Mask of the Month: Aveda Enbrightenment Massage Masque

A creamy, moisturizing mask that is activated by massaging into the skin. The idea is that with the increased circulation you bring to the surface, your skin gets a healing boost from the mask's formula encouraging faster desquamation (cell shedding). This is a great-smelling, smooth mask that gives you a little something to do while it sits--and since there is no strange color and it blends into skin, you won't scare anyone around the house while using it! Enbrightenment is meant to reduce and treat hyperpigmentation due to sun-damage of post-inflammatory trauma (blemishes), so I am a prime candidate for seeing results with this masque.

Coupled with regular exfoliation, using Aveda Enbrightenment Massage Masque twice a week at night before moisturizer gives my skin a glow and a great boost in hydration. I use a spot treatment on any places that might be vulnerable to breakouts with the added weight of moisture--no issues so far,--and I personally only use enough so that I don't need to remove any. If you feel as though there is still a layer on top of your skin after massaging it in for a few minutes, you can wipe off the excess (do not wash off the rest).

Hyperpigmentation is notoriously hard to get rid of or even see results with beyond natural healing, but my skin is less prone to becoming so sharply red in post-blemish areas with regular use of this masque. My skin also feels generally healthier and is healing faster anyway since I started Enbrightenment; I'd like to think that every little bit of natural goodness this is providing is a step towards clearer, beautiful skin!

Blitz Blogging: Birchbox June 2012

tili Zippered Storage Bags are wonderfully colorful, travel-friendly plastic bags, perfect for vacation! Just in time for mine, I've also been starting to keep my sample-sizes safe for misplacement in my hectic house. I'm glad to have this one, but I don't/can't travel enough to justify six or a dozen specialty bags. If I had that many, I would probably make little packets of cosmetics that go together for particular looks, which sounds like a great idea for my regular ziplocks anyway...

Stila One-Step Bronze Illuminating Serum is yet another product from Stila that has intrigued me, gotten my hopes up, and then disappointed me in the end. Somewhat like the Dr. Jart BB cream from the previous box,  this product is not good for long-term use on my skin. In few days in to incorporating this serum in my morning routine, my cheeks were breaking out like crazy and I got several superficial pimples around my mouth and nose (very painful to extract). When I put this on after toner, it doesn't spread very well at first, so please be vigorous in working the bronzer into skin. One pump at a time, mind you, or the streaking will catch the light!

Masqueology Pore-Minimizing Mask is fun for a once-off try, but I don't think this mask can reduce your pore size if it (or you) can't get out those stubborn blackhead that are "widening" that bit of facial territory. Alas, I felt de-stressed and the treatment mask smells wonderful, but no effects were felt or seen. :( Definitely kept it in the tili bag until there was no product left for my skin to absorb--I got several uses out of each mask.

the Balm Stainiac in Beauty Queen is fabulous. That was pretty much my whole thought process for this product, only I wish I had a sample of the light color Prom Queen instead because I'd most likely use that everyday. Totally non-sticky formula; great, even pigment; fast drying: perfect!

Comodynes Intensive Self-Tanning Towelettes are not for pale people--SUPER SCARY STREAKY is what the result of me following the directions and the how-to-use video that was on birchbox.com. I put on a smoothing lotion after exfoliating my legs and still couldn't use this towel easily for more than the bottom half of just one leg. The orange-striped creamsicle leg look better be in right now. Maybe if you are tan these wipes will maintain it better, but I ain't buying it.

You can find these products at Birchbox.com.

Mask of the Month: Estée Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme Ultra Firming Mask

$40.00 for 2.5 oz.

I haven't done a MotM in so long, probably due to my obsession and religious use of the Borghese mask that literally changed my skin into something I don't hate, but today's little diddy is well worth a gander!

Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme Ultra Firming Mask is a thick, creamy, iridescent mask that smells good, like a light musk/floral infusion (but I am very bad with scents so don't go by my description of that). Over a year ago, on my bf and I's road-trip, cross-country move, I used this mask every night to relieve some of the stress of all-day driving that my skin was definitely suffering from. My under-eye circles were almost purple by the time we got to our hotel rooms each night, and that is where the lovely EL Advanced Night Repair Eye Synchronized Complex (below) came in super handy. But for the moment, lets go back to our lifting mask...

