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Health

This Bubble Mask Is the Best Savior If You Abuse Dry Shampoo


I’m not sure what caught my attention first: the scalp treatment or the word bubble.

It makes sense that Kristin Ess, the stylist who spawned a line of high-quality, surprisingly affordable hair products and has masterminded many a celebrity cut (see Lauren Conrad and Jenna Dewan), would look beyond the roots. After all, healthy hair comes courtesy of a healthy scalp.

Her recent collection is all about the scalp, a term that doesn’t have to work very hard to entice me at the moment. Of all my winter gripes—dryness, dullness, the usual—I’ve been catching little flakes strewn through my hair, and they’re for sure not snow. Since they’re not the yellowish, oily flakes created by dandruff, I can only assume that I’m dealing with your average dry scalp. The detoxifying bubble mask seems as though it could do the trick.

First: If you’re unsure how, exactly, to use a bubbling scalp mask, Ess helpfully posted a thorough how-to and demo on Instagram. A budding Luddite without Instagram, I missed these, which is why I failed to shake the bottle well enough and ended up squirting some very cold liquid into my hand.

I eventually figured it out, finding it to be a mousselike foam. As soon as I applied it onto the part in my hair, I could feel the cooling, tingling action (which supposedly boosts scalp circulation, which in turn stimulates hair growth). Then I heard the popping. Technically, it’s the sound of oxygenated bubbles lifting away grime, oil, and impurities, as Ess writes in an Instagram post, but to my ears, it was reminiscent of Pop Rocks and deeply satisfying. There’s also salicylic acid in the formula, the gentle exfoliator you might recognize from your acne face wash. In this case, it’s sloughing off dead skin cells so you can rinse them away in the shower—versus them floating onto your shoulders in the middle of a conversation with your boss.

I massaged the mask in at my roots. I felt like it wasn’t evenly spreading, so although the instructions say to use a golf ball-size amount, I blew through at least a grapefruit’s worth of bubbles. The tingling eventually subsided, but the popping continued for a few minutes, even as I got in the shower and wet my hair. My scalp and roots felt so fresh and clean that I probably could’ve skipped the shampoo (though I didn’t this time) and gone straight to conditioner.

It’s like the opposite of dry shampoo: Instead of adding stuff to absorb dirt and oil (and creating residue in the process), this mask lifts them away and then disappears by popping. Genius. And while it obviously doesn’t have the same convenience factor, it only takes two or three minutes, tops—eliminating the one thing that’s kept me away from masks in the past. I have zero interest in sitting around for 15 minutes with goop in my hair.

And despite the flash-bang look of it, it’s not all diversion tactics. While the bubbles and popping are cool, they offer real results. So far I’ve noticed far fewer flakes after just one use. And maybe it’s just because I miss the experience, but damn, I can’t wait to use it again tomorrow morning.

Kristin Ess Scalp Detoxifying Bubble Mask, $14, target.com

Related Stories:
–How to Cure a Flaky, Dry Scalp: Treatment and Causes
–Scalp Exfoliation Sounds Gross, But It’s Given Me the Shiniest, Bounciest Curls Ever
–Bye Forever, Itchy Scalp: Dandruff Products Are Chic Now





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Health

Summer Fridays' New R+R Mask Is Saving My Winter Skin


The second the temperature drops below 50 degrees, my fussy, combination skin gets dry, scaly, and irritated. Despite swapping my lighter products for oils and balms, overnight masking, and upping my water intake, there’s no soothing the dryness. Now I’m fighting acne and dull flakiness, and it feels like the journey to good skin is an uphill battle I’m never going to win.

Enter stage left, the R+R mask, a new pampering mask from the well-loved brand Summer Fridays. Despite only having two products on the market and being less than a year old, the brand has skyrocketed to cult status thanks to its Instagram-friendly aesthetic, influencer backing (it’s founded by Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland), and oh yeah, masks that really, really work.

The arrival of R+R on my desk couldn’t come any sooner, as it promises to revive and nurture dry, dull skin (as mentioned above, I am clearly suffering from both). Most of the mask’s nourishing powers come from the bouquet of oils it’s packed with, including argan, safflower, sesame, avocado, grape seed, and Bulgarian Rose. The oils are rich in fatty acids and antioxidants to deeply moisturize and repair skin.

