It’s no surprise that I am a fan of Milk Makeup. When they announced that they had more skincare goodies coming out this past December my skin was positively salivating. Well, that’s a weird mental image, isn’t it? Anyways, the masking sticks, along with new cooling eye patches, came out exclusively on Milk Makeup’s website just before Christmas and then landed in Sephora closer to NYE.
I put both skincare mask sticks AND the eye patch gel in my Sephora wish list. It wasn’t until I started digging and researching the items that I learned that the eye gels contained aloe – which I am unfortunately allergic to – so those sadly dropped off my list… BUT the two face mask sticks stayed – as did their newest lip products (but more on that on a later blog post).
One of the cool things that happened last year is that I was fortunately added to Milk Makeup’s StudioFam list, which is kind of like a PR list – but for smaller creators. Flash forward to a couple of weeks ago, I received a lovely little box from Milk and it contained a few goodies: the Matcha Detoxifying Face Mask Stick, the KUSH Lip Balm, a mini KUSH Mascara, an Aquarius Astrology Tattoo Stamp, and a refill of my favorite foundation – the Sunshine Skintint.
For some birthday shenanigans, I cashed in 2500pts in Sephora’s Reward Bazaar for a $100 gift card… you know, because reasons and I’m a relatively low buy at the moment. Birthdays are a time where one should treat themselves… so I cashed in some points for some goodies and picked up the Watermelon Brightening Face Mask (among a few other things)… so that I had BOTH! Huzzah and hooray for completing the set!
And now that you have WAAAAAAAAAY too much backstory on how I acquired these lovely little sticks, let’s get to reviewing, shall we?
Before we dive in, let me mention that if you are trying a new face mask, skin treatment, or makeup – do a test patch on your arm and let it sit for 10 minutes to make sure that you aren’t allergic to any components. Also, if you are allergic like I am to aloe, or any other commonly used additive – ALWAYS read the ingredients. It’s a heck of a lot easier to deal with a tiny skin inflammation / hive area on your arm than to deal with it all over your face.
—– watermelon brightening face mask —–
What you get in the box: 1 matte, coral twist-up tube containing 1.0 oz / 30mL of product.
Price: $24
Where can you buy it: Milk Makeup’s Website and Sephora (both in store and online)
What it claims to do: ” A solid mask stick infused with watermelon extract that brightens, hydrates, and evens skin tone for a luminous complexion “
INGREDIENTS:
Water (Aqua/Eau), Glycerin, Kaolin, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Stearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Gellan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Stearic Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Opuntia Ficus-Indica (Prickly Pear) Seed Oil, Cellulose Gum, Lepidium Sativum (Garden Cress) Sprout Extract, Sodium Polyacrylate, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 80, Alcohol, Lecithin, Citrullus Lanatus (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Lens Culinaris (Lentil) Fruit Extract, Sodium Lactate, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Soy Isoflavones, Palmitoyl Tripeptide-1, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-7, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491)
MY THOUGHTS:
Application-wise, this mask can’t go on any easier, just draw with the stick all over your face. Take note that it applies smoother when your face is a little damp and you’ll probably need to use your hands around the bridge of your nose and around your nasal folds to make sure all the product gets where it needs to be.
There is a faint smell that I can’t seem to place but keep in mind that it is a clay-based face mask and kaolin clay does have a scent to it sometimes. It’s not offputting and dissipates as you are wearing the mask but if you are sensitive to smells it might bother you at first.
While you allow the product to soak into your skin, it can feel a little tight, but unlike most clay masks it doesn’t get crumbly and flake off – which is awesome.
After I washed off the mask, my skin felt fairly hydrated and just a smidge tight. Since I have some pesky dry patches on my nose, the clay in the mask dried and accentuated those areas just a little bit more… but it’s nothing that some Ceicapair can’t fix. My complexion had a little more oomph to it, but it wasn’t so much so that I was absolutely
—– matcha detoxifying face mask —–
What you get in the box: 1 matte, sage green twist-up tube containing 1.0 oz / 30mL of product.
Price: $24
Where can you buy it: Milk Makeup’s Website and Sephora (both in store and online)
What it claims to do: ” A solid clay mask stick infused with matcha green tea that controls oil, balances skin, and calms redness for a fresh complexion. “
INGREDIENTS:
Water, Glycerin, Kaolin, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Stearate, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Phenoxyethanol, Sodium Hydroxide, Gellan Gum, Ethylhexylglycerin, Cocamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Stearic Acid, Salicylic Acid, Opuntia Ficus-Indica (Prickly Pear) Seed Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Saccharomyces/Xylinum/Black Tea Ferment, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water, Vinegar (Acetum/Vinaigre), Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Alcohol, Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Leaf Powder, Lens Culinaris (Lentil) Fruit Extract, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Tocopherol, Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract, Chrysanthemum Morifolium Flower Extract, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Chromium Oxide Greens (Ci 77288).
