It's Monday again, so it's time for me to share with you a mask of some kind that I have been using this past week. This week we have another one gifted to me by Skin18, but instead of being a sheet mask, we have a nose strip from Luke, a smaller beauty company. I have used a charcoal nose strip from Luke a few years ago and didn't have a great experience with it, so I'm hoping this time I have a bit more success with this brand. Nose strips aren't the easiest to come across in terms of ones that actually work, I've only ever found one that effectively removed the blackheads and it is one I am currently standing by. However, I'm happy to give others a try!
I tried to do a bit of research into mugwort as an ingredient, it is a common name for plants with the genus Artemisia. More specically, it seems the specific plant that is used as a skincare ingredient is the Artemisia princeps which is also known as Japanese mugwort and comes from the sunflower family. In Korean it is called Ssuk (쑥) and as with China and Japan, it is commonly used in traditional and modern medicines. It also features in some recipes such as Ssuk Soup (쑥국). Asides from being beneficial to the body through consuming it, it has also been found that it is a great ingredient in skincare, particularly when it comes to fighting acne. Now this isn't particularly helpful for me in terms of this being a nose pack as I don't get acne on my nose, however, I can definitely see it being a beneficial ingredient to have in skincare.
The nose strip itself is slightly green in colour as you may expect and it has a herbal scent to it. Upon applying it, I found this is one of the nose strips that I feel fits well on my nose. A lot of them there can sometimes be overhang on the end of my nose, however, it seemed to fit perfectly. To apply the strip you simply wet your nose and apply it evenly to your nose. I left the strip on for 20 minutes (recommendation is 10-20) and when I took it off I was slightly disappointed. While it took some of the blackheads out of the side of my nose, it didn't take any out of the centre (aka. the main part of my nose!). So I did get some results but not the best I've had.
This one was a lot better than their charcoal one which you keep on for 30 minutes and when I took it off I literally had 0 blackheads come out! I was not impressed. However, it doesn't match up to the standards of the A'pieu one which will remain my go to. However, don't let my experience with this put you off! I still recommend giving it a go (as I did get some results from using it) if you're on the hunt for a nose strip that works for you!
Would I repurchase? Personally, no as I have found the best working one for me.
Where to buy? You can purchase this from Skin18.com for 50p.
Although I didn't have the best experience with this product, being gifted it has left me researching this new found ingredient for myself and as I suffer from acne I am going to try some sheet masks and other skincare than contain Mugwort! Have you guys used anything with mugwort in it? What nose strips do you yourself recommend?
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Hey guys! It's Monday so it's time for another Mask Monday! Albeit, late again. I'm gradually working my way through my sheet masks I was gifted from Skin18 and I will be trying to get these ones done for you as soon as I can. I also have a few others I want to share with you but that will all come in time!
Acai Berry is something that came about majorly into the health business a few years ago when people learnt the antioxidant benefits of the berry, it took a while after for the ingredients to appear in more major beauty brands. My local smoothie bar does a smoothie with Acai sorbet in it and it is amazing! This mask claims to hydrate your skin and help provide the skin with luster and softness.
One thing I will say when I first took the mask out of the pack is that it is very thick compared to other ones I have tried in the past and I quite honestly do prefer a thinner one as I feel it's less likely to slide off my face while I am upright. Luckily for me I was relaxing in the bath when I used this one so it managed to stay on my face fine. Usually sheet masks have a lot of essence in the pack which usually leaves some leftover to use or a more negative point is that it can leave the mask sliding about and dripping down your neck. However, there was a perfect amount of essence in this sheet mask that left on a tiny amount in the packet which I applied before bed after my moisturizer.
The fit of this mask wasn't perfect for me but wasn't the worst. The eye, nose and mouth slits were in the correct positions to fit my face however, there was a lot of sheet mask left along my jawline so I had to fold quite a lot of it in and because of that I could kind of feel parts of it along my jaw fall away since they were overlapping each other. The scent is that of acai berries which can be expected, it's not a super sweet scent but it's quite a nice one nonetheless.