The mask also contains a form of oil-soluble Vitamin C to help fight dullness and even skin tone. Finally, R+R—like the Overtime Mask—has both physical and chemical exfoliants to really slough off dead skin and jumpstart glow. The physical comes from the crushed rose powder, while the chemical comes from sucrose (a.k.a. sugar), an AHA. While it sounds like a lot, the oil provides a nice cushion, and I found it rather gentle, which is really what sets it apart from Overtime (that one is for more intense exfoliation).

The texture is one of the most unique masks I’ve ever used, it’s a clear jelly that definitely has a very oily, slippery feel to it. It also has rose petals and crushed rose petal powder suspended throughout, which I love as I’m a sucker for anything remotely rosy. As per the instructions, after applying the mask I gently rubbed it in for some light physical exfoliation. It’s a nice scrubby feeling that isn’t too harsh. Then, I let the mask sink in and all the yummy oils go to work.

Me with the R+R Mask on

I’m obsessed with the scent, which can only be described as delightful. It has a light rose smell that isn’t cloying or fake, just luxurious. It makes me feel like the mouse in this picture, but it’s not so over the top that it irritated my sensitive skin.

The brand suggests leaving the mask on for 10 minutes, but I left it on for a little longer both times I tried it. The first time I tested the mask I used it in the morning and thoroughly washed my face in the shower after. My face felt crazy smooth from the exfoliants and nourished from the oils, but not sticky or greasy. The mask doesn’t really sink it while you wear it, it kind of forms a layer that sits on top of your skin, so I was surprised at how deeply moisturized I felt, even after washing it off. I didn’t notice a huge difference in glow, but my skin felt cared for and my makeup went on smoother than usual. The second time I tried R+R, I used it before bed and used a damp washcloth to towel it off, but didn’t follow it with another cleanser. This time it left my face feeling comforted and wrapped in oils (in a good way), and I just put a moisturizer over top and went to bed. I woke up to smooth skin that looked a touch more radiant (Rome wasn’t built in a day people!).



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We Asked 4 New Moms to Test Origins' Calming Cannabis Face Mask


If there’s one thing any new mom will tell you, it’s that maternity leave is no vacation…unless your idea of a winter break involves waking up at all hours of the night, spit-up, and adult diapers. And that’s only the beginning. Between going back to work and the emotional toll of not wanting to miss life’s big moments with a new baby, having a child—whether its your first or your fifth—can suddenly make even the most iron-willed of mothers feel like life is totally upended.

So, to help make things a little less crazed, we tasked four extremely busy new moms with one mission: Carve out 10 minutes in their hyper-hectic schedules to chill the eff out with the help of a “calming” face mask. Not just any calming face mask, though: Origins Hello, Calm Relaxing & Hydrating Face Mask; which, according to the brand, is made with cannabis sativa seed oil (from, yes, a weed plant) that’s meant to help calm skin, reduce irritation, and make you feel less stressed out.

You’ve likely heard of CBD at this point, which some brands claim can reduce inflammation and anxiety. The science behind its benefits is still murky, but that hasn’t stopped it from cropping up in a slew of beauty and wellness products lately. (It’s even in gummies now.) Origins’ buzzy mask also rides on the weed trend, but instead, uses cannabis sativa seed oil—an ingredient made from cold-pressed hemp seeds that’s rich in skin-repairing acids and said to be helpful with redness and dryness. Lavender oil, meanwhile, is what gives the mask its “de-stressing” scent.

To answer the obvious questions: no, it won’t get you high, and yes, it’s probably wise to consult your doctor if you’re breastfeeding. As for whether the mask actually does help you relax, we’ll let the moms below take it away.

Origins Hello, Calm Relaxing & Hydrating Face Mask, $28, sephora.com



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Tatcha The Kissu Lip Mask Review: How It Saved My Lips


“Dude, your lips are really chapped,” my younger brother said to me a little more than a week ago, his voice a mix of disgust and concern. If he can be counted on for anything, it’s his brutally honest, unfiltered, and sometimes unnecessary commentary.

I was immediately embarrassed. But more than that, I was frustrated because I had just slathered on lip balm and sealed it in with a coat of Vaseline. It didn’t work. Nothing ever worked.

Eight years ago, when I was a burgeoning beauty editor, I tasked myself with the impossible—and now in hindsight, stupid—mission to test all the new lipsticks, stains, and glosses I had received for that month. In one sitting. I swiped one on, and then wiped it off. Swiped another, and wiped it off. There must have been at least 20. And by the end, I had peeled an entire layer of skin off my lips. They were swollen, red, and just really, really angry. I attempted to soothe them with lip balm and then waited with the hope—oh, the naivete!— that they would quickly calm down.

