The Face Mask Edit: Current Lineup
I am a compulsive user of face masks. While serums, and moisturizers, and sunscreens are more like a necessity (though enjoyable nonetheless), face masks are deliberate moments of happy indulgence and an investment in my own sanity - especially amidst the madness of 2020-21. While masking daily may seem a bit much, and honestly rather impossible to make time for – hear me out. This is what I do – I work really hard all day, I try to squeeze in a workout sesh, and around 9pm, I change into my PJs, I cleanse my face of all the makeup/sunscreen/other gunk of the day, I pour myself a glass of red, and I settle down with a book or a tv show. It is during that hour, that I slap on a generous layer of whatever mask I feel like that day and just…relax. Being a night owl helps and of course, I am grateful for the privilege of this time that I get to myself – a commodity that is not so easily available to many women. I keep a few different types of masks in rotation – a deep cleansing one, an exfoliating one, a few moisturizing/hydrating ones, a calming one, one for when I have a breakout coming on, and a treatment type mask – a brightening, lifting, general facelift-aspirations kind. The actual brand may change – and I am constantly trying new ones – but this lineup is pretty stable. I want to qualify that even I don’t think that anyone needs a mask everyday and some would even argue that you don’t need to mask at all. For me, these daily masking moments are as much about making a deliberate effort to re-wire my racing mind towards a little more stillness as they are about actual effects on my skin. So today, I want to share my thoughts on the masks I am currently using and whether you are a compulsive masker like me, or a once-a-month masker (or less!), I hope you enjoy the post.
Current Cleansing Masks – Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Honey, Biologique Recherche Biomagic Mask
The Origins mask has a delicious silky, pudding like texture – a pudding with thick layers of honey. It’s is a silvery-greyish-black, and dries fairly quickly on my face. I can basically apply a nice, thick layer and still wash it off in ten minutes. My face feels very clean afterwards. The BR one is supposed to be applied in a thin layer for 15-20 minutes, but it dries really fast on my skin too. After it dries, and you keep it on for the recommended time, it provides an almost lifting action. When I wash it off, my skin does look firmer and smoother. While I like the results, both masks dry a little too fast and too ‘hard’ for my liking.
Current Exfoliating/Acne Mask – Omorovicza Silver skin Savior
On my skin, this mask is a gentle exfoliator, and helps quite a bit when I am breaking out. The texture is thick and creamy – almost balmy – and infinitely spreadable so you need very little per use and so it lasts and lasts. Not a miracle cure, but definitely worth checking out if you are having issues with acne.
Current Hydrating/Moisturizing Masks – Biologique Recherche Masque Visoelastine, Darphin Hydrating Kiwi Mask, Beauty Pie Japanfusion Bio-Ceramide Mositure Mask
This is my most-used mask category – simply because while you cannot doze off with a clay mask on your face, you most definitely can with a hydrating mask; and in most likelihood wake up with luminous skin. Also I feel that most people are chronically dehydrated/stressed/overworked anyway so this category of ultra-skin pampering masks can never really hurt. My favourite out of these (and the cheapest!), and one that I have now re-purchased at least five times, is the Beautypie mask. I have tried a very large number of hydrating/moisturizing masks and when I say I absolutely love this one – you have to understand that is no small thing for me. It is a gel-cream texture that goes on like silk and leaves my skin feeling happy, glowing, and at peace with the world - instant results. I will keep buying this one again and again and again. THANK YOU, Beauty Pie for this gem. The BR mask is a creamy white paste and the Darphin mask is like a light face cream. Both do well in combatting my winter dryness and generally leave my skin feeling healthy and plump. I prefer the Darphin because I get more instantaneous plumping results. All of these are technically wash-off masks but I can keep them on for hours without any issues.
Current Calming Mask – First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask
I over-exfoliated my skin a few weeks ago and woke up with an irritated red face with small bumps all over my forehead and around my nose. This mask was quite helpful in soothing my skin and one of the few masks I could tolerate. The irritation took a week to clear up and I do think that this mask helped. It is a creamy, oatmeal-y paste (though not as grainy), and a thick layer of this felt amazing on my hot, inflamed skin. In general, I find First Aid Beauty’s calming products to be real performers.
Current Treatment Masks – Biologique Recherche Masque VIP O2 and Masque Vivant, Miss de Gaspe Brightening & Revitalizing Dry Mask
The BR VIP O2 is a superstar mask – I don’t think I have been without it for over 3 years. A light, white cream – it goes on and actually feels like there is fresh oxygen being pumped into your face. The results are bright, glowing skin – almost immediately. The Vivant is another high performing mask – it’s supposed to be a balancing mask and while most people use it as an acne preventor, for me it does exactly what it says on the tube – it balances my skin. When I use it, my skin doesn’t feel dry or oily – it feels just right (with just a little extra glow). This is another mask I’ve been using consistently for over 3 years.
Miss de Gaspe is Nanette de Gaspe’s less expensive sister brand. Her Miss de Gaspe dry sheet masks are less pricey but they perform almost as well on my skin. I am not a fan of drippy sheet masks – mostly because I can’t sip my wine through them – but even dry sheet masks are not all made equal. If you are in the market for a dry sheet mask that really performs – you can’t go wrong with Nanette de Gaspe. It leaves my skin feeling soft, moisturized, and glowy and most days, I can skip any additional moisturizing layers.
From L - clockwise: BR Masque Vivant, BR Masque Visoelastine, Beauty Pie Bio Ceramide Moisture Mask, Darphin Hydrating Kiwi Mask, Omorovicza Silver Skin Saviour, Origins Clear Improvement Charcoal Honey Mask, First Aid Beauty Utlra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask, BR Biomagic Mask, BR Vip O2 Mask
So these are it – my current lineup of face masks – some are superstars, and some I probably won’t repurchase. I would love to hear what your favourites are – any superstars I should know about?! xx
