The $2 Trader Joe’s Buy I’m Hoarding to Combat Holiday Stress

It’s the week before Christmas and all through the house, everyone is stressing and starting to grouse. If the holidays makes you anxious, you’re not alone. While there’s inevitably a lot to do, it’s important to work some self care into your routine, not only to preserve your sanity, but so that there’s enough gas in the tank for the marathon of parties, family gatherings, and other obligations about to bombard your every waking moment. Cue: my new favorite Trader Joe’s buy.

While getting enough sleep, taking vitamins, and going for walks (especially when you’re stuck in the suburbs where everyone drives everywhere) all help keep my holiday-related stress in check, I’ve been known to relish this tiny bit of affordable pampering under the guise of self care. I love a sheet mask, mostly because they feel luxurious, make you look like a serial killer, and don’t require you to be anywhere near a sink. And while there are affordable Korean brands available at Asian grocers and on Amazon, the average single sheet mask costs anywhere from $6 to $35 (!!).

Thankfully, Trader Joe’s has a hydrating face sheet mask that costs only $1.99 and feels like a much more expensive product. It’s got a lot of skin care buzzword ingredients, like “hydrating hyaluronic acid & honey; revitalizing rose hip & camellia oils; calming chamomile, green tea & turmeric extracts; plumping propolis, pomegranate & blue algae extracts.”

I’m a bit of a face mask enthusiast, and I even ‘fessed up to hoarding them and stuffing my suitcase with them anytime I leave town. Ever since Busy Philipps taught me via her Instagram that you can sheet mask anywhere, including mid-flight, I’ve been an unabashed travel masker. So if you have to get on a plane in the next couple weeks, do your skin a solid and mask it up at 35,000 feet. Holiday travel is stressful, and plane air is awful, so you might as well relax and give your epidermis a little love.