The next day, the swelling had subsided somewhat, but in its place was a hardened, chapped mess that itched and burned at the touch of anything. My toothpaste made them hurt. So did water. I soon discovered smiling was out of the question; anything larger than a slight smirk led to them cracking and then bleeding. Crying for help, I turned to my roommate who swore by A&D, the diaper rash ointment, for healing cuts and softening dry skin. Desperate, I took her tube (I bought her a new one) and carried it with me everywhere, surreptitiously applying (because, diaper rash ointment) a layer before any activity that involved my mouth. My then-boyfriend, now-husband, will forever associate kissing me with A&D, which is both very weird and very unfortunate.

I didn’t realize what I had done was given myself lip dermatitis or a form of eczema called eczematous cheilitis. A&D helped rescue my lips, but they were never quite the same after that—they’ve been chronically chapped since. I quietly dealt with it by having a mini vessel of Vaseline with me at all times, avoiding irritants (I couldn’t eat spicy food, my favorite, for years), and all other lip products.

I slowly began trying new balms and formulas again, cautiously one-by-one. But it wasn’t until after my brother’s comment, when I tried Tatcha’s Kissu Lip Mask—the first product that wasn’t (1) designed for a baby’s butt and (2) formulated with petroleum jelly—that my lips didn’t completely rebel against.

Tatcha’s founder Victoria Tsai had once also given herself dermatitis from overzealously experimenting with beauty products, which ultimately led to the creation of a clean beauty brand that was free of all bad-for-you properties, like parabens, synthetic fragrances, sulfates, and phthalates. But what makes the lip mask so unique is its texture: It goes on like a jelly but it melts into a non-sticky liquid sheet mask.

What convinced me to try it was when Victoria Tsai, Tatcha’s founder, told me that she’d once also given herself dermatitis from experimenting with beauty products, which ultimately led to the creation of her clean beauty brand. The Kissu lip mask was born in much the same way as all of Tatcha’s offerings: It’s free of parabens, synthetic fragrances, sulfates, and phthalates. But what really makes it interesting is its texture: It goes on like a jelly but it melts into a non-sticky liquid sheet mask. (The formula, I’m told, took a team of scientists more than a year to perfect.)

The mask looks like light pink Jell-O, and it’s contained in the cutest little tub that comes with a tiny gold spatula, which makes the whole experience feel like you’re a fancy giant scooping out dessert.

It’s meant to be used as an overnight treatment, so I applied it at night right before bed. And in the morning, when I saw that it didn’t make my lips worse, I patted on some more. And a few more times in the afternoon. Three days later, after regular use, my lips—for the first time in eight years—were chap-, scale-, and itch-free. This must be what a normal human with functioning lips feels like, I marveled. This must be what my husband, who never uses chapstick or balm or any type of lip salve and never has had to suffer the agony of having chapped lips in his life, feels like.

So why does it work so well? “It’s a combination of the active ingredients and the form,” Tsai explains. “The jelly formula absorbs more easily than waxes, delivering active ingredients like Japanese peach seed extract, three Japanese rose extracts, and Japanese Camellia Oil, which nourish, repair, and protect the lips.”

And with that, my eight-year-long lip saga has come to an end. So suck on that, little brother.

Tatcha The Kissu Lip Mask, $30, tatcha.com

Related Stories:
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–This Lip Plumper Is Literally Like Filler in a Tube
–The Best Lip Balms to Get You Through This Winter



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We Tried the Summer Fridays Overtime Mask, and Here's What We Thought


As a beauty editor, I get an obscene amount of DMs asking me about what products actually work and what’s worth the money. But if I had to narrow down one brand I’ve gotten more questions about in the past year, it’s Summer Fridays. The brand has all the makings of Instagram gold: a sleek metal tube that looks perfectly “lived-in” as you use it; a pastel color palette; and it’s backed by two influencers honestly deserving of the title, Marianna Hewitt and Lauren Gores Ireland.

This month, it released its second product: the Overtime Mask, a clarifying mask made with pumpkin and apricot seed powder. Where competitors (ahem, Glossier) are leaning in heavily on acids, Overtime uses gentle fruit enzymes and traditional good old scrubby bits to slough off dead skin. The way Hewitt does it? “I like to use it at night, right after I cleanse my skin,” she told me at the launch party for the mask. “I rub it in at the beginning to activate it on my skin. Then I’ll leave it on for 10 minutes, rinse, and follow it up with the Jet Lag Mask. That way the ingredients really get into your skin and do their magic.”

