Mask of the Week: Energy of Fruits Sweet Orange Sheet Mask

 

I have a confession to make. I’m a sheet mask hoarder. You’re not surprised? Well, it would surprise you if I told you how many masks I have. But I won’t. It’d be too much to handle for anyone’s ears. Just know it’s an obscene amount.

I found these masks on my monthly sheet mask shopping trip. Yes, I used to go monthly to a few of my favourite stores and browse, inevitably picking up sheet masks along the way. I’ve stopped this monthly madness and instead, now order the masks online. R.I.P my wallet.

With a minimalistic packaging and radiant boosting claims, what were my thoughts?

Milk Makeup Face Mask Sticks

If you’ve read my review on Sephora’s mask sticks, you know I love facial masks in all forms. Lately, I can’t be bothered to use anything other than sheet masks or mask sticks (try saying that five times, I dare you).

Enter Milk Makeup’s Mask Sticks. This review is for all three of MM’s masks. The Watermelon Brightening Mask, Green Tea Detoxifying Mask and Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil Mask.

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The Specifics:

Condition of my skin: I’ve tried all three masks when my skin was under multiple conditions. Yes, even when my skin was breaking out.

How do I use this product? After cleansing, I apply the mask on dry skin by rolling it all over my face and neck. If you want a thicker and more opaque layer, go over your face a few more times. Wait ten minutes then wash off and ooh and awe at how great your face looks (you’re gorgeous, dear reader!)

Brand: Milk Makeup (MM)

Claims: 

The Watermelon mask is meant to hydrate, tone, and brighten your skin.

The Green tea mask detoxifies, balances, and calms any redness.

The Cannabis Sativa mask moisturizes, calms and cleanses the skin.

Ingredients: Found here.

Affordability: The masks retail for $32.00 (CDN) for 1oz/30g. They are more expensive than Sephora’s masks but these are more effective. I’ve used these masks multiple times and I’m not even halfway through them yet! Compared to other masks offered at Sephora, these are more affordable and they may seem like a gimmick (I mean, they are) but they really work and do what they claim. I do think they are affordable.

Smell: All of the masks are unscented which I like since fragrances irritate my skin. The Cannabis mask has a natural, green and earthy scent but it doesn’t irritate my skin.

Texture: The texture of the mask has a dry, clay texture. When rolled on the face, it sinks into the skin in an even layer. This is drier and less emollient than Sephora’s masks but they don’t tug the skin.

The texture of MM’s mask is more dense and noticeable when compared to Sephora’s mask. 

How does it leave my face?: 

Each mask effectively met its claims. I found the Cannabis mask to be very hydrating and calming, especially when my skin was fatigued, red, and irritated.

The Watermelon mask nourished and brightened my skin, while also hydrating it.

The Green Tea mask cleansed, calmed, and toned my skin but unlike Sephora’s Bamboo mask (meant to do the same thing), this mask didn’t dry out my skin.

How does my face feel afterward? All of the masks hydrated my skin without leaving a film behind. My face felt clean but not painfully dry or squeaky clean.

How are the results?: Yay! Finally, masks that do what they’re supposed to! I don’t want to be redundant but each mask really did deliver fantastic results. They all hydrated and balanced my skin yet, each mask met its specific claims.

Love or hate? LOVE!

Repurchase: Yes, I’m already planning on repurchasing the masks when there is a sale at Sephora.

Recommend: If you are looking for effective masks that deliver and work, these are for you. If you are looking for masks that are travel-friendly, portable, and aren’t messy like usual clay masks, these masks are also for you. Overall, you can’t go wrong with MM’s masks. If you get a chance, I really hope you try one (or all) masks offered by MM.

Final thoughts: I admit, I bought these on a whim. I love MM as a brand and everything I have tried from them, I’ve loved. These masks are no different. I wasn’t expecting to be wowed by them, nor was I expecting such fantastic results. Yet, as usual, MM delivered and surpassed my expectations. At this point, I don’t even doubt them anymore.

Rating:  5/5

-Are travel-friendly

-Effective

-No added fragrance

-Are cleaner to use than regular clay masks

-Not as emollient as Sephora’s stick masks

-There is a mask for specific concerns

-The Cannabis Sativa mask has a medium-strength, herbaceous, natural scent.

Thank you for checking out my review!

eye-bags for days…

Calm hearts and grateful eyes.

Sephora Collection Mask Sticks Review

I love face masks of all varieties–wash-off masks, sheet masks, five-minute masks. I love them all. They’re luxurious and if you’re lucky to find ones that work, the results are tremendous. 

Mask sticks have become a new favourite of mine. They’re clay-based, wash-off masks in stick form. Why do I love them so much? They’re easy to use, they’re not messy and they are not gloopy. They’re simple, minimalistic and fantastic for lazy people like me. 

Now, don’t quote me on this but I think Milk Makeup was one of the first brands to release mask sticks and yes, I have all of them. Sephora has now jumped onto the craze and released four (yes, four) mask sticks. I’ve tried them all and here are my thoughts!

Closure and saying goodbye…

On Saturday, I saw my psychiatrist for the first time in months and later I found out, for the last time. 

He spends Monday to Friday in a hospital but works Saturdays seeing clients at a clinic. I found out that he was ending his Saturdays at the clinic. I was happy to hear that since I knew he had mentioned his fear of burning out and working to exhaustion but the happiness selfishly ebbed when I realized it was goodbye. 

He was the reason I am stable today. Sure, treatment and intensive therapy have helped immensely but without him, I know I wouldn’t be in such a fantastically bright place as I am today. With his aid, I was able to wean myself off of Seroquel, the first drug I was prescribed when I was first diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder back in 2015. I feel energetic and lighter than I’ve felt in a long time. I also started a new medication which has helped stabilize me. 

I owe most of these positive changes to him and I am indebted to him. I am filled with gratitude for this doctor that helped me tremendously. He was the first doctor to listen to me, the first one to care. 

When he told me, I was heartbroken. It was a short visit, mostly to get refills for my prescriptions and mainly to say goodbye. I gave my thanks and forced myself not to cry. I didn’t care if my makeup smeared, that hasn’t stopped me from crying before and it won’t now. I didn’t want to cry because this was a happy goodbye. 

Trying to find peace in a crevasse…

So here I am again, after a ‘brief’ time away (it was a month today, wasn’t it?). I have been working diligently and some days, not so diligently, on my poetry and because I can’t juggle, some areas of my life suffer the consequences. This is one of them.

It doesn’t help that lately, I’ve hit a writer’s wall–I wouldn’t call it a ‘block’ since it feels neverending and monolithic. Every time I try to write, I can’t seem to get the words to flow from my fingertips or when the words finally come, I compare myself to other writers and think, “I’m a terrible writer.”

Maybe that’s true and maybe it’s not and I know, we should never compare ourselves to others but damn, I fall back into old habits so easily. It’s like a well-worn t-shirt with holes and rips in it, it’s comfortable but also utterly hideous. That should be the name of my autobiography.

So here I am again, back here where I feel the most comfortable to express myself.