Sexylook - Pure White Radiance Duo Lifting Mask

I got this Sexylook mask from MaskGenie (now defunct) as part of a mystery mask bag I purchased. I been holding off from using it for a while now. It's close to expiration and I thought hey, why not give it a try.

Masks #11- I may have a problem with hoarding masks...

I really do.. I am so afraid to count my mask count right now. I had it in two large containers and that has already exploded into stacking boxes upon boxes on top of the containers..    ｡ﾟ(*´□`)ﾟ｡

But I have to say. There are a couple of masks in this post that I really like!!! Like enough that I am considering breaking my no-buy to get some more while it's still on free shipping.. I am so weak.. (╯︵╰,)

Leaders Aqua Ringer Skin Clinic Mask 

A photo posted by @addictedtocrafts12 on Oct 21, 2015 at 10:26pm PDT

This mask.. *swoons* I am SO tempted to buy more.. ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ Maybe.. Just ONE more box??? It usually is around $30 per box but Interpark has it for sale at $14 including shipping. Due to our crappy Canadian dollar, it works out to be closer to $20/box. Still a saving of $10!!!! I should buy another box.. Shouldn't I????

Okay, backing away from the craziness for now and back to the mask itself.

Ingredients: Sorry it's all in Korean. No translation right now. 

The mask is soaked in a clear, runny syrup like essence that has a very strong fragrance. It's floral, sweet, and kind of shampoo like. I would say it smells similar to The Body Shop's Moringa line. The smell does occasionally waft into my nose, but it isn't strong enough to give me a headache. Those who are sensitive to smell, you may want to avoid it or try one mask before investing in a whole box.

There was a bit of an optical illusion with the essence. It looked like there was quite a bit of essence left in the package so I tipped it over to pour it out. I got.. Nothing.. So I stuck my entire hand in there and managed to scoop some out. Guess all that syrupy essence just grabbed onto the mask.

My biggest surprise for this mask was the fit.. This was my note to self while putting on the mask "fit is AMAZING". I kid you not, I actually put down all caps in my notes as my first impression. It fits my face like a glove. Like the much adored LoveMore (not by me but many others) and My Scheming silk masks. It hugs my skin so closely that even with flash, I had trouble telling I had a mask on. The only way I can tell is the little folds around the jaw line. This mask goes all the way up to my hair line and the nose flap covers my little piggy nose perfectly. Down side is that it's similar to most masks, where it doesn't reach all the way to my ears on my chubby face. T__T You can see clearly there's quite a bit of space between where the mask ends and where my ears are.

I had the mask on, without a cover, for 30 minutes before the semi-translucent mask started to turn opaque. The leftover essence made my skin feel sticky to the touch. For some reason that night, I decided that was the end of my routine. I don't need anything else. So I basically had toner, Cosrx Blackhead Power liquid and mask and went to bed. NOTHING ELSE. Yup, I was so smart that night. But then again, it was still pretty warm out so it wasn't pertinent to use too much products.

The next morning, I woke up with non-sticky face. So either the essence has been fully absorbed by my skin or it's been wiped off on my pillow case. Either way, my skin felt really smooth and hydrated. I can't believe how hydrated my skin felt despite using only 3 products in late October. The warm weather plays a factor, but the fact that I can get away with it is still a big surprise. I am absolutely loving this mask and I REALLY want to buy another box or two to stock up. σ(≧ε≦ｏ)

My Scheming 7-in-1 Brightening Essence Silk Facial Mask 

This was one of the masks in the Brightening and Clarifying Mask book I purchased from Beautius. They suggested using the brightening masks in the mask book for three days in a row before trying the Donkey Milk mask. Sadly I kind of stopped after the second brightening mask. No reason other than I got too tired on the third night and just went straight to bed instead.

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Paraffinum Liquidum/Sodium Polyacrylate, Sasa Veitchi Leaf Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Propylene Glycol, Tranexamic Acid, Glycerin, Arbutin, Acetyl Tyrosine, Saxifraga Sarmentosa Extract, Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Glutathione, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, PEG-120 Jojoba Speciosa Flower Extract, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Urea, Polyoxyethylenated Alkyphenol/Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance

CosDNA

Nothing triggering with this mask! Yay! Glad to see Sodium Hyaluronate is third on the ingredient list. ^__^

The mask sits in clear essence that has a very faint smell, but I can't pinpoint exactly what it smells like besides it's a little plant like. This mask, typical of a Taiwanese mask, was DRIPPING in essence. I squeezed some out prior to taking it out and it was still dripping everywhere. （￣□￣；）