So, is it actually worth your hard-earned $44 for a tube? I asked five Glamour editors put it to the test. Here’s how it fared against over-exfoliated, acne-prone, and sensitive skin.

Maureen Choi, beauty contributor

I’ll admit it: I’m addicted to the good glow regular exfoliation brings. But over the years, I’ve self-inflicted enough rosacea-level redness on my sensitive skin to know that my sloughing sweet spot is once a week—and done with a chemical formula involving some sort of AHA like glycolic or lactic acid. For any scrub that comes across my desk, it’s a hard pass since they’re usually too gritty for my temperamental face.

But since I’m a sucker for scent and couldn’t resist the pumpkin pie vibes of the Overtime Mask, which utilizes apricot powder to unglue all the gunk, I took it home and gave it a whirl. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. It decongested my poor little pores and made my skin brighter, smoother, and a whole lot happier after just one use. Apart from the fact that it smells amazing, it also delivered a lot of hydration, which isn’t something exfoliators normally do. One thing, though: The instructions say to rub the honeylicious goo in for a minute before letting it sit on your skin for 10 more. If you’re sensitive or dealing with current breakouts, do it ever-so-lightly for like five seconds and stop—because the shells can be a touch too rough. I don’t think it’s going to replace my go-to peel pads, but I like the idea of using it as a monthly skin reset.

Ana Colón, digital fashion editor

Truth be told, I’m not very consistent with my exfoliating routine. I do, however, wash my face every day with cleanser (Burt’s Bees Brightening Daily Facial Cleanser) and do a mask at least once a week (usually L’Oréal’s Pure Clay Mask.) So I was excited to try this product, since it combined one part of my skin care routine with another I should really, really be doing in the first place.

I washed my face with my regular old cleanser, then applied the Summer Fridays mask. First thought: This smells incredible—like fresh-baked pumpkin bread. (I even went up to my partner and was like, “SMELL MY FACE.”) It burned a little for those 10 minutes and doesn’t really harden, but by the time I washed it off, my skin felt really fresh. And that just-did-a-mask feeling, where your skin feels light (and almost tight?) lasted well into the next morning. This is definitely a product I could do once a week, though maybe not as regularly as recommended on the packaging, because the exfoliating is pretty…effective.

Rachel Nussbaum, beauty writer

I’ll always love my beta hydroxy acids, but when my derm told me a few months ago that I was over-exfoliating, I relinquished them with claw hands. Physical exfoliants can be more gentle, though, and I consider that a loophole. The texture was grittier than I was expecting, so I massaged about a dime-sized amount of the mask onto my forehead and T-zone, while avoiding the active pimples on my jawline. After 15 minutes, I washed it off. I can’t say I noticed a difference, but it did remind me how much I like the tingle of my other pumpkin fave, MyChelle Incredible Pumpkin Peel. I won’t use this again, but if your skin likes a gritty physical scrub, this is a seasonal way to get there—and make Spring Breakers voice Summer Fridays forever.

Azadeh Valanejad, video producer

The day I turned 28, my skin decided to revert back to my high school days, and I’ve been struggling with adult acne for the last year. My first step was to change my long overdue skin care routine and after reading about how tough face scrubs can be on your skin, I stopped completely. I tried a couple exfoliating acids, but they still weren’t helping, so I gave up altogether. My skin saw a lot of improvement with Summer Friday’s Jet Lag mask (which I use every day!), so when I heard the brand was releasing an exfoliator I knew I had to try it.

I was a little worried the Overtime mask would be rough, but the apricot bits are crushed finely. If you rub it gently, it’s an extremely mild scrub. I followed the instructions and rubbed it onto my face in circular motions for 60 seconds before letting it do it’s thing for 10 minutes. Once I washed it off, my skin was fresh. I think I’ll have to use it a couple more times before I see how glowy my skin will become, but it hasn’t make me breakout, so that’s already a great sign it’s working in my favor. Best part? It smells like a pumpkin spice latte.

