Today I am reviewing three masks that I receive for free from
Amabie, a review site focused on AB products.
I got an email from them advising I am on the monthly A list .. I don't know how I made the list considering I did a few reviews and have completely forgotten about it since. But okay! I will take free products! Especially with masks focused on my feet. *Would this be considered as a sponsored post or press sample? I have no idea what to call this post.. My brain is fried right now*
Let me preface the reviews by stating that I received these products from Amabie for free, in exchange for my honest opinion on these products. Trust me, I am not afraid of being blunt about products I don't like. Just continue reading and you will see.
Also, if you would like a shorter, less rambling review. Please head over to Amabie and look up the products or my user ID: @addcrafts12 to find the reviews. Otherwise, please continue on for my long rambling reviews.
Labottach V-Up Patch
First of all, this was the one product I was meh about. I have a round face and I am totally okay with that. I don't buy the whole "tone up your jawline and get that V shape!" sales pitch and I thought this mask was kind of gimmicky anyways. But hey, I got it for review so I gotta do my part.
Second of all. OMFG! This mask takes 8 HOURS! I thought maybe it would be 30 to 45 minutes maximum, because it's a marked as hydrogel patch. But NO! It's EFFING 8 HOURS!! I was about to quit but I agreed to write a review so I had to stick through it. Trust me, I complained nonstop about it the whole 8 hours... =__= You will see why further on.
Ingredients: As per the package.
Caffeine, Collagen, Green Tea Extract, Ceramide, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin P, Tocopheryl Acetate, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil.
That is a very short list for a mask. I am a bit surprised to see caffeine as the very first ingredients. as I don't react well with caffeine. Just a matcha shake has my heart beating super fast. But this is applied topically instead of orally so it shouldn't have the same effect. I guess the caffeine is there to stimulate the cells on your jawline?
Each pack contains two V-Up patch. They are marked as hydrogel patches, but they are white, sticky and comes out dry. So I wouldn't say it's the traditional hydrogels as they tend to come out dripping with or covered with essence. This is more like a dry mask. As it has a dry cloth backing which host the sticky white substance. It also has a clear backing such that the sticky content would not stick to anything else. I keep on saying sticky, but it's more tacky. It reminds me of white glue that has dried a little bit but still tacky to the touch. I guess it is in this consistency to make sure it sticks to your skin for the entire 8 effing hours.
The mask itself is shaped like a long butterfly wing, with two holes on the end and slits along the way. You are supposed to take off the clear backing and apply the sticky side to your skin while hooking the two holes/ear hoops on your ears. This is where I had an issue. I think my face is either crooked or I didn't apply it properly. Because the right side of the face feels like it has a lot more mask than the left side. The ear loop sat properly on my right ear, but it was PULLING on my left ear. No matter what I do, it just wouldn't sit properly and kept on pulling. This is what caused the whole 8 hour experience to be super painful for me.
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| Left & right side of the face. Notice how much of a stretch has formed on the left ear loop. |
The instructions recommended you apply this before bed, but I don't like anything on my face while I am sleeping so I chose to do it on the weekend where I know I wouldn't go outside for the day. Let me tell you.. I am glad I chose to do it during the day instead of at night, because the pain from the left ear loop would have woken me up constantly. I rather be in pain while I am awake than have a bad night of sleep. That being said, if you are going to do it during the day, make sure you don't want to eat anything that requires lots of chewing, or going to be talking.. Because I tried to eat noodles, and I can feel the patch covering my chin losing contact with my skin every time I move my mouth.
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| Before & After. Yes, that is a stain from my noodles on the bottom picture.😅 |
On the plus side, the mask has a very faint generic cosmetic smell to it, which fades away after a few minutes. This is a blessing as I would not have been able to handle 8 hours of pain and smelly product. I probably would have quit after one hour if that was the case.
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| Left side of my face |
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| Right side of my face |
I mentioned there are slits cut into the mask/patch. The ones along the bottom makes sense, as it makes sure the mask sits properly under your chin. But I don't get the slits near the ear loops. It just opens up the patch and leaves skin exposed. You can also see that after 8 hours, these gaps became wider due to gravity and me moving my mouth.
Performance wise, the mask felt cool against my skin and because of its stickiness, it CLUNG to my skin. That is until my dead skin cells and oils covered the mask and made it much less sticky. While having the mask on, my jawline started to feel tight every time I turned my head or moved my head. But again, it may just be trying to fight the stickiness of the mask and gravity?
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| Before & right after I took the mask off. |
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| Before & after a night's sleep. |
OMG I was SO happy to take it off after 8 hours was finally up. The jawline and chin does feel a bit taught. But looking at the before and after photos, I feel like there isn't much of a difference? IF there is a difference, it is not noticeable to me. In fact, the only noticeable thing from using this mask is that the top of my left ear was still smarting after 5 days. -__-
For the pain caused by that one ear loop and the lack of noticeable result, I would say this mask is just like what I thought. It's just gimmicky and not worth your money.
