So for the inaugural return, let's do the compilation of the Etude House 0.2 Therapy Air Masks~ This includes the bulk of the series which I purchased when the series first came out on Etude's global site.
Now, a little history for the masks. Etude House is this cute road shop brand from Korea that is targeted toward women at the lower age range. Their product lines tend to be have either cute or cute packaging and has the cutest kitty mascot.
They previously had a line of affordable masks called "I Need You", which are basic masks that are priced around $1USD, but often go on sale for 50% off. However, I had issues with the mask fit, as it had essentially slits for the eyes and lip. Which, I mean, come on, who has that? It was very poorly designed. So I wasn't too upset the line was discontinued but hoped that Etude would push out a new line of affordable masks for daily masks.
So imagine my excitement that Etude decided to push out the 0.2 Therapy Air Masks to replace the I Need You line. These are made from a super thin and breathable material that is only 0.2mm, hence the name of 0.2 and air in the line's name. They also divided the masks into 4 different essence types, which are ampoule, emulsion, jelly oil and moist water.
Okay, let's move onto the actual reviews~~~
0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Strawberry
This is an ampoule type essence mask that is designed towards brightening and moisturizing. It has notable ingredients like niacinamide, arginine, allantoin and sodium hyaluronate, as well as lavender and other botanical extracts.
It does have alcohol as the 5th ingredient, but I am semi willing to forgive it. As I have read that the Asian products tend to have drying alcohols in their ingredients list (IL), because Asia tend to be humid and the users want to make sure their products gets absorbed quickly. With the inclusion of alcohol, it allows for a faster absorption and evaporation. So the user can move on to the next step of their routine. So, these masks with alcohol high on their IL may not be suitable for dry environments, like mine. Unfortunate, but I think it is something that can be dealt with. I just use them during summer, when my skin is not so dehydrated and can handle the dryness.
It does have alcohol as the 5th ingredient, but I am semi willing to forgive it. As I have read that the Asian products tend to have drying alcohols in their ingredients list (IL), because Asia tend to be humid and the users want to make sure their products gets absorbed quickly. With the inclusion of alcohol, it allows for a faster absorption and evaporation. So the user can move on to the next step of their routine. So, these masks with alcohol high on their IL may not be suitable for dry environments, like mine. Unfortunate, but I think it is something that can be dealt with. I just use them during summer, when my skin is not so dehydrated and can handle the dryness.
Moving on. The mask doesn't have a strawberry scent unfortunately. Instead, it is an alcohol and faint lavender scent. Which is too bad as I don't like either of the scents but it wasn't a deal breaker.
Now, Etude wasn't kidding when they said it is 0.2mm. Is it truly 0.2mm? I don't know. It is thin but it isn't the thinnest I have seen. It is thin for a $1 daily mask. The fit is much better than the I Need You masks. It hugs the skin well and the only complaint is that the nose is a bit too long but that's such a minor thing.
The recommended time was 10 to 20 minutes, but I can use them for much longer than the 20 minutes. I do try to keep it on within the recommended time so I don't dry out my dehydrated skin.
Okay, so the alcohol is definitely working. Because it didn't take too long for the extra essence to sink into my skin. Thankfully, the alcohol didn't dry out my skin at all. Instead, it left my skin feeling moisturized. As for the brightening, yah.. If you been reading my blog, you know I am the queen of "I can't tell a difference" when it comes to brightening effect. So I apologize for not being able to tell a difference on the brightening effect. I wouldn't have chosen this mask but I purchased it in a multipack so I couldn't choose the different flavours.
So, can't tell on the brightening front but it is a decent moisturizing mask.
0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Aloe
Next is Aloe, which I was excited for, as the crazy plant/succulent lady loves anything related to succulents. This is for moisture and soothing relief, and it's not a surprise as aloe is associated with soothing effects.
