2023. The Year of Masking
I loved every moment of this. Not only did I get to do my masking thing but I feel like I embodied the energy of a mindful influencer. No review was rushed. I stayed true to my beauty ways. I also feel this was the year of quality NOT quantity. There were fewer videos but they were all meaty and I can see how my editing and presence on camera has grown. Strangely enough, this series also inspired me to let go of my influencer ways (Boop! Not me, just dropping that in. LOL. I will explain more in another blog post.)
At the end of it all, I created a playlist with 7 videos, reviewing 17 masks and sharing my skincare masking tips. *taps self on back* I already have another skincare series idea running in the back of my head. Go me! LOL
Anyhoooo! I thought a blog post to put a bow on this series would be good. I could reference it in the future as well. Let’s keep it short and sweet!
Instree Real Rose Calming Mask Hydrating. Calming. The rose petals are cute. Not necessary but nice to have. 3 out of 5.
Bonajour Mugwort Cream Calming Mask. Fell flat for me. Maybe if mugwort stands out on your skin. 2 out of 5
Celimax Real Noni Clay Mask. One of the stars of the series. A great clay mask. Loved the texture, price and size. A strong recommendation. 4 out of 5
Mary & May Collagen Peptide Vital Mask. Not a sheet mask stan. These were bought simply for the series. Juicy. Loved that they were in a box and not singular packaging. Don’t know how to rate sheet masks as I am not a stan. LOL
Skinfood Rice Mask Wash Off. The ONLY mask I have repurchased out of the series. LOOOVVED. A fantastic moisturising and softening mask. It has been in MANY morning routines. Going to repurchase AGAIN. 4 out of 5
Disciple Intervention Mask. Beautiful. Exfoliation the Ij way. Potent yet nourishing to the skin. I can see myself repurchasing this for as long as they make it. 4 out of 5.
Evolve Beauty Radiant Glow Mask. Cute. I liked it more for the fact that it was a physical exfoliator. Really liked it in my morning routine. 3 out of 5
Evolve Beauty Bio Retinol Mask. A boujee antioxidant-rich nourishing mask. Fell a LITTLE flat for me but it has some great reviews. Sometimes it goes like that. The masses will love a product but a select few will be failed by that product. 3 out of 5
Evolve Beauty True Balance SOS Mask. A REALLY well done clay mask. For the price, I want more product. Still, it deserves a round of applause. 3 out of 5
Elizabeth Grant Modern Defense Purifying Peat Mask A boujee clay mask. This is more for the experience rather than efficiency. Not bad though. It has peat, like the Peter Thomas Roth mud mask. Always wanted to try that mask. Still do. LOL 3 out of 5
Elizabeth Grant Wonder Effect 10% Glycolic Mask. Skin blaster! APPROACH WITH CAUTION. I loved it. Skin was always in tip-top condition for 7 to 10 days after using this. I am only knocking it for its potency. This mask will not be able to serve everyone and that’s okay. 3 out of 5
Iunik Propolis Vitamin Sleeping Mask. An OG of mine. Dependable FUNCTIONAL skincare. An easy recommendation and a reliable repurchase. 4 out of 5
Sulwashoo Overnight Vitalizing Mask. The ‘love at first use’ product of the series. Thankfully, the love was here to stay. So good I bought 2 for my skincare backup cupboard. It has honey. Ij’s skin likes honey. LOL. 3 out of 5
Sulwashoo Clarifying Mask. Extremely meh. I don’t even think I can rate it. And it’s one of those peel off situations…Errrm. No.
Beauty of Jaseon Red Bean Refreshing Pore Mask. An ‘okay’ clay mask. That’s it. I reviewed better clay masks so I am going to knock it. 2 out of 5
Heimish Black Tea Mask. Pack Oh, I wanted to be impressed. I wasn't. It’s getting a 3 and not a 2 only because many love it and say it is fantastic. I do take the masses into account when reviewing products. 3 out of 5
Inlight Beauty Chocolate Mask. The treat of the series. A pet peeve is high-ticket skincare that is just fluffy. This is NOT that. A potent nourishing mask with high-quality ingredients. This is a brand I desire to do a deep dive of in 2024. Wish me luck. 4 out of 5
Akoma Skincare Ghassoul Clay. The reason it is very difficult to impress me when it comes to clay masks. Having it in its raw form just serves me so well. 4 out of 5
Akoma Skincare Green Clay. Too gentle for me. Skin types that may enjoy it; dry, mature, normal and those with minimum pore maintenance to do. There is no need for me to rate this.
That was fun to write! LOL. As you may have noticed, there is a bit of K Beauty in this list. I wished to keep this series affordable and a lot of British independent skincare brands make clay-based powder masks. There were only so many clay masks I could review and not everyone is patient over the ‘mixing your own mask’ shenanigans. I would have loved to have a bit of Liz Earle on this list but I was getting overrun with product. Maybe at the end of 2024, we can investigate Liz Earle's masks.
And I will end this blog post, how I end all my videos…..
I want to thank you so much for being here. My name is Ijeoma and I will see you soon
PS. Is it an Ij blog post without a postscript? LOL
PSS. Here is the other blog post I wrote for the Masking Series. The Tea on Morning Masking
PSSS. And of course the playlist on Youtube