It comes with only one pearl paper. The instruction said to use the pearl paper to place the mask on to your face before removing it and adjust the mask. But as you can see from the picture above, the pearl paper is kind of stiff , causing it to not sit properly on my face. I ended up taking the pearl paper off and used a mirror to put on the mask. I prefer it this way but often end up being the mask rolled up on my face and I have to remove it completely and reapply. (*´ω｀*)

These are silk masks, just like the LoveMore masks. I mentioned it before and will mention it again. They cost half the price of the LoveMore masks. If you look on BGO, the Taiwanese price for the My Scheming Mask and LoveMore is both $299 NTD/~$12 CAD per box. Except My Scheming offers 10 per box instead of 5 per box. They are more readily available through e-tailers than LoveMore, though LoveMore has gained more traction online. For Canadians who has a T&T in their city, My Scheming is more accessible as I believe T&T is still carrying them and often have sales. The price per box is usually around $13.99 CAD, which works out to be cheaper than online as our Canadian Dollar is doing so bad right now. So I recommend checking out your local T&T before placing an order online.

Okay, little rant about pricing over, back to the mask.

 (｡・//ε//・｡) 

True to a silk mask, it hugs my skin very well. There are some folds, as you can see above, but they are primarily due to the fact that there was no slit along the jawline. I am loving the fact that it's a little bit oval and longer on the sides, just so it can reach my ears!!! I always appreciate that little extra bit of mask.

I had the mask on uncovered for 30 minutes before taking it off. My little problem with this mask is that it dries inconsistently. The upper lip area dries out the fastest, which I kind of understand as it's the smallest piece. But my left eyebrow dried out faster than the rest of my face... So weird, just the left eye brow area.

Anyways, results wise, I noticed my cheeks are less red and my skin tone is evened out. My skin looks brighter to me, but I am not too sure.. ԅ[ •́ ﹏ •̀ ]و Using brightening products on a pale skin makes it hard to tell the results.

My Scheming Mandelic Acid Brightening Mask 

Another silk mask from the Mask Book. As you can tell from the packaging, Mandelic acid is derived from almonds. According to Wikipedia, it is often used as a component of a chemical exfoliants. 

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Polyoxyethylenated Alkylphenol/Polyoxyethylenated Sorbitan Monolaurate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Glycerin, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Urea, PEG-120 Jojoba ESters, Tranexamic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Xanthan Gum, Propylene Glycol, Paraffinum Liquidum/Sodium Polyacrylate, Prunus Speciosa Flower Extract, Mandelic Acid, Prunus Domestic Fruit Extract, Nelumbo Nucifera Flower Extract, Sasa Veitchii Leaf Extract, Liluk Candidum Bulb Extract, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Methylisothisazolinone, Fragrance

CosDNA

This is after being squeezed while in the package, it's still dripping on me. 

The mask is very similar to the 7-in-1 Brightening Mask above. The mask was dripping wet despite being squeezed before taken out. It has a very sweet note to it, but also a chemical base note. I am assuming it is partially due to the fact that they are from almonds? Artificial almond flavouring often has a sweet almond flavour that leaves a chemical aftertaste. 

Similar to the 7-in-1 Brightening mask, it hugs my skin so well that it looks like I am wearing nothing at all on my face. I did end up taking it off after 35 minutes due to the same reason. It started to get really dry in certain areas of my face. 

My face appeared to be brighter, though like I said above, sometimes it's hard to tell due to my pale skin. (Yes I am bragging ✧٩(ˊωˋ*)و✧) But I know it calmed down the flush on my cheeks. My only complaint is that it's not moisturizing enough despite having Sodium Hyaluronate. But I am just picky, this is a brightening mask, not a moisturizing mask. 

LoveMore Black Pearls True White Mask Sheet

I decided to give LoveMore silk masks another try before I write it off completely. Considering how I already tried out two brightening masks for this post, I thought why not try the whitening one frrom LoveMore.

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Hydrolyzed Pearl, Ganoderma Lucidum (Mushroom) Extract, Royal Jelly, Polygonum Multiflorum Extract, Locinera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Ubiquinone, Chlorphenesin,Methylparaben, Xanthan Gu, Hydroxylethyl  Urea, Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid Oligomer,Tranexamic Acid, Fragrance, Water

I am so happy to see pearl as first ingredient on the list! Though I do wonder if Taiwan have the same ingredients listing rules as Canada. So for now, I will assume they use a similar listing rule as us. Even if it's just to fool my self for a bit.  I do like the ingredients list. Pearl, honeysuckle, ganoderma, royal jelly, polygonum multiflorum, and hyaluronic acid. A couple of those ingredients are probably foreign to those who aren't Asian. But Ganoderma and Polygonum multiflorum are viewed as having anti-aging properties in Chinese culture. So in addition to brightening, the ingredients is supposed to provide anti-aging properties. 