As instructed, I washed my face, applied toner and popped the mask on for 15-20 minutes (I went the full 20) and I just lay back in the bath and relaxed with my eyes closed. Upon removal, I found the essence remained on my face for quite a while and was fairly sticky. So I had to wait a while before I finished my skin care routine to allow for it to absorb into my skin fully. When it had there was a noticeable difference to the softness of my skin, it felt like it had really been moisturised. I didn't notice much change in my complexion but since this isn't a brightening or whitening mask I didn't expect that too much. I found my skin was moisutrised as well when I woke up in the morning so the effects lasted.
Would I repurchase? I would but I feel like I would try the different variations of the mask, particularly the pomegranate one and possibly the lemon one as that is a kind of mask I have yet to try! Overall I think my experience with this sheet mask was a good one and I would recommend to you guys!
Where to buy? You can purchase this from Skin18.com for 73p
Have you tried any of Mirium's masks before?
This post contains items gifted to me and also contains affiliate links
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Hi everyone, this post is a little (well, very) delayed as I have been preoccupied with the little one which has made blogging a challenge to do! She doesn't want mama to blog it seems! I wanted to start this last week but by the time I could sit down and type it out it was Tuesday...But here I am with a new mini series on the blog, Mask Monday! I was inspired by Lona to go ahead and do this and it will motivate me to use masks more regularly! It will be a wide variety of sheet masks, clay/other masks and hair masks!
Skin18 kindly sent me a selection of masks to try out and give my honest review on and I'm going to share one a week with you for the next 5 weeks. Today's one is from LomiLomi and their 7 Skin Scheduler Mask in Cucumber. It comes from a box set of sheet masks to be used for 7 days is quite a popular concept going about. It means every day your skin gets a chance to be pampered and reap the benefits of sheet masks. This cucumber mask is intended for Thursday (or the 4th day you follow this routine) and is supposed to help firm your skin.
Cucumber is a great ingredient for your skin as it nourishes and moisturizes the skin. Being such a refreshing ingredient, a cucumber mask would be ideal for a hot summers day to let your face get a lovely cool down! For an extra boost, it could be a good idea to pop the sheet mask in the fridge for a little while to allow for your pores to contract down!
I was keen to try this mask first as my skin is feeling a little dry, being a new mama means I don't get the best sleep in the world so my skin has suffered a little because of it. I was hoping this would just give my skin a little boost and look better!
Scent: As expected, this mask has a lovely scent of cucumber, it's quite strong but that's not an issue with me. It makes it pleasant to have on my face and lasts after you've removed the mask as well.
Size/Fit: This is by far the best fitting mask I have used! Even better than the Innisfree masks that were the first I came across that had fit me well. There are little flaps for your eyes as well on this mask but I folded them underneath the mask (you could always cut them off or put them over your eye lids with your eyes closed and lie down!).
Material: The mask is your standard thickness of sheet and there is a lot of essence in the mask, it was practically dripping when it came out! This gave me a lot extra to use before bed and in the morning after my skin routine.
Result: I put the sheet mask on for 30 minutes while I was in a hot bath, which allowed for my pores to open and the essence to seep into my pores more. The mask didn't slide down and stayed in place. Upon removal, there was lots of the essence on my face which I massaged in and left it to dry. This actually took a few hours which might be an issue for some people but for me it let me know that my skin was continuing to be moisturised. So it's definitely one I recommend to use at night or you'll have a wet looking face! If you have dry skin you may find the time this mask takes to absorb into your skin to be very beneficial.
The benefit of being in the bath when I used this was after I took the mask off I used the actual sheet and swept it across my shoulders, arms and chest to let my body get a little bit of use out of it! I found my skin looked plump and dewy. It felt soft and definitely moisturised! I had a couple of small spots on my face and it seemed to take some of the burn off of them. Just a little sweep over my chest made my skin feel so much softer.
Would I repurchase? Oh for sure! I might invest in the entire box set when I get the chance though so I can see how the other masks fare in comparison and also to see how my skin looks by the end of the week!
Where to buy? You can purchase this mask at Skin18.com for £2.64
Have you tried any of the LomiLomi masks before? What sheet masks have you been giving a go this week?
This post features samples gifted to me and contains an affiliate link
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