ingredients until they have been mixed with water.

There is also something to be said about mixing your own face mask. It feel more like a spa experience for me. I’m not just slapping something on my face. I’m taking the time to mix my own mask and apply it with a mask brush. It just feels so much more like me time for some reason.

Mario Badescu Drying Mask ($18.00)

I use this exclusively when I have an active acne spot and I want to make it go away as fast as possible. It’s not something that I use on my entire face, only on my acne spots.

I don’t really have much to say other than it does a great job at quickly drying out any suspect acne spots.

Mahalo The BEAN ($80.00)

This is one of my newest masks. It was recently the hero product in a Beauty Heroes box. The 3 main beans are cacao, vanilla & coffee mixed with raw honey to help everything stay together. This blend of beans and honey helps detoxify while also energizing the skin, making it look brighter. The honey helps soften the skin.

I have really enjoyed getting the chance to use this mask. I find that I look less exhausted after using it and my skin looks more radiant. My only problem with this mask is that I am getting through it so quickly! I feel like I’ve only used it a handful of times and half the container is empty.

 

Exfoliating

Exfoliating masks may be the end-all-be-all of face masks for me. There is just something about them that immediately makes my face

Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask ($58.00)

This may be the only face mask that I have ever bough multiples of. Typically I use a mask up and have so many more that I never end up repurchasing that mask again. But this I have bout 3 containers of. THAT’S how much I love this mask! Let’s start by talking about the smell. It smells like a pumpkin pie. Like I could eat this right off of my face it smells so good. If you hate for your skincare products to have a smell, then this may not be for you, but I think it is amazing.

Not only does it smell amazing, put it provides amazing results. The chemical exfoliation that the pumpkin enzymes provide is out of this world. It tingles a little bit (to me that’s just a sign that it’s working) and when you wash it off, it’s like you have baby-soft, radiant skin. I’ve literally gotten 3 other people hooked on using it.

The Ordinary AHA 30% + BHA 2% Peeling Solution ($7.20)

The famous blood mask (not actually blood). This reminds me a lot of the previous mask, not in look or smell, but in results. The immediate exfoliation is just amazing. Now this one tingles quite a bit more than the previous mask, but it’s nothing too bad and it goes away after the first few minutes on my face. This immediately helps reduce the discoloration in my skin due to post-acne marks. I do call this my “instant facial” and I stand by that name. In 10 minutes, you will walk away with smoother, more refined, brighter looking skin. Magic in a bottle I say! And for the price tag, it just can’t be beat!

 

What are your favorite face masks?