The mask was sitting in clear essence that have no prominent smell to it. If I sniff really hard, it has a kind of a chemical note to it. 

As with the other LoveMore masks, there was a bit extra mask on my forehead, little small around the mouth area (as you can see with the curled upper lip area above), and a little long on the nose (hence the flipped nose piece). Other than that, it hugged my face very well, and it does extend pretty close to my ears. 

I wore the mask with the Daiso silicone mask cover for 25 minutes before taking it off. Afterwards, I left the mask on for another 20 minutes. There was some extra essence on my face that sunk in quickly and does not feel sticky to the touch. With this mask, I did find my face to be noticeably brighter but it was not as moisturized as I would have liked. I think this "flavour" of LoveMore silk masks is on the "to keep" list. (*^▽^*)

When comparing the result of the brightening masks between My Scheming and LoveMore, I find that LoveMore produce a better result. But economically, I would choose My Scheming simply because it is cheaper and its result is not that bad compared to the price.  Though if I am honest, I have no idea why I buy brightening products when I can barely tell any difference. [ •́ ‸ •̀ ]

LJH Vital Firming Hydrogel 

**Cannot link to HKC Plaza as their website is currently down**

I was introduced to this mask by Fanserviced. She had a review of it on her Instagram and I just had to get it!!! I ordered it from HKC Plaza for $4/mask including shipping. Unfortunately due to stupid Canada Post, I didn't receive it until a month and a half later. So after all that waiting, I just HAD to try it on rightaway!!! 

Ingredients: Sorry it's all in Korean. No translation right now. 

The hydrogel has a very sweet smell to it, kind of like lychee. Unfortunately, it did turn into a chemical/stale cigarette smell right afterwards. Thankfully it's faint enough that I can disregard it after a few minutes.

Typical of hydrogel masks, this mask comes in two pieces. It is one of the thinnest hydrogels I tried so far. It doesn't have mesh to hold it together. It's similar to the Foodaholic Pearl Shining Hydrogel mask where it's just two pieces of gelatinous essence, but much less delicate.

The pieces comes all folded together. The upper and lower pieces are separated by a single piece of translucent "pearl paper"**.  Each piece is also backed with a texturized pearl paper. I don't think I took it off correctly. ∑(O_O；) 
**I refer to all the backings as "pearl paper" regardless of their translucency or thickness**

I separated the two pieces first by removing them from the smooth of pearl paper, and then I removed the texturized pearl paper. I think the proper way is to remove the texturized pearl paper first, then remove the mask from the smooth piece of pearl paper. 

Why would I say I removed it wrong? Well, there's a reason why there is a smooth and a texturized pearl paper. The mask has two different sides. The texturized side goes against the texturized pearl paper and smooth side goes with the smooth pearl paper. If you read Fanserviced's review, you'll know that the texturized side goes against your skin. It's quite an ingenious idea. Those little pattern creates grip so it sits on your skin regardless of your movements. I love hydrogels but hate when they are so slippery I have to lay down to prevent them from falling off my face. So this "put it on and forget it's on" kind of hydrogel is great!!! Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

Sorry for using texturized SO freaking much but I don't know what to call that pattern. Waffle cone? Honeycomb?

The hydrogel felt thin and delicate to the touch but I find that I can easily adjust it without causing any tears. It fits my face quite well. There was a bit of tenting around the jawline so I feel like a slit there would be beneficial. Though because it's a hydrogel, it is bound to be less flexible than a regular sheet mask. My other complaint would be that the mouth hole is too big. It extended well past the corner of my mouth. So I kind of feel like I got the outline of a clown's mouth on my face.

Even though it stayed on my face very well, I chose to use the Daiso silicone mask cover. Not for the movements but for any evaporation of the precious essence. This is a $4 mask (close to $5 in CAD), so I want to make sure all that darn essence goes into my face and not into the air.

I accidentally left it on with the mask cover for 70 minutes as I must have been busy playing some kind of game. The exposed area, aka the upper lip and nose area, was dried up by then. So I simply shifted those areas so they no longer touch my skin and continued with my masking for another 15 minutes. After which, the mask started to feel thinner so I removed it. There was no extra essence left on my skin to be patted in. Though my face felt very smooth and soft to the touch.