This has moist water type essence but the IL looks pretty similar to the strawberry one. It does have aloe but there are other botanical extracts as well. There's alcohol high up on the IL, but as I explained above, it's kind of acceptable.
The mask material, fit, and usage time is same as the strawberry, and same for the rest of the series, so I will not be repeating them.
The mask did soothe my skin but it also felt drying. So I think that means the IL doesn't contain enough moisturizing ingredients to offset against the effect of the alcohol. It's kind of a meh mask for me to be honest.
0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Blueberry
This is another moist water type essence, and it is designed to be nourishing, firming and revitalizing. It has 2,500 ppm of blueberry extract and alcohol is still high on the IL. At this point, I think the masks with moist water essence and ampoule type essence will all have alcohol high on the IL. This is probably to make these "lightweight" essences absorb quickly.
It has a scent that kind of reminds me of a dish detergent? It's faint but it's kind of off-putting and didn't make me want to put it on my face. It takes a bit of an effort to disengage my mind from the scent memory and put the mask on.
This mask has the same 10-20 minutes recommended time, but the mouth area was feeling dry around 15 minutes so I had to take it off then. This tells me that either the essence dried out too quickly or my skin was really thirsty and wanted to drink every bit of it.
Unfortunately, I think it was the former as my skin felt tight upon absorption of the excess essence. My skin felt nourished and soft, but it wasn't hydrated at all. I kept feeling like I need to put on another lay of product on top so my skin doesn't dry out. This indicate to me that my skin needs more hydration.
This is a meh mask. Just because it dried out my skin even though it provided nourishment. It's not dreadful but it's also not amazing.
0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Manuka Honey
Honey is often used as a moisturizing ingredient in skincare, so I wasn't completely surprised that this is an emulsion type essence. It has no alcohol, which tells me that the emulsion types will probably not contain alcohol in it. It does have 2,500 ppm of honey extract, and other botanical extracts like licorice, green tea and lemon.
This doesn't have a noticeable scent and was still moist after 20 minutes.
It left my skin feeling quite moisturized, but also like there's a layer of product sitting on top of my skin. At the same time, this mask feels like it doesn't hydrate my skin well. Instead, it left me wanting a hydrating layer to balance it out. So that tells me that the mask isn't well balanced in terms of moisture and hydration levels. Which isn't bad, if you are looking for something that's purely targeted towards nourishment. Unfortunately for me, my skin needs both hydration and nourishment. As such, this is a meh mask for me, unless I remember to put a hydrating layer underneath.
0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Tea Tree
Tea tree is one of those ingredients that I just don't tend to gravitate towards. It has a distinct scent that I am not fond of, and I don't have breakouts often enough to keep tea tree products on hand. This is a moist water type essence that's aimed towards refreshing and calming your skin.
It has 2,500 ppm of tea tree leaf essence, allntoin, and lots of botanical extracts like lavender. Which unfortunately means, both of my least liked scents are present in this mask. And yup, it smells like both of them, so that reminds me of household cleaner. Once again, it took some effort to resist the urge to throw it away and put it on my face. Thankfully, the scent was more tolerable once it was on the face.
The essence on this allowed the mask to stay on for past the recommended 20 minutes and remain moist. The extra essence sunk in quickly and left my skin feeling soft. It calmed down the breakouts that I just couldn't resist touching. *slaps hand* bad hand!!
The calming effect changed my mind on tea tree masks. It didn't dry out my skin and it actually did its job. I wouldn't mind picking up more for the odd days that I have a breakout. And I wouldn't be upset if it expires on me since it's on the cheap side.
0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Lotus
This is an ampoule type essence that contains 2,500ppm of lotus extract, but it also means it contains alcohol and lavender oil. *sigh* I am tired of seeing alcohol and lavender oil. Well, the lavender oil to be honest. I don't like lavender and I don't like seeing it. Thankfully, the alcohol and lavender was barely detectable.
