It saves you time and addresses all your skin needs at once. CARINA KOH reports from London.
It saves you time and addresses all your skin needs at once. CARINA KOH reports from London.
THE MORE THE MERRIER
Have you ever binned a mask because it just wasn’t cutting it? Perhaps your salicylic acid mask helped control shine in your T-zone, but dried out other areas of the face, such as the cheeks. Or maybe your anti-ageing mask plumped up the cheeks, but was too heavy for your oily T-zone. The solution? Multimasking: the use of various masks on different parts of the face to target a range of skin woes simultaneously. It’s not a new concept, but it rapidly gained traction last year when celebrities such as Chrissy Teigen and Shay Mitchell posted photos of their tailored #multimasking routine on Instagram. Putting aside the fact that it makes for a pretty picture on social media, this skincare hack is very practical. Like Vanda Serrador, facial and bodycare expert at The Body Shop, says, multi-masking helps address your skin’s multiple differing needs, which result from your constantly changing lifestyle, all at once. To that end, The Body Shop introduces a new mask series that makes it easy for you to adopt the patchwork technique for a fully customised DIY facial in the comfort of your home. The premise of the series: you can put on what you need where you need it. In line with that, all five masks, which are 100 per cent vegetarian (in fact, the Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Mask, British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask and Amazonian Acai Energising Radiance Mask are 100 per cent vegan), are designed to combat different skin issues. And you don’t have to sit still while you have the masks on. Practice yoga or massage your temples and scalp, suggests Vanda. Sounds like the perfect lazy weekend to me. I’ll take one of each, please.
The Body Shop Ethiopian Honey Deep Nourishing Mask, $32.90.
If your skin is not as supple as you’d like it to be, try the Ethiopian Honey Deep Nourishing Mask. Besides having antioxidant-rich honey to replenish moisture, the mask has cold-pressed marula oil to help improve skin elasticity and attract moisture. Drizzle a spoonful of it onto your palms and warm it up before use, says Vanda. Apparently, this “melts” the honey, allowing it to spread more easily.
Use on: The cheeks for softer, suppler skin.
The Body Shop Chinese Ginseng & Rice Clarifying Polishing Mask, $32.90.
Plagued by uneven skin tone and dullness? This is just the mask for you. It has rice extract with exfoliating and skinsmoothing properties, ginseng extract to help fight signs of ageing and fatigue, and skin-softening sesame oil. The mask, which has a creamy, non-drying texture, is also “rich in catechins (antioxidants) and gallic tannins (these regulate sebum production and minimise the look of pores) to help stimulate skin cell renewal,” says Jennifer Hirsch, beauty botanist at The Body Shop.
Use on: The chin and jawline to draw out oil.
The Body Shop Amazonian Acai Energising Radiance Mask, $32.90.
Is your skin paying the price of a lack of sleep, stress and long-haul flights? Use this jam-textured mask to add radiance to your dull, tired-looking complexion. Powered by an extract of acai berry – lauded as a superfood in recent years for its high levels of antioxidants and resveratrol, known to counter signs of ageing – this mask is also loaded with guarana seed extract, which has a high concentration of caff eine to help re-energise the skin.
Use on: The T-zone to brighten.
The Body Shop Himalayan Charcoal Purifying Mask, $32.90.
Good for those working towards a smoother complexion with less obvious pores, this clarifying mask harnesses the skinpurifying properties of Himalayan charcoal – “traditionally used in Ayurvedic medicine as a ‘magnet’ to suck out all the toxins from the body,” says Jennifer – to effectively remove dirt and excess sebum. It also has green tea leaf extract to aid exfoliation.
Use on: The T-zone to purify.
The Body Shop British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask, $32.90.
For a plump, healthierlooking visage, look to this mask. As indicated by its name, one of the key ingredients is the British rose. Why this and not Damascus or Turkish rose? Emma Lambe, farmer and owner of Castle Farm, the organic farm in Hertfordshire, the UK, that supplies the British roses used in the mask, explains: “Turkish and Damascus roses have a more intense smell, so they are more often used in fragrances.” Skin-plumping and radiance-boosting effects aside, the mask also calms irritation, thanks to the soothing properties of roses. Its watery gel-like texture feels refreshing on the skin.
Use on: The cheeks to hydrate and soothe.
