When it comes to classic prestige skincare brands like Lancome, I honestly don't put a lot of stock into their skincare formulations because they generally focus their dollars on celebrity endorsements, advertising and packaging. Key ingredients are always in the bottom half of the list and there is almost always a high amount of silicone-derived ingredients to give you "smoother skin" in an instant and of course a bougie fragrance. I'm not a crazy clean beauty person and don't believe we should ban silicones or the latter, but there is a time and place for both and in the case of the Genifique Hydrogel Melting Mask, I was immediately thrown off by the fragrance, but we will get to that later since the mask itself was not too shabby!
Purchased by me
From what I have seen, those who seem to rave about the Lancome Genifique line are influencers doing #ad or #prgifted posts and that's fine if you truly love the products, but I rarely see Genifique spoken about naturally or organically. Maybe I'm not on social media enough? The first Genifique product I used and purchased was years ago and that was the Yeux Light Pearl Serum. The applicator was what sold me, but when I had a look at the ingredients, it didn't seem worth the $91 to have mainly silicones in my skincare. After that, I never used Genifique again and believe me I have received it in PR and have been offered a campaign to plug it, but I just have better skincare in my arsenal now that it doesn't feel worth my time. Then I saw this sheet mask, had a look at the ingredients, saw probiotics and high concentrations and said let's give it a go!
This is a one-piece hydrogel mask that is fairly soft so even though it's one piece (most hydrogel masks are two for better fit), it still fit reasonably well around the contoured parts of my face. This mask features two probiotics: bifidus extract and lactobacillus ferment both of which have been shown to strengthen the skin's microbiome against environmental aggressors, soothe skin and encourage skin repair. Both probiotics are found in the top half of the ingredients list and even though there is phenyl trimethicone in the formulation, it is at least found after the key ingredients and is the only silicone derivative present.
This mask contains the same amount of bifidus extract in one FULL bottle of Advanced Genifique Serum, but there is a little caveat on the package that says the results from this mask will not be equivalent to the results from the bottled serum. I'm glad that this is mentioned, but then again, I feel mentioning the concentration of bifidus extract as being equivalent to what is found in a bottle of serum is leading the consumer to *think* that the results will be the same...
This mask can be left on for a variety of times - 10 minutes to prep skin for makeup, 20 minutes to get some radiance to the skin and 30 minutes for a skincare boost before bed. At this price, I don't know why anyone wouldn't leave it on for 30 minutes!
Mask Summary:
Price: $20 CDN
Skin concerns: Dullness, smooth canvas for makeup, hydration
Scent: Flowery and powdery and I really did not like it!
Essence Type: Clear and watery
Duration: 10-30 min
Thickness: Standard hydrogel
Mask Fit: Softer hydrogel allowed for better fit than if stiff, but two pieces would have been better
Tackiness: Medium
Hydration: Good
Other notes: N/A
Final verdict: Results were quite nice, but for $20 for a single mask I just hate the scent too much. The scent lingers so it's not like it disappears and I can enjoy the rest of the mask. It's a shame because I liked the ingredients and if were to get the actual Genifique serum, there is dimethicone in a high concentration in the formulation. As a day serum, this might be an option, but the serum is $100 and I would like to use it both day and night if I am going to spend that much. I also feel like I have a number of fantastic serums where I'm not "settling" on ingredients. Though the actual sheet mask was nice, the scent was just too overwhelming for me so this will be a pass, but I am glad that I finally got to see what this mask was all about!
You can find the Lancome Advanced Genifique Hydrogel Melting Mask at www.lancome.ca
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