I Did A Self-Care Marathon And It was Worth It

Dating your skincare is equivalent to running laps on the tracks or swimming laps across the pool. Trying out product after product is like going on a date every few days. Just like finding a partner, your skin also has standards, too. Sensitive, yet oily, my skin has mainly been a blessing save for a few flaws. While I can handle makeup, I’ve had a harder time finding the right skincare as products have been a hit or miss. Just like the Olympics, every skincare product performs differently no matter how many times an esteemed publication or an influencer calls it “the best”.

Despite flogging skincare products on my Instagram and being given skincare products, I do the best I can to believe in my products as I’m constantly in the process of searching “the one” for my skin. However, I’ve had to outgrow some products as some of the ones I’ve used in the past were not compatible with Singapore weather or not working on my skin anymore as my texture has changed. If there was one product I have a hard time sticking to, it’s face masks.

Always on the hunt for THE perfect mask, there were some that REALLY did wonders for me and there were some that made me break out like crazy. Even for the ones that did perform well on me, I hated the fact that I had to pay a LOT of money for shipment given that I don’t live in the States anymore. Also, I loathe having to put in extra effort at finding a mask I really love as it requires me to travel outside of Singapore to get one. But what I don’t slip up on is having to include one in my skincare ritual. Day or night, I like to add on a layer of mask to prep my skin for moisturizer and serums. Adding on a layer of mask helps a TON to ensure that I can get my skin treated to be rid of maskne and/or receive hydration. Thankfully, LAPCOS has me covered as their PR team sent me a big box of masks to try.

Although I used to believe that masks were strictly for my face, I found out that it’s also important to mask up in different parts of your body. As I Goldilocks my way through the package, my face and body can only take in what it can absorb. Catch my verdict on which masks win gold!

1. Face Masks

A) Variety Pack (7 + 1) Version 1

The concept of this mask is to change it up everyday within a week and to use it between day or night. Within the 7 days, there is a day that requires you to exfoliate your skin of all the impurities. Out of the 7 days that I’ve tried these masks, here are my thoughts:

The Hits:

• The best-performing products are the collagen and milk masks as they absorbed the best on me
• It leaves my skin hydrated so that I don’t have to top up on moisturizer and serum
• Has more than enough serum so that I don’ have to retrieve more serum inside the box
• The milk-based exfoliator REALLY cleans up my skin from face, ears and neck!
• Instantly glowy skin!

The Misses:

• The serum is too thick for my skin on some of the products. The aloe, aqua and pearl masks made me dilute it with water after using it due to its richness
• The charcoal mask didn’t do much to help me extract the pores nor did it do much to help me tighten up my pores
• This mask set works best on dry skin due to how rich it is

Given that the formula is rich, the products take some time to absorb and I had to wait for an hour to put on the rest of my skincare. Since your neck and décolletage needs to be moisturised, the serums absorb better there. At the end of the day, these formulas will perform differently on your skin given that we don’t have the same texture.

B) Dermacare Variety Pack

This is similar to the first one and I don’t think I need to repeat myself again haha!

The Hits:

• They were moisturizing
• There’s a bunch of liquid that is good to top up the serum on other parts of my body

The Misses:

• Some felt really sticky on my face like the Propolis and Hyaluronic Acid masks
• I had to temper it down with water to make it less sticky

This formula is rich and good for those who have dry skin, but not great on oily skin like mine.

C) Body Masks

Hand, hair and foot masks have been around for a while, but what’s new about this brand is that LAPCOS introduces me to a bikini mask. Finding products that help to cure ingrown hair is hard to find in Singapore outside of a hair removal salons. I mean, who else wants to deal with ingrown hairs during bikini season? Since a handful of ingrown hair products have alcohol, I find that it really hasn’t done much to treat the problem other than irritating the bare skin. Thankfully, oil-based formulas work best as it calms down the inflammation. But, does this Bikini Mask live up to the hype?

The Hits:

• The sensations are exactly how it’d be described: the feet masks were REALLY COOLING and the hand masks made my hands instantly soft while they warmed up
• The formulas weren’t sticky nor were they too slippery on my skin
• The bikini mask did wonders to remove ingrown hairs more easily after it targeted the areas and calm down the inflammation down there (thanks to tight activewear!)

The Misses:

• None!!

Frankly, I’d buy up the body masks again as it’s something that made my skin feel like I spent hundreds at a hotel spa without actually doing a staycation.

DISCLAIMER: Every product will perform differently on you as this is based on how it performed on my skin. No skin is alike and I hope that this guide will help your expectations!