Mask Mondays | Hydrating Skincare Products

On Mask Mondays, I want to highlight some of my favorite skincare products. I often talk a lot about hydration, and charcoal is one of my favorite hydrator for any skincare routine. You only want to be mindful of the different skin types, whether sensitive skin, combination skin, oily skin, or acne that flares up because sometimes it can irritate the skin. I have combination skin, and that means my T-zone area is often shiny and greasy. I’m someone who has to have blot pads with them to keep my face together. However, charcoal works well for my skin. If you have cystic acne or big red blemishes, or sometimes cystic acne is underneath the skin, it can cause discoloration. It happened to me and is why I am so adamant about using charcoal or my dark spot corrector to eliminate the scarring that I caused from picking or irritating the skin. So if you are someone who has combination skin or you have normal to dry skin, charcoal is something that you can use. I definitely will talk more about people who have more serious concerns about their skin. Charcoal is one you want to be cautious about. Not that you can’t use it, but it might be more so how often you can use it.

Regarding the hydration topics that I spoke about, the toners, the Mario Badescu, Hyaluronic acid drops are all things anybody can use to hydrate their skin. 

One of the first things I want to highlight is this Elf Toner $8 toner I bought from CVS. It is a Hyaluronic acid-infused toner. It also has Witch Hazel and aloe in it. It’s so hydrating. It is in comparison to Dr. Bronner’s toner and a slight lemon toner. It’s hydrating. It cleaned the face after putting it on, and I did not feel like I was so dry. I felt like I looked good, nice, and hydrated. So definitely, that was my toner. I love this toner. 

So after the toner, you know what we always do, ladies, we always start to mask. I’ve spoken about a lot of different masks. I tried various things, such as the turmeric and cranberry mask and a nose peel mask. I can honestly say I was a little nervous at first about it, but when I did peel it off the next day, I had a blemish pop up on my nose. There was a whitehead, and I had to get it, but that mask exfoliated my nose area even though I did the thin layer. I didn’t think that I did enough, and I wanted to try again doing the thin layer, which gave me still a little bit of a reaction than somewhat of a result. I loved it because I felt like my nose was pretty smooth afterward. I felt like my nose was a little raised and that it was a little irritating so after I did that treatment, it did do a little something. 

So I talked about all these masks and treatments, but I wanted to highlight Alicia Key’s Key’s SoulCare today. I love this mask. I don’t know what else to say that could be negative about this mask. I appreciated it. I felt like out of all the masks, it fell in a great price range. It was only $28, and it was so hydrating. I love the packaging. It’s cute. It’s very rich in color such as Purple. Key’s SoulCare is the brand, and this is a Harmony Mask. And I fell in love with this mask because it highlighted what I talked about so much, which was charcoal. And I feel like even the way it glided onto the skin, the way it smelled, it’s a very pleasurable experience. I love that the back of the bottle says, “I walk in my own strength.” Every bottle has a different quote on it. I thought that that was motivating. And it lets you know that to remember that you’re doing this for yourself. You’re always taking care of yourself for you. I love this, and I like how I feel afterward.

My skin looks phenomenal. The texture of the mask is very whippy and spreads evenly on your face. And I think that is because it has that Manuka Honey in it, which is such a great bacteria, fighting agent. It’s a rejuvenator, and most importantly, it’s a healer. So if you’re going to be trying to do these treatments, you want a mask that will be hydrating and heal whatever impurities or changes you want to enhance on your natural beauty because ‘your eyes are your mirror!’ So when you see you, you see beautiful. To me, this mask captures that. So I thought this was a great buy. 

Of course, when you have your mask done, we’re going to just hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate.

One of my biggest concerns and why I wanted to talk to you guys about skincare and about some of the products I use is because I struggled with blemish breakouts all in my jawline from just it being cystic. It was too much going on on my skin, and it wasn’t very pleasant. I went to a dermatologist. I tried to like figure out what was happening. And I got into this particular product because it helped my skin. And like I told you, when Lord & Taylors were going out of business, everybody was going crazy for the clothes, but I was going crazy for the skincare. I got this Kiehl’s Clearly Dark Spot Color Corrector for a steal! It was an amazing piece. I love this. The corrective dark spot solution. I absolutely love this. It is a serum, and it has one of the amazing ingredients in it. It has white Birch that is so enriching for the skin. I love it. You can smell the White Birch when you open it. And I think that White Birch too smells amazing in candles. White Birch is just a great nutritious earthly component. So that’s something that I love that’s in this.

It helped my skin come a long way, but besides toning, using this, and just hydrating my skin, it’s keeping a routine. If you keep a routine, you will accomplish everything that you need to, for sure. Hands down, without a doubt, you’re going to accomplish whatever your goals are, as long as you keep a good routine.

So then, of course, now after you’ve done just masking, you are just finished. 

One more must-have to hydrate your skin is our Eyes Ink Hydration Oil. It is enriching, hydrating, and lightweight. It’s not greasy, nothing. I love it so much so that even occasionally, if I forget my lotion at home. I can take a little bit to hydrate my hands and even my elbows. It gives you a nice shine. It has some properties in it that will change the dynamic of your skin. Two of the main ingredients in it are Camellia oil and seaweed extract, or seaweed kelp is another name for it. One of the ingredients is derived from a Japanese flower, and if anybody else knows, the other one comes from the ocean. So it’s a very enriching but light and beautiful oil. It’s no scent to it. So I appreciate it. 

What I also love from the Alicia keys, Keys SoulCare Line, is she has a lip balm, and it has the same oil, the Camellia oil. So I thought that was dope because I made the oil a while ago. And I know she’s probably been in production with that. What is it like two minds? We’re thinking about the same oil. And I thought that was exciting because that means I’m thinking in the right direction. It is something that you ladies need. The Eyes Ink Hydration Oil is only $20. If you need an oil, you can pick it up from our shop or order it here, and it will be delivered. 
If you have any questions for your Esthie bestie (me), you can comment below. See you at the next Mask Mondays on Instagram.