[HEALAVIE] - Brightening Serum Mask

One of the masks I received from the Skinvestment's Beauty Date x MTL back in November is the Healavie Brightening Serum Mask. I was excited to try it as I love its minimalist design, and loved their sun gel. (But this was nearly impossible to photograph well because the lettering blends into the background. 😑😒)

The mask is touted to be brightening and anti-aging on the package, but its ads indicate that it is also soothing, moisturizing and refining pores.That sounds like a miracle mask if you ask me. 😅 Maybe that's why the package only has brightening and anti-aging on it.

**I received this mask for free in exchange for my honest opinion**

Ingredients: 

Water, Glycerin, Cetyl Ethylhexanoate, Niacinamide, Dipropylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Propanediol, Sophora Flavescens Root Extract, Sesamum Indicum (Sesame) Seed Extract, Panax Ginseng Root Extract, Paeonia Lactiflora Root Extract, Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract, Phellinus Linteus Extract, Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) Extract, Morus Alba Bark Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Leaf Extract, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Fragaria Chiloensis (Strawberry) Fruit Extract, Centella Asiatica Extract, Angelica Gigas Root Extract, Cimicifuga Racemosa Root Extract, Dimethicone, Methylpropanediol, Maltodextrin, Butylene Glycol, Betaine, Beta-Carotene, Stearic Acid, Squalane, Sorbitan Stearate, Sodium Starch Octenylsuccinate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Silica, Butyrospermum, Parkii (Shea) Butter, Ceramide NP, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Tocopheryl Acetate, Adenosine, t-Butyl Alcohol, Cholesterol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine HCI, Polyacrylate Crosspolymer-6, Phytosphingosine, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Panthenol, Phenoxyethanol, Trisodium EDTA.

CosDNA

I am very happy to see Niacinamide so high on the ingredients list! Which is supposed to visibly improve the appearance of enlarged pores, uneven skin tones, and fine lines. Maybe that's why Healavie made those claims in their ad. There are also quite a bit of extracts in there as well. CosDNA indicated there are a few acne and irritant triggers in there, so watch out for those! 

Moving onto the mask itself. 

I was kind of surprised to see a yellow cream mask. Sorry. But that shade of yellow kind of reminds me of lard. 😅 Just a tad unappetizing. Add to that the scent, which I found to be quite chemical and leaning toward a waxy smell. It kind of made me hesitant to put it on my face. But luckily the scent was faint and I can't smell it once it is on my face. 

The mask was soaked in the yellow cream, and there was a lot of leftover essence. This is quite impressive for a 25 ml mask! The mask itself felt SOOO soft! I felt like my face was being hugged by a blanket! The fit was also very good, I didn't need to flip up the nose piece and required minimal adjustment!

Instruction says to apply toner before applying the mask and leave it on between 10 to 20 minutes. I applied my toner and essence, which is supposed to help the absorption of the essence from the mask. Then I left it on for 35 minutes, and it was definitely drying out as I can see patches where it is completely dry.. Oops. 

I was surprised that there was still quite a bit of extra essence left on my face, which was very creamy and easy to spread around. However, despite massaging it in, it still took a while to sink in. It also left my skin feeling a bit tacky. So, a logical person would not put any additional essence after the mask has left their skin tacky... Right?! 

Well, I am not a logical person, so I slapped on half of the leftover essence to finish my routine. It took a few minutes before it started to sink in, and it was tingling! Such a weird feeling. It still left my skin feeling tacky. But man, my skin looked and felt soo moisturized! I was quite happy with that effect, despite the tackiness. I can even tell a slight brightening effect despite being the queen of "I can't tell the difference". 

BUT......

Scroll up to see how my fingers normally look and then look at this. It's A LOT shinier in the same lighting!

That's a big but.. Because... I was a greaseball after it sunk in!! It took an hour and half and it finally sunk in and no longer sticky. But I was so shiny! And my fingers were super uber shiny after touching my face. I have never been this shiny before, with only just toner, essence and mask! 

I went to bed and woke up with super soft but shiny face.. Sigh... -___- I love how soft my skin felt but not a fan of the shine. Also, I ended up with quite a few bumps on my face, which means clogged pores. -_- Urg some more. Needless to say, I am not too happy with this mask despite how it made my skin so soft. 

Overall, I really liked how soft the mask was. It must be one of the softest masks I have ever tried. I liked how soft it made my skin and how I didn't need a moisturizer after using the mask. BUT I am not a fan of how shiny it made me and how it led to quite a few clogged pores. So because of the shine and clogged pores, I will not be repurchasing this mask. Which is a shame because it is so pretty and made my skin so soft! >___< 

Thanks again to Healavie and Skinvestment for allowing me to try it though!