About a couple months ago, I was given an opportunity to attend Menard‘s 55th anniversary and new product launch, AUTHENT Mask. The brand collaborated with Sociolla in this event, which was held in Raffles Hotel Jakarta. The invitees were up for some lush pampering. We got to stay overnight in the 5-star hotel, enjoyed facials by Menard‘s trained beauty specialists and tried out the new mask.
The AUTHENT line itself is the most luxurious out of all Menard’s lineups. The Authent Cream, pictured below, is prized at IDR 12,000,000 (around USD 870) and it is the crème de la crème of their offerings. The cream has the ability to regenerate stem cells and help restore that youthful glow to the skin. I am not well versed in describing the beauty of AUTHENT, so please do to take a look at this link to know more about the line.
While it is the star, we’re here to discover the AUTHENT Mask. To cut things short, I will share you my first impressions on this beautiful mask.
AUTHENT Cream, it its glorious packaging.
The AUTHENT Mask consists of two sheets, one for the face and one for the neck and décolleté. The neck area is delicate and needs a separate treatment, which is where AUTHENT Mask takes over. From my understanding, the face mask has the same ingredients as the AUTHENT Cream with sweet cherry seed extract, Boat sterculia seed extract and purple barley seed extract. The neck mask contains sweet cherry seed extract and veiled lady mushroom extract.
This hit me on the spot, because I was aware that I still sometimes neglected my neck area, forgetting to take care of it. The neck (and hands) are the easy tell-tale signs of age. We can take sweet care of the complexion, but it’s also important to keep up with the neck as well. Smooth face + wrinkly neck, that’s not a good combination, yes?
Thanks to Menard, now I never forgot to bring my skincare down on to my neck as well.
This is how I will look like in a bit.
Before the facial, we were required to cleanse our face first. I DOUBLE CLEANSED, of course! I’d cover my face in shame if I didn’t do this. Then, once I got up the suite, I hopped on the bed and the beauty specialist started to do its magic. The facial lasted for about one hour, with the mask on as the last step. I didn’t take a picture other than myself wearing the mask because I really want to enjoy the experience. The treatment felt HEAVENLY good and I can’t help falling asleep.
After the sheet mask was taken off, we were told to NOT wash our face off. Instead, just leave whatever is left on the skin and let it be absorbed.
Since this is a two-piece mask, it can get quite tricky to put it on by ourselves. But don’t fret, aside from having the how-to’s printed on the back of the packets, Menard also has a video on how to do this, efficiently.
So this is me.
Incredibly satisfying.
Now, to add to that, at the gala dinner, I tried a small piece of the mask and put in on at the back of my left hand for 20 minutes or so. I intentionally left out my right hand so I’d be able to compare. This was intriguing from the get go because it’s obvious that the AUTHENT Mask started do to its job right away. And boy, did it last.
I washed my hands, took a shower before my facial, washed my hands, another shower in the morning, washed my hands again after I finished my makeup and voilà, my left hand was still considerably a lot more moisturized than my right. It wasn’t just visible to the touch, but also to the eyes. My right hand was noticeably more flaky and the lines were very obvious.
So, to prove that it wasn’t just me, I asked my Significant Other. Without telling him which one is which, he pointed out right away that my left hand felt much nicer!
Trying out the mask on the back of my left hand during the dinner.
The result was the same with my complexion. That night, I tucked into bed without anything else on my face other than the leftover of AUTHENT Mask. By the time I wake up, I could still feel and see how moisturized and hydrated my skin is. I touched my face and my fingers felt a little slippery. For the lack of better word, it felt like being drowned in a rich cream, the skin was encapsulated with all the moisture and the beautiful ingredients locked inside.
And it stayed there for days.
That morning, the sides of my nose and my cheeks didn’t looked parched as the day before. That month, I still had remnants of a hormonal breakout and my skin still looked a bit dry on certain days and areas. Of course, as expected, with skin this moisturized, my makeup glided on smoother and applied better.
The next best part about AUTHENT Mask is it doesn’t go to waste just like that. We get to keep the mask, sans the sheet, to take home. We can use up the leftover cream inside the packets as moisturizer. It lasted for about a week for me. To make it easier, I opened up the packets, scraped off everything and put it in separate jars. Didn’t forget to label one for the face and the other for the neck.
Without a doubt, the following week and after, my skin was looking very nice. I was still using acne treatment on some of the spots but I didn’t suffer any dry patches. The overall texture of my skin looked improved. Softer, smoother and supple à la Menard.
The effect truly lasted for days even after not using it anymore.
The morning after-glow.
The big question is, is it worth try? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.
Despite AUTHENT Mask costs a fraction of AUTHENT Cream, at IDR 720,000 for a single use mask, it is still considered to be a luxury. Menard says, to experience the full benefits and results of this mask, it’s advisable to use this mask every week for 2-3 months. Well, I’m sure you can do the calculations. I don’t think I’m ready for that kind of commitment, nor that I need it at this age.
Don’t get me wrong, this is a great mask if I feel I want to indulge myself. Not to mention, the leftover cream could last about a week. But AUTHENT line is created for more experienced skin, if you know what I mean. I think this will be a great treat to give to more mature women (e.g. mothers and grandmothers). Usually, their skin would be much more dry, dehydrated and lacking in luster. AUTHENT Mask can help to boost up the complexion. I believe they will appreciate and benefit from it more than I do 🙂
AUTHENT Mask is available at the counters and exclusively at Sociolla. If you decided to try this, do let me know what you think of it!
Once again, thank you Sociolla and Menard for the experience!
