Masking Away Your March Break
Oh hey, it’s March Break. Oh wait, that doesn’t mean anything to me, cause gone are the days when I had mandatory vacay during March. Sigh. Ah well, if I were jet-setting out of the country or simply driving away to the cottage this March Break, one thing I always forgot to do but would never forget now that I’m older and wise, is skincare.
Going away is a good time to re-energize your skin, especially your face, since you’re able to make up a new routine to trial and test during this short getaway time. If you’re heading down south to the islands or somewhere sunny and warm, pack a few facial sheet masks. Face masks are a quick way to give your skin some R&R when you don’t have the time or luggage space to carry your full-sized nine-piece nighttime skin routine and five-piece daytime skin lineup. No? Too many pieces? Is that just me? A moisturizing serum-packed mask, gets your skin replenished, repaired, moisturized, hydrated and soothed all in one go.
In addition, I feel healthy skin allows a healthy sun-kissed glow to radiate better – and let’s be honest a healthy sunkissed glow is #goals. And anywhere tropical will give your skin a natural glow, and you should rightfully so shy away from heavy makeup. I feel a natural glow can be coupled with some mascara, a neutral or bold lip, and some light concealer or foundation. Better skincare routines will require less heavy and cakey makeup and prevent ‘meltdowns’ on a hot vacay. Note to self: always, always pack and use SPF. Took me a while to learn this. I admit, I’ve done a 7-day-all-inclusive vacation in Cuba sans SPF. But now that I’ve discovered Clarins, sans SPF isn’t an option.
Face sheet masks are easy to pack and easy to use, you can watch TV or pick out your outfit for the night while it’s on. The variety of sheet masks available these days cater to any type of skin concern, dullness, dry, aging, uneven textures, and the list goes on. I tend to choose moisturizing and radiant face sheet masks to avoid dull dry skin and to keep my skin glow-y. Favourites include The Solution with hyaluronic acid or Real Nature from The Face Shop. The Real Nature red ginseng mask is a useful way to re-energize and moisture your skin, especially if it’s a long day or about to be a long night. It’s like catching a second wind for your face!
Hyaluronic Acid is a blessing for dry skin. Also, dry skin leads to dull skin, so by fixing the dry skin problem, you may end up addressing the dull skin problem. Hyaluronic acid has standing-ovation-like hydrating ingredients for the skin, as it is able to attract and hold moisture. One gram (0.03 ounce) of hyaluronic acid can hold up to six liters of water. The end result: hydrated skin that is well moisturized and supple skin that feels soft.
Of course, my favourite benefit of using these masks while away, is having a well-rested look on your face when you return to the daily grind – however I have yet to try a mask on the airplane, it just feels like it would be a drippy mess. Let’s see what the future holds.
First written by me on madderandshade/wordpress on March 10, 2017: https://madderandshade.wordpress.com/2017/03/10/masking-away-your-march-break/
Reposted on this final madder and shade site in 2018