I'm not even to my mid-20s yet, so I will be the first to admit that my face does not need to be "lifted" at all, but one of the claims of the Resilience Lift Mask is that it "brighten[s] up the look of tired skin," which is most certainly a category my skin fits into about...oh, I don't know, all the time! While Resilience Lift sits on my skin I feel tightening, but it's not uncomfortable. Mostly, the aroma is relaxing, and my skin seems to be absorbing that iridescent glow from the cream. Usually, I left this on for as long as I could before I had to rinse and moisturize in order to actually fall asleep, but I also noticed that my moisturizer seemed to absorb more quickly after this mask. My skin also seemed much better hydrated in the morning after using this mask. Although I started with a sample size tube of 1 oz, I will be purchasing the full size when I have the funds and run out of other masks. It's worth it, bottom line.

The eye cream/gel is like liquid gold though! You seriously need to try this stuff if you have not because every night I put a tiny amount of this under my eyes, I woke up the next morning with absolutely no under-eye darkness of any sort. Literally, I looked like I had a full-coverage layer of concealer already on, but not as though I had makeup on, you understand; I just looked rested and like a photo-shopped model...at least in the eyes, well, the under-eyes... This goes into my all-time favorite skincare products category, and I strongly encourage you to see if it works this well for you! At $49.50 for 0.5oz, it certainly costs like liquid gold, but I used a 0.1oz tube over four weeks with no skimping (a very little bit goes a very long way).

Beauty Newb Rating: (mask)✪✪✪✩✩ (eye cream)✪✪✪✪✩
Available at Estee Lauder counters (and online) in Macy's, Nordstrom, and other fine retailers, and also online at Estee Lauder.com for the mask and eye serum.

Mask of the Month: Dior HydraLife Beauty Awakening Rehydrating Mask

$37.00 for 2.5 oz.

First thing I noticed about this product is a very fresh and refreshing scent, similar to other HydraLife products but more potent for this mask. Second, this feels fresh and hydrating on the skin, and I don't get that thick, goopy, could-be-greasy, heavy mask feeling. (For example, this is a better choice for me in general than the Chanel mask from January because of it's lower cost and this doesn't feel as though it's sucking the life out of my skin. Purity doesn't always mean taking things out!)

Second, if this is rehydrating to skin than it is quite subtle and stealthy in doing so; I don't feel any dryness--that's for sure--but neither am I noticing a distinction between my skin before and my skin after use. Did it help lessen the itchy dryness around my nostril after cold-weather allergies? A little. Did it help heal that dryness? Not so much...at all. Maybe I am taking the name too literally though. Perhaps "Beauty Awakening" is supposed to mean "if there is moisture in your skin then this will bring it forward to be seen in the outer layers." In that case you'd have to do a lot of extra work to deliver the benefits to your skin. As far as I can tell, this mask is a nice experience while it's on, but don't expect much, if any, difference when you take it off.

Who might this work better for than me? Drier skin types. Since my skin is oily/combination, it may have been that the mask was designed to get skin to the level of hydration my skin is already at, hence I saw no results. It's not exactly a cost-effective way to see if it works at all, but keep in mind that products really do work differently (dramatically differently) across skin types.

Beauty Newb Rating:✪✪✩✩✩
Available at fine cosmetics retailers, Dior.com, and Sephora. Ask for a sample where available, too! I got my sample at Macy's.
 

Mask of the Month: Kirkland Signature by Borghese Age-Defying Skin Renewal Mask

($16.00 for 3 oz mask and 6.7 oz cleanser, not shown) 

*price may vary by location, etc.

This is my FAVORITE MASK EVER. My face feels rejuvenated, clean, smooth, matte, and just plain amazing when I use this, and by that I mean immediately after and for the several months I've been using this. I'm sure that I will mention this many times, but I have never had a skin care system work this well for me ever...and in such a short time.

Another nice thing to mention is that for the price you are getting two more-than-full-size products that, at least personally, work fantastically. The mask smells sugary-sweet with a hint of citrus, which is a nice sort of aromatherapy to have while cleaning and freshening your skin. My face does not feel stripped when I remove this, AND more importantly, this is easy to remove and not gritty (huge pet-peeve for masks).

Mask of the Month: CHANEL Précision Masque Déstressant Pureté

$50.00 for 2.5 oz.

In English, this Purifying Cream Mask is a thick concoction designed to detox your skin to help clear the pores, the mind, and the soul. In reality, it does part of that.

I don't mean to sound ungrateful for precise directions on how to get the most effective results from a product, but it took me about 20 minutes to read the enclosed leaflet for this mask. Chanel even details a facial massage technique to be used before rinsing off the mask! That's nice of them, and sometimes it is calming to have ritual relaxation; however, in all it's just too much.