Khaliha Hawkins, digital assistant

I already use and love Summer Friday’s Jet Lag mask, so I was pumped to try this—especially since the packaging is as glorious as the original. I was worried it would have heavy pumpkin smell, but it’s actually really light and pleasant, which to me is its best attribute. If I did have to give it a gripe, it’d be about the apricot seed powder—it’s really thick and gritty. When I first started rubbing it in, I was tempted to rinse it off immediately. It feels like something that’ll irritate your skin at first. But I didn’t seem to be having a reaction so I kept going—gently, which the instructions tell you to do. It’s a good thing I did because when I rinsed it off, it left me with an amazing glow. Plus, my face didn’t feel dry or tight afterward. I paired it with my Jet Lag mask as a moisturizer right after and my skin was noticeably softer the next morning. It’s getting permanent residence in my bathroom cabinet. I can’t wait to see what the longterm effect is on my skin.

Summer Fridays Overtime Mask, $44, sephora.com

Related Stories:
–We Challenged Marianna Hewitt to Do Party Makeup in 2 Minutes
–22 Face Masks That Will Actually Change Your Skin
–The 10 Best Face Scrubs, According to Glamour.com Editors



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Hanacure Face Mask Review 2017: We Tried Instagram's 'Grandma' Mask


I’ve always taken more of a “double-tap only” approach to Instagram beauty. I’ll watch as bloggers do weird stuff to their face in the name of entertainment all day, but I’m intensely critical of what I’ll put on my own skin. (Rosacea plus derm horror stories will do that to you.) So when the Hanacure face mask starting popping up all over my feed earlier this year—thanks mostly to a viral endorsement by Drew Barrymore and the fact that you look a thousand-years-old once it dries—I politely kept my distance.

But that was a few months ago, and still the hype wasn’t dying down, so—caving to the FOMO and the curiosity of what I’ll look like 40 birthdays from now—I added myself to a wait list and got KiraKira on standby. What’s the point of using this thing if you don’t Insta Story it, right?

Currently you can buy the Hanacure treatment mask in only one spot: its own website. If you’re a binge-masker with some cash to spend, there’s a $110 kit minimally packaged and impossible to open (until you figure out, you’re an idiot, and it’s a flip top from the side) that includes four vials of serum, four peel-back gelling “solutions,” and very fancy brush to apply the mask with. Or, if you’re just mask-curious, there’s a $29 single-facial kit option.

The steps are easy enough to figure out using the guide inside, and prepping the mask is fun in that geeky, playing-your-own chemist kind of way. You peel back the foil top of the solution, pour in the serum, and shake it all together to activate. Then it’s time to paint it on. I didn’t do a spot test because, sorry, I know better, but who actually does that? And then went straight to putting the cold, serum-y goop all around my chin, cheeks, and forehead—evenly, as the directions stated.

From there, you’ve got 30 minutes: optimal time to catch up on Riverdale, laugh at yourself in the mirror, and blast off a handful of Snapchats. The drying effects are almost instant, and by 10 minutes in, you’re wondering how the hell this stuff is actually supposed to make your skin look better. It tightens so much moving any sort of muscle on your face becomes near impossible—sort of how I imagine Botox would be: not painful, just odd and uncomfortable. By the 25-minute mark, my boyfriend, amused by my frozen, expressionless face, started showing me cat videos, and with each restrained smile a new line on the mask emerged. At this point I’ve sworn to be more diligent about my skin care routine (this look into the future ain’t great) and returning to KJ Apa’s abs can no longer distract me. This mask is tight AF, and not in the way your kid brother uses that phrase.

At 30 minutes, I was at the sink, using only water and circular motions to get all the remaining bits of wrinkled, dried-up gook off my face. As a disclaimer on the instructions warns pale people, the lifting compounds that stimulate blood flow to your face may leave you red, which is a slight understatement. Immediately after my face is angry. But trust the process. The ingredients do have reputable workhorses: calming botanicals with anti-inflammatory properties, several peptides that brighten and minimize lines, and—my most needed component—moisturizing compounds responsible for delivering the promised afterglow, which actually arrived for me the next morning.

Upon waking, a glance in the mirror tells me this thing isn’t only pure spectacle. My jawline looks a little tighter, my cheeks a little dewier—it wasn’t exactly enough of a difference that someone else could tell looking at a before-and-after. But I know my face and how much I love salt, and this looked like I hadn’t touched a fry in days. (Ha. Joke’s on my ass!) There was still some residual redness, but if I can find something that solves that problem, rest assured you’ll know about it.

Hanacure Multi-Action Treatment Mask Starter Kit, $29, hanacure.com

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–22 Face Masks That Will Actually Change Your Skin
–This Is What Bubble Masks Really Do for Your Skin
–I Tried Those Lush Jelly Masks, and They’re Fun As Hell





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