I was ready to love this and cry for my poor wallet. But alas, a day later, my skin started to show signs of rebellion. ｡ﾟ(*´□`)ﾟ｡I started to break out, and I haven't introduced anything new since I tried the mask. So unfortunately, the mask was just too much for my skin. I need to spend time translating the ingredients and see what is causing my skin to react from it.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, I definitely will try to stock up on the Leaders Aquaringer mask if I can.. I just can't right now due to being on a no-buy. I would restock on My Scheming silk masks, but probably not the brightening ones as I don't think I need it. As for LoveMore, I will keep trying all the flavours I got but most likely won't pick it up again. The LJH I had high hopes for, I really enjoyed it but won't pick it up since it is pretty expensive and caused a reaction with my skin. 

Masks #5 - Brightening

This post will be full of masks that is touted to brighten your skin. Asia uses "whitening" a lot, but they actually meant brightening. Whitening sound so scary, like your skin will whiten after usage. But these kind of products are  actually supposed to help even out your skin tone and give it a "glow".


RE:CIPE made by nature Slowganic Sheet Mask Tangerine of Jeju Island - Whitening

Man that name is a mouthful. I purchased this from TesterKorea but it seems like they are no longer selling it. I purchased it for $4 per sheet. Then a few weeks later it went down to $1.50 so I was not happy I paid more than twice the cost. I was intrigued by the brand and thought a mask was a good way to try them out. I chose the tangerine "flavour" as it was just calling out to me. I don't really need "whitening" but I do need to even our my hyper-pigmentation.

It selected only the domestic local food which has been grown and riped (ripened) with sincerity and this is the natural sheet mask which includes natural ingredients of good quality obtained. 
As it includes the tangerine which has been riped in Jaeju Island, it brights the dark skin and it creates transparent and clear skin. Therefore it helps for whitening. 

*SLOW + RAW + ORGANIC = SLOWGANIC
Slowganic Sheet Mask which is the compound word of [SLOW] and [RAWGANIC] is the natural mask which is made by including the original ingredients of good quality, obtained from the nature in their natural states. 
*It increases adhesion property to the skin with application of the high elasticity fabric sheet and it delivers effective ingredients in most effective way. 

That's the only English blurb from the package. The ingredients list is all in Korean and Google translate was no help. Though from what I can tell, the first ingredients are water (purified it looks like), glycerin and mandarin extract (1,000ppm). The rest are just gibberish translations. I tried to see if I can find an ingredient list somewhere else, but alas no luck. T__T

My first impression of this mask that it is heavily fragranced, I can smell it as soon as I opened it. The smell is an artificial floral orange smell, similar to my tangerine hand soap. Though I would say it leans more on the floral than the tangerine side. It was so strong that I got a headache after 5 minutes of putting on the mask. That is some strong fragrance for something made with organic ingredients.

The essence is clear and thick like gel, there was just enough of it to soak the mask. The mask itself is quite thick so it took a bit of an effort to have it stretched out properly on my face. It had large eye sockets so no tiny eye sockets where half are sitting on my eye lid. *I am looking at you! Etude House's I Need You line!* There was a little bit of excess flap around my forehead but other than that, the mask fit my face pretty well.

Like I mentioned, I got a headache after 5 minutes or so from the fragrance. I ended up removing the mask after 10 minutes because it was starting to feel dry to the touch, and I didn't want reverse osmosis to occur and draw moisture from my skin. Which is odd since instruction said to take it off after 15 minutes or so, so it should have enough essence to last that long. My face felt tacky after I removed it and it remained that way in the morning.

I found that my skin did look slightly brightened and evened out, but I would not pay the $4 or $1.50 for such a heavily fragranced mask that dries up in 10 minutes and have minimal effect.

**Apologies for the lack of photos, I forgot to take them beside random shots of the mask inside the package and an empty package**

Tonymoly Changing U Sheet Box in Black pearl

 I got this as part of the Tonymoly Changing U box set, but TesterKorea is no longer selling it either. So I have linked it to Soko Glam, the only store I can find selling it besides Amazon. I paid $6 + shipping for the box of 7 sheet masks, but since I ordered it as part of the larger order, the shipping is slightly lower compared to if you were to order it on its own. Soko Glam offers free shipping over $50USD so I'll let you decide if their price is worth it.

Ingredients: So there's no ingredient list listed on the back and I can't find the product on Tony Moly's website. Soko Glam has it posted on their product page under "ingredients" tab. However it seems like a generic one for the set instead of the individual ones so I can't say if the ingredients are true to this "flavour".

The mask is a clear watery essence that has a fake smell. It wasn't too distinct, and if I have to guess, I would say it's probably the alcohol in there. Thankfully it wasn't too strong and it went away once I put on the mask.

Looks like a frowning panda face no?

