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Are you still applying one face mask at a time? How pedestrian. The current motto among the capital’s most dedicated beauty buffs is why have one face mask when you can have five? It’s even got a name — multimasking. And where does it come from? Instagram, of course.
Taking over from #nomakeup and #contouring selfies as the latest beauty craze to sweep social networks, snaps of early adopters with colour-blocked mud plastered over their faces are clogging up news feeds everywhere. But multimasking doesn’t just offer the opportunity to look daft in a bathroom mirror selfie, it’s also a seriously savvy way to customise your skincare regime. Namely because it allows you to address multiple concerns at once.
Multimasking products
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Got an oil slick for a forehead but dry, thirsty cheeks? Tackle them both at once with a purifying clay mask on your T-zone and an intensive hydrating cream mask where you need it most. Or are you suffering from sensitive eyes and a lacklustre complexion? Try applying gel eye patches over a brightening fruit peel.
In truth, while it might sound like a bizarre concept fuelled by Instagram showboating, multimasking makes a lot of sense. Of course, this dexterous way of dealing with split-personality skin is nothing new. Combination skin types are the most common and the hardest to treat, so those doomed to do battle with hostile terrains know one fix does not cure all.
As Alexia Inge, multimasking maven and co-founder of industry insider e-tailer Cult Beauty, points out: “Most people’s skin varies from area to area, as well as season to season. People have been doing a less dramatic version of this for years — it’s just found itself a name and a hashtag now.”
For Inge, multimasking is the key to a truly targeted treatment. “I have combination skin — my cheeks are dry and my eye area is sensitive, so I’ve always avoided putting strong clay there. In fact, I sometimes put a serum on those areas before masking up for added anti-ageing benefits."
"Then I put May Lindstrom’s Problem Solver, which is like the Dyson of mask treatments, on my nose and chin to regulate oiliness, bring down redness and absorb impurities.” She also suggests storaging your half-used products in the fridge to help keep them fresh for longer.
If you want to try your hand at crafting your own multimasking regime, Inge suggests getting well acquainted with your skin first. “My advice is to really look at your face, be aware of what your skin has been like over the past 24 hours and divide it into zones that need different treatment.”
Then comes the fun bit. If your forehead’s feeling oily, try Alpha H’s Balancing and Pore Refining Mask. Or if one area of your face is looking crepey, smooth it out with Zelens’ Transformer Renewal Mask. Skyn Iceland’s Hydro-Cool Firming Gel Patches will cure puffy eyes, while Liquilift’s Bio Active Face Lift is good for eliminating eye bags.
Treat a sunburnt nose with a slathering of Tata Harper’s Moisturizing Mask or Aurelia’s Cell Revitalize Rose Mask and dab Glamglow’s SuperMud Clearing Treatment anywhere you have blackheads.
Whatever your complexion needs, there’s a mask - or several - to treat it. And don’t forget your selfie.