masks - The Seventh Sphinx

Some days are harder than others (I don’t know if you will have noticed, but some hours are just awful), and on those days I try to give myself something to anticipate and and enjoy.

Something like…

a face mask

Maybe a clay mask or one of these Korean paper masks I’ve been enjoying lately. I go for hydrating, detoxing, or brightening ones. Really enjoyed this mask overview from Lisa Eldridge, which has several good recommendations.

take-out indulgence

Indian or Thai or maybe pizza. I rarely eat out or get take-out, so this feels like a personal luxury even when inexpensive. Alternatively, cooking something semi-elaborate that I really want, like Indian or Thai or pizza.

special pajamas

This is a lovely slip from Myla London, the candle is Feu de Bois from Lafco, the perfume is Bulgari pour homme

You know, the special ones. Donned early. Possibly I also put on perfume or light a candle, and use the fancy moisturizer. [If I had a bathtub, a bath would be on this list. One day I will have a bathtub.]

a cookie

cooookiiieeee

cartoons

There are some excellent cartoons out there (umm, Archer…). Alternatively, really bad movies. Alternatively, Tomb Raider or Jurassic Park.

trying on lipstick

You know, put it on…consider it….make faces…take it off again…put another one on.

I wouldn’t usually have a camera. This is a questionable reenactment.

It’s soothing. It’s constructive. Everybody does this, right?

reading an old favorite

There are a lot more.

There is always a pile of new books to be read and an endless list of the unread beyond that, many of which I truly hope to get to. It can feel indulgent, then, to return to old favorites, as I do time and again.

giving permission

That is, I give myself permission to get something I’ve wanted but, for whatever reason (it may not even be expensive), couldn’t quite justify getting. This is saved for those days when I feel I’ve faced my trials admirably (not uniformly the case), or when life seems especially unjust, especially rife with deprivation. This might be an object, a tool, a luxury food or beverage, anything. This strategy must not be abused (this strategy is occasionally abused).

I like a face mask. I do at least one a week, maybe more, and have a bunch of them to combat the various, manifold shortcomings of my skin. Part of the appeal is the experience, the ceremony of them, which I find relaxing. Sometimes potentially entertaining. Recently added to the selection is the fresh Umbrian Clay Treatment Bar, made of an anti-inflammatory and highly absorbent clay from this one town in Italy that can be used as a detoxing face wash, a mask, or a spot treatment. It’s pricey but it seems like it will last a couple of years, seriously.

It’s a bit messy to use, so if I’m going to bother at all I usually go for the mask, maybe removing with a muslin cloth for added exfoliation.

I am deeply into exfoliation.

So, yes, this gives a very thin layer of intensely absorbent/effective clay, which reminds me a lot of the Aztec Secret Bentonite Clay mask. At a fraction of the price (I picked it up at Whole Foods for around $7) it could be worth checking out first. It comes as a powder and you mix it with water or vinegar [or whatever else you like…I like to add lemon juice and tea tree oil as well, maybe rosewater or some essential oils…] to your desired consistency. When you get the balance of ingredients right, this is an amazing mask: it tightens like crazy, so you look like a maniac when it’s fully dry, and even worse when you take it off as it draws the blood to the surface and makes you bright red for a bit. Twenty minutes later, though, there is a difference. [Part of the appeal may be the experience – imagine would be fun to do with a group.] This is another type of clay that boasts supernormal absorbency, able to absorb many times its own weight in volume, that kind of thing. The ants of the clay world. The nice thing about the Umbrian clay is that it achieves a similar effect with less product and less effort. I find the effort intrinsic to the appeal of the Aztec Secret mask, though, so to each its own.

Tag: masks

rough day?

trying out: the fresh Umbrian Clay Treatment bar