As for the fit, it was a bad fit. The eye holes are HUGE so quite a bit of my cheeks were not covered. The mouth hole is also very big. I managed to place the lower part sit on my chin while putting it on.

There was quite a bit of the essence such that it squirted out a bit when I opened the package. That also means it was more than enough to keep the mask wet after 30 minutes. I took it off and used the excess essence on the rest of my body.

The extra essence on my face absorbed in quickly. My face felt smooth and moisturized. The faint redness in my cheeks has reduced and the sun spots on my cheeks has lightened, such that I can tell a difference with photos taken with flash.


Holika Holika  Ampoule Mask Sheet From Nature in Vitamin + Pineapple

 This looked interesting honestly because it made me go "pineapple?! PINEAPPLE?! Alright I'll try it". According to their website, the mask contains no artificial olourings, mineral oil, petrolatum, talc, sulfate,  and benzyl alcohol. The combination is supposed to revitalize your skin, and make your skin sleek and soft. So let's see how it did.

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Alcohol, PEG/PPG-17/6 Copolymer, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefuit) Fruit Extract, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/VP Copolymer, Carbomer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Potassium Hydroxide, Tocopheryl Acetate, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Fruit Extract, Actinidia Chinensis (Kiwi) Fruit Extract, Ananas Sativus (Pineapple) Fruit Extract, Magneisum Ascorbyl Phosphate, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance. 

 

The mask was soaked in a clear essence that had a very chemical smell. I was hoping it would have that distinct pineapple smell but alas no such luck. The smell wafts into my nose every once in a while as I had it on. There was an abundance of essence left in the package, enough to cover my neck and some arm.

The mask itself fit my face okay. I wish there was some slits around the temple so I can adjust it and overlay the excess parts. I also would have liked if there were more slits around the jawline so I can spread it out instead of having a bunch in one spot.

The mask started to feel dry to the touch after about 15 minutes on my face so I took it off. But there was actually quite a bit of essence left on my skin, and I let that sink in before checking for results.

It made my face look brighter and my pores appear to be smaller. Though it made my face feel quite tacky even after a bit of a wait. Honestly, I barely have any recollection of it. So whilst it did have good results, it is not great enough for me to go out of my way to repurchase it.


Etude House I need You Mask in Vita Complex

This was purchased along with the rest back in late 2014 where Etude had free shipping over $30 USD and 15% off using Paypal. So of course I picked out all of the "flavours" in the I Need You line and slowly working through them. 

Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Butylene Glycol, GLycerin, Citrus Paradis (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Alcohol, Pnanthenol, Carbomer, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Hydroxide, Ethylexylglycerin, Allantoin, Niacinamide, Sodium Startch Octenylsuccinate, Calcium Pantothenate, Maltodextrin, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Camellia Sinenisis Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Pyridoxine HCL, Sophora Angustifolia Root Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Prunus Persia (Peach) Leaf Extract, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Ginkgo Bloba Leaf Extract, Scutellara Baicalensis Root Extract, Silica, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance. Vita Complex: Niacinamide, Sodium Ascorbylphosphate, Tocopherylacetate, Pyrodoxine HCL, Calcium Panthothenated (B5) 

Woo! Niacinamide is in there so it should brighten your skin! Too bad it's only the 13th ingredient on the list. It's so much lower than alcohol, which is in the 4th place.

First impression was this had a super strong sweet smell, not something I would associate with vitamins. It has that fake sweet smell that some erasers has, similar to the Sally's Mask in Apple.

Since I have tried the line of mask before, I am not going to go too much in details. The fit is similar to the rest, it's got super tiny eye hole and a big upper lip part. It dried out faster than the others, it started to fall off in areas after 15 minutes so I ended up taking it off. The extra essence sunk in fast and does not feel sticky to the touch. Though it feels like there is a layer of something there. My skin doesn't feel softer but it feels moisturized. I don't know how to describe it any better. My skin appeared to be more even and a big raging zit on my forehead was much calmer after use.

Overall Thoughts

I have to say, I can find faults in all of the brightening masks I have tried, but if I HAVE to make a list ranking them, it would be :

1) Etude House  I Need You Mask in Vita Complex - Too Sweet of a smell but it works and it's on sale quite often at Etude.

2) Tonymoly Changing U Sheet Box in Black Pearl - Good results but can only get it in a box set

3) Holika Holika Ampoule Sheet Mask From Nature in Vitamine + Pineapple: makes my skin tacky and its chemical smell outweight the good results.

4) Re:cipe Slowganic Sheet Mask in Tangerine of Jeju Island - Minimal result, cost more than the other masks, hard to find and dries out too fast.