The newest trend coming from Korea, that is hitting the Western World by storm are Sleeping Masks which are also called Sleep Packs in Korea. They are super-concentrated moisturizers that you use for an extra dose of hydration in place of your night cream. It is not like a typical rinse off mask because it is worn overnight for a more gradual absorption during sleep-which is when the skin’s natural repair cycle occurs.
Sleep Masks are primarily intended to hydrate the skin overnight. For this reason, they do not contain any harsh ingredients in them that could irritate the skin. Their excellence is in providing deep moisture to the skin. They are often paired with antioxidant that leave skin radiant and fresh in the morning.
The difference between sleep masks and night creams is in their formulas. Night creams are specifically geared more towards moisturizing and nourishing dry, irritated skin. Basically they provide you with a nightly dose of hydration. Sleep Masks contain more super-charged intense hydrators that are then combined with anti-aging ingredients which are often in a gel-like formula to enhance the penetration of the active ingredients to maximize your overnight benefits.
Skin loses a lot of moisture when we sleep. The purpose of the sleep mask is to form a breathable layer on top of the skin to ensure deeper and gradual absorption of nutrients and moisture – and to do all this when you are asleep, which is when the skin’s natural repair cycle is active and working.
If you want the extra benefits such as anti-aging, brightening and more, then reach for a sleep mask. The sleep mask can deliver a final dose of actives and hydration, as well as sealing in all of your other nighttime products. I can strongly recommend four sleeping masks that I have been since the beginning of last summer.
Christian Dior’s Hydra Life Jelly Sleeping Mask ($69) was launched last April. I was drawn to it because my dry skin can always use more hydrating!
Hydra Life Jelly Mask promises 8 continuous hours of intensive hydration. It is formulated with mallow jelly, which gives skin a distinctive, cool, refreshing feel.
Mallow extract is known for its soothing properties as well. I can honestly say that the first morning, I could already see results. My skin appeared plump, supple, soft, radiant, and fresh. My lines looked smoother, and my skin’s texture was moist ( and I usually wake up dry even after applying mucho products before going to sleep.
I really feel that the effect it had on my skin looked like it had 8 hours of sleep! I use this mask a few nights a week because I really love what my skin looks like when I wake up! If you feel like your skin is thirsty and it wants a huge glass of water, Dior’s Hydra Life Jelly Mask is truly a dry-skin game changer!
Julep’s Night Shift Sleeping Mask ($34) is formulated with a unique peptide blend, sodium hyaluronate, and botanical extracts. It includes Power Cell Complex which works to deliver moisture to the skin, and the peptides in the formula are able to reach deep down below the surface to stimulate cell turnover and cell renewal.
Night Shift penetrated into my skin without leaving any residual product on the surface. My skin just drank it up. I like that this mask has cell renewal and cell turnover peptides as well as hydrating sodium hyaluronate to hydrate my skin.
I like the feeling of going to bed and knowing that something is working all night to repair my skin. Also, I like looking brighter, smoother and firmer when I wake up! I also like the price point of this mask!
After our last haul at Sephora, Pinky and I chose several different products that we felt would be beneficial for our skin. Since I am now obsessed with the effectiveness of sleeping masks, I splurged on Fresh Black Tea Firming Overnight Mask ($92) because I definitely could use some firming!
First, I love that this mask is in the form of an ultra thick cream that reminds me of mashed potatoes. I also liked that it left my skin feel really hydrated. It felt good when I first put it on, it has a light, refreshing scent , and my skin felt a coolness, like it was working already. The mask features black tea extract and peptides that are supposed to firm and contour the skin.
I noticed that my skin felt tighter, firmer, and more contoured. This is a luxurious cream and I noticed right away that my skin looked revitalized.
I purchased Amore Pacific’s Time Response Skin Renewal Sleeping Masque ($200) at their holiday event last week. Jason had to send it to me, so I received it a few days ago. I have only used it for three nights. I will continue to use it and give you my thoughts in a few weeks. This is Amore Pacific’s newest, most intensive treatment line to date. Amore Pacific is Korea’s high performance, most luxurious line, and the products are costly. I splurged because it claims to do a lot more than the other sleep masks. It is supposed to Boost skin’s natural immunity, repair cellular damage and replenish cellular energy. It also boasts it will increase firmness and tone, decrease fine lines and wrinkles, even tone, boost radiance and glow-overnight! So far I can report that the formula has an unbelievable silky texture.
It comes with a pretty brush and I paint a thin layer all over my face and neck and let it penetrate for a few minutes before getting into bed. So far, three days is a good start and I enjoy the sheer luxury of painting on the product! We Shall See how well it performs on me in the next few weeks. I’ll let you know! In the meantime, like the other sleep masks, it maximizes the effectiveness of everything else you put on as it works to prevent overnight moisture loss.
Until Then……………………………………………………………………
You Are Awesome!
xoxoxoxo
Sookie
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