How The World Masks

What we put on our faces says as much about who we are as it does about where we come from.

- Kristie Dash

The world is hopelessly obsessed with face masks. Google says so. In a recent report on the top beauty-related searches around the globe, “face mask,” “masque visage,” and “feisumasuku” came out on top. South Korea has certainly been ground zero for the craze, but snail mucus and panda-face sheet masks are just a small part of the story. Women the world over have an urge to cover their faces in goop or powder or slime or cloth or a combination of all of the above, close their eyes, and by the grace of the Gods and modern science, emerge brighter, cleaner, stronger, better. It’s a tradition that transcends borders. Women from Argentina and Morocco, India and the States—whether we’re building on ancestral traditions or embracing new technologies— we simply love our masks. Which is why we travelled the globe (fine, we picked up the phone) to get the details on who’s doing what and where.

INDIA: Turmeric Every Indian kitchen is stocked with turmeric and gram flour. And according to models Bhumika Arora (from Karnal) and Rasika Navare (from Pune), every Indian woman has also put them on her face. Mix in sandalwood paste and rose water, and you have a mask that softens and brightens your skin. We really tried to get an exact recipe, but Arora and Navare both insisted there’s no such thing. Their only mandate: Play around—just don’t overdo the turmeric. “If you’re using a full spoon of gram flour, less than a quarter spoon of turmeric is enough. It’s very powerful—and very yellow. You could tint your skin if you use too much,” says Arora.