MY THOUGHTS:
I was happily surprised that I enjoyed this mask more than the Watermelon Brightening Mask. It did an excellent job of “detoxing” aka cleaning out my pores WITHOUT sucking them dry to the point where I have to worry about having a dry desert face.
As someone who has sensitive skin and ends up with blotchy red patches, the Matcha Detoxifying mask did a lovely job of calming down my finicky skin reasonably well. I did notice that my face seemed more evenly toned after using this mask – before going in with my usual skincare routine.
Since my lovely spoonie self has decided to give me the middle finger over the last few weeks, my complexion hasn’t been that great. I know that it’s because of whacked out hormones, drinking soda (which is something I usually RARELY do, unless I’m in a bad mood), and eating not as well as I should. This mask, in rotation with Farmacy’s Honey Potion and Bright On Massage-Activated Vitamin C Mask, has been working overtime to keep my face somewhat together.
Oh, and I recommend leaving this mask on a little longer than the 5 to 10 minute recommended wear time. It dries down if you let it and it’s a little easier to remove. If you would really like to treat yourself, use a facial steamer – like this one – and open up your pores a bit, after cleansing, then go in with this mask. Opening up your pores will allow this mask to sink in deeper and do the best job at “detoxifying” your pores as it can.
Random aside: I dislike the term “detoxifying” or “detoxing.” It’s misleading, especially when it comes to dieting… but I’ll leave that rant for another post.
Thoughts about both sticks…
The packaging on both the sticks and the boxes they come in feel almost like matte vellum which makes taking product photos A DREAM since I don’t have to worry about weird awkward reflections. Like their other stick products, these face masks come with a protective clear dome to cover the product up when closed – both to prevent it from drying out and from introducing random contaminants from the air. Most, if not all, of the Milk Makeup products that come in stick form, have this clear protective topper – and honestly, I end up losing or misplacing them. I will try my best at keeping them together because it may make the product dry out faster – like I found out with their Cooling Water stick.
Each stick has a 9-month shelf life, although I have a sneaking suspicion that with regular use you will most likely use up the product before then. Both masks have a recommended use of two to three times a week, which you can apply over the entire face, as a spot treatment or use both masks at the same time for different areas of the face; like the Watermelon Mask on the perimeter of your face and the Matcha Mask on the T-Zone.
For the price, you get a decent amount of product for your money. I don’t feel like I’m wasting a ton of product when applying it straight from the stick to my face, which is always good. With it being in stick form, they are perfect for traveling since they’re 1 oz and are sealed well with both the protective cap and the twist-off top.
Since I have a drier complexion than most, I tend to stay away from clay-based face masks because they inevitably dry out my face in some form or another. In a surprising twist of things, I was expecting the Matcha mask to leave my skin feeling dryer than the Watermelon mask – and aside from my forehead area being a touch dry… that wasn’t really the case. It was surprising because the Watermelon mask has
Another thing that I noticed is that the Matcha Detoxifying mask washed off of my face a lot easier than the Watermelon Brightening Mask. I did leave it (the Matcha mask) on for an extra 5 minutes just to see if it would dry out my gigantic nose pores more… but that’s because I’m a weird duck – but the Watermelon mask didn’t want to come off of my face. It also didn’t help that it was a little harder to see the pinky-coral mask against my skin than it was to see the green matcha mask.
I am the first to admit that I am fortunate to be a part of the #StudioFam and for Milk Makeup to send out some PR. If I wasn’t on their PR list I probably would have only picked up the Watermelon Brightening Mask and not even give the Matcha Detoxifying Mask the time of day – assuming it would just dry my face out like a lot of other “detoxifying” products. I am glad that I’ve been given the ability to try the product and am very pleased to say that it will go on my repurchase list when I run out of it.
Have you tried these Mask Sticks out yet? If so, I’d love to know your thoughts about them.
Oh! And speaking of #StudioFam goodies, I was sent five of their newly reformulated and repackaged lipsticks last week. I will be filming a try-on and review video for them in the next week or so so please keep your eyes out for that.
FTC Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I did receive one of the products in PR but was not asked to review the product nor promote it for financial compensation. All thoughts are 100% my own.