The mask is designed to be soothing and purifying. I was a bit surprised that it took a bit longer to sink in compared to all the other 0.2 Therapy Air Mask I have tried. It's just a few more minutes but still noticeable.
The mask left my skin feeling hydrated and plump to the touch. It is a tad tight so that may be due to the alcohol present. I noticed that it didn't calmed down this angry breakout on my forehead though. So that tells me it's not really soothing or purifying. If it was marketed as a hydrating mask, I think I would've been like oh hell yes, finally, a really good mask that I will buy again! But nope. It's a soothing and purifying mask, and it did not deliver at all.
0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Ceramide
I had high hopes for the ceramide mask, as the previous I Need You version of it was one of my favourites from the line. I was hoping for this will have the same effect.
The reason why I love ceramide masks is that it tend to deeply moisturize and strengthen the moisture barrier, which is what this mask promises to do. It comes as no surprise that this would be an emulsion type of essence and there will be no alcohol! Woot!!
Unfortunately, the star ingredient, ceramide is the 5th last ingredient. Which I mean, yes, some ingredients are pretty potent that they don't need to be in high concentration on the IL. But I feel like ceramide can be pretty high on the IL and still works really well. So I was disappointed to see it being so low on the IL. It also has essential oils like lavender, orange, and lemon, which was also disappointing. As essential oils can potentially cause irritations with sensitive skin, and I feel like potentially those with damaged skin barrier as well.
My sadness with this mask continues with how strong the lavender scent was. It was quite notable and I can smell it while it's on.. Please let it be good so I would be willing to deal with the scent!!! >_<
And my wish was fulfilled as the essence left my skin feeling moisturized and definitely feeling like it's worth with dealing with the lavender scent! It leaves my skin a bit shiny but at this point, I will always take deep nourishment from a mask over a lavender scent or looking shiny. I am so happy that the ceramide mask continues to be good!!!
0.2 Therapy Air Mask - Green Tea
Well, the green tea flavour was the first one that introduced me to the I Need You mask series. So it kind of holds a special place for me when it comes to the Etude house mask series. Plus, it is a moisturizing and soothing mask, which are what I tend to look for in masks. So I was disappointed that this has alcohol in it, as well as essential oils like orange, lemon and lavender. I just want a really light and refreshing mask with primarily hydrating ingredients along green tea leaf extracts.
Thankfully, the lavender scent was present but not super strong. Unfortunately, it is a bit drying. As it started to dry up at the 15 minute mark. Which indicate to me that there isn't enough hydrating ingredients to counteract the drying effect of the alcohol.
Which unfortunately came true as I started to feel tingling and tightness on my skin as the essence was sinking in. Bah. This is so disappointing. It feels like there's a moisturizing layer sitting on top of my skin and it does make my skin feel soft. But I just don't think it's hydrating at all. It's just not a good balanced product for me.
Overall Thoughts
Well, there are a lot more masks in this line. But the post is becoming a bit long so I am going to cut it in half.
The masks in this post are all a bit disappointing but here is my ranking for which ones I would purchase, with 1 being most likely.
1) Ceramide - It's very nourishing and makes me willing to deal with the lavender scent (begrudgingly), so you know it's a good one.
2) Tea Tree - I know, I am shocked too! But it does what it is supposed to do and calmed down my breakouts.
3) Lotus - It is hydrating mask but doesn't deliver what it is supposed to do. I do like hydrating masks, so that's why it's high on my list despite not delivering its purported benefits
4) Strawberry - It's moisturizing and nothing wrong with it besides the fact that I can't notice the brightening effect. Not the mask's fault, it's me.
5) Blueberry & Manuka Honey - moisturizing but bad balance between moisture and hydration.
6) Aloe & Green Tea - They weren't hydrating and it just wasn't memorable at all. I may even class them with the blueberry and manuka honey.
That's all folks fr the first part. I'll see you guys in part 2!
That's all folks fr the first part. I'll see you guys in part 2!
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