PERSONALISE YOUR FACE MASKS
There is no one-size fits all face cream: there’s serums, eye creams, gels for acne…and your masks are the same! Personalise your pamper for fresh, glowing skin.
Face masks always seem a little confusing: you’ve got clay for oily, blemished skin; moisturising masks for dry skin; exfoliating masks with an AHA to brighten skin – and the list goes on.
But are you really treating yo’ self by smothering your entire face with a green clay mask and placing cucumber over your eyes? Firstly, cucumber somehow manages to burn the crap out of my eyes; and secondly, my combo skin hates anything drying on my cheeks – but my T-Zone loves it.
The Solution? Multimasking.
THE KNOW-HOW
There are two ways that I like to multimask:
1. Layer Multimasking:
Apparently you can layer masks over one-another, but I prefer to use multiple masks with different properties separately.
When layering, I like to start with an exfoliating scrub or mask to prep the skin before moving on to either a clay mask or a hydrating mask (or both, in that order).
I apply each mask where necessary before washing them off and applying the next mask.
2. Clown Makeup Multimasking:
This is actually my preference, as it’s a lot faster than layering. Again, start with an exfoliating scrub or mask to prep the skin, but instead of applying the subsequent masks one at a time to the areas they are best suited, I apply them together.
For example, I’ll apply a clay mask to my T-Zone (forehead, nose and chin) and a hydrating mask to my cheeks and around the eyes, then sip a cup of tea or a rose while watching Netflix (have you seen Westworld yet? It’s addictive…)
This way, I get the individual benefits of the masks to the areas that really need it, rather than drying out dry areas or over hydrating oily areas. Clever, eh?
ON MY TOP SHELF
This exfoliating mask with Alpha Hydroxy Acids doubles as both a quick face scrub and a 5 minute intensive mask. When I’m feeling lazy, I use a pea-sized amount to scrub off the day before washing it off.
But if you’ve got 5 minutes to kill, apply it to a freshly cleansed and damp face (damp means you’ve just blotted your face with the towel, not that it’s still dripping) and let the AHA’s do their magic. When it’s time is up (and you’ve come to a good spot to pause your show), wet your hands with warm water and exfoliate in circular motions for 30 seconds before washing it off.
Word to the wise: When I first started using this, I broke out – but this is fairly standard with AHA’s as they unclog the glue that holds your skin together to reveal a fresh layer. I pushed through, and it doesn’t bother me anymore – but discontinue if symptoms persist.
QUEEN HELENE MINT JULEP MASQUE
226.8g $6.10
I bought this classic when I was living in LA – and almost 5 years later I still have some left. They really rave about the bonus 33%, but I doubt they needed to offer it at all unless you’re using it as a whole body treatment.
To be fair, I learnt quickly that this stuff is both great and terrible, so I only use it on my T-Zone to help with blackheads because it will dry you out if you’ve got combination skin. This does, however, make it perfect for multimasking when you’ve got a hydrating mask to use on your cheeks.
It’s got a really lovely fresh mint scent (the name does kind of give it away…) and is full of Kaolin, Bentonite and Sulfur, which explains the super clean feeling and anti-acne properties.
It hasn’t done anything for my hormonal acne, but my skin does feel really clean and fresh afterwards. At this price, it’s worth picking up for the clean feeling.
This mask was recommended to me by a colleague who raved about waking up with glowing skin, so I was both intrigued and skeptical until I ran a Google search where everyone else raved about their beautiful morning skin.
Because it’s so affordable, I decided to take the risk and see for myself – and I’m glad I did. It was a bitter Melbourne winter when I bought it and my skin was dry – even my T-Zone was miserable.
It boasts a lot of key moisture-boosting ingredients, including Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Apricot Kernel Oil and Avocado oil, although of course most of those are pretty far down in the ingredients list. However, they have utilized quite a range of other natural plant oils, citrus and floral extracts that lead me to believe the results aren’t just from the Dimethicone and Glycerin.
It has a really strong citrus scent that reminds me of something from my childhood that I can’t quite put my finger on, and when you wake up in the morning you not only smell lovely and herbal, but your skin is on fleek.
Perfect for your dry zones, when I use this when multimasking with Queen Helene, and I wash it off after about an hour (or 3 episodes of Archer).
SWIPE RIGHT
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