Labottach Foot Heel Patch
I was pretty excited to get these foot patches, and it was basically the only reason I accepted. Summer is coming up, and my feet are very dry and cracked in some areas. Which is not a big surprise considering I have a mini heater aimed at my feet at the office almost every single day. Let me preface this review by saying I didn't know what the heck is with this product except that it should help with my dry feet. So I didn't have much expectations.
This product comes in a package containing 4 patches, which I thought was similar to the V-Up patch, it's meant for two separate uses. But then I read the packaging, and realized this one package is one "treatment". This foot patch is actually a two day "program". It contains a set of patches for you to wear on day 1, which is suppose to help with removing the dead skin. While the day 2 patches are supposed to moisturize your feet. Alrighties then. Good thing I started this on a Saturday so I have time to deal with it.
Again, this is similar to the V-Up patch, where it is supposed to be worn for a minimum of 6 hours. I wore the day 1 patches at the same time as the V-Up patch as I don't like having things on my face or on my extremities while I sleep. So, if you aren't weird like me, you can just put this on before bed and put on the provided netting to ensure it doesn't slip around and wash it off in the morning.
**Before I go any further, just fair warning. You are going to see my feet.. CLOSE UPS OF MY FEET! If you are uncomfortable with looking at dry feet, please go to Amabie and look up my review there instead. I promise I won't post such pictures on there. But if you don't mind, please proceed ahead. You been warned!!! **
As I mentioned earlier, the package contains 4 patches, both the day 1 & day 2 patches. However, the ingredients for each of the days are different as they have different purposes. But because they are packed together despite having different ingredients, the package smelled like tea tree, which is present in the day 2 patches.
Ingredients: As per the package.
Day 1:Water, Glycerin, Urea, 1,3-Butylene Glyol, Sodium Polyacrylate, Cellulose Gum, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Lactic Acid, Polyacrylic Acid, Tocopheryl Acetate, Polysorbate80, Tartaric Acid, Salicylic Acid, Disodium EDTA, Aluminum Glycinate, Merhyl Pareben, Propyel Praben
Day 2: Water, Glycerin, Sodium Polyacrylate, Cellulose Gum, Polyvinyl Alcohol, Olive Oil, Jojoba Oil, Lactic Acid, Polyacrylic Acid, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Evening Primerose Oil, Tocopheryl Actate, Polysorbate80, Tartaric Acid, Aluminum Glycinate, Disodium EDTA, Tea Tree Leaf Oil, Merhyl Pareben, Propyl Paraben, yello5, Blue1
Yes, that is urea in day 1, and cannabis in day 2.. I am okay with urea because it is pointed out right on the front of the package, though I do wonder how they obtain that urea. But the um cannabis sativa seed oil? According to
Wikipedia, it is hemp seed oil, not the cannabis people smoke up. Phew.
The day 1 patches are the white patches, and they are used to remove the dead skin. Luckily, this one doesn't have any discernible smell once it is separated from its day 2 buddies.
But be forewarned. This is some sticky stuff. It reminds me of mochi, the sticky yumminess that is made with glutinous rice flour.. But really, don't eat it since it contains urea and other chemicals. -__-;;
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| Never have I thought my feet looked so much like cured meat before. XD |
The instructions indicated you can use the patch on the ball or the heel of your feet. I decided on my heels as they are feeling super rough. You are supposed to take off the plastic lining, and slap that sticky patch onto the area you intend to treat and then put the netting on your feet to prevent it from slipping around and falling off.
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| This is how sticky it is after 8 hours! |
Let me tell you.. You need to be careful when you put on the patch because once it makes contact with your skin, it is ON! Good luck trying to pry that off and re-adjust. Even after 8 hours, it was still very sticky and took quite a bit of an effort to remove. And I was still left with chunks of "gel" on my feet that required some scrubbing to remove.
Once you have the patches on, and have the netting on top to secure it. You are now able to walk around without worry! It feels odd at first, walking on these patches as my heels feels like it is walking on a gel insert while the rest are not. But after a while, I got used to that feeling and forgot I had the patches on.
After 8 hours, most of the mask seems to have been absorbed into my skin, as the above photo illustrates. But I had chunks of "gel" that was not absorbed stuck on my feet, and I required some help from paper towels to remove it all. That being said, the instructions did say use soap to clean the residue so I was warned.
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| Left foot |
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| Right foot |
The instructions also indicated that you should use a spatula or a towel to remove the dead skin after using step 1. I found that as I was rinsing my feet, I was able to scratch off chunks of dead skin from feet with just my nails. I don't mean big chunks of dead skin you get from a foot peel. But rather like the smaller chunks of dead skin you get from using a foot files. It was very satisfying to see all those dead skin fall off and my feet were look a lot less cracked.
I went to bed after I finished scrubbing my feet from the day 1 patches. I washed my feet and used the day 2 patches on the following day. I assumed the instructions for day 2 were same as day 1 and slapped it on for 8 hours.
The day 2 patches contains a variety of oils such as hemp seed oil, jojoba oil, and olive oil, all to provide deep moisture to your freshly cleansed feet. The patches are green so it is easier to differentiate from the day 1 patches. Other than that, it is in the exact same shape and it is just as sticky.
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| Left Foot |
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| Right Foot |
I used the mask for 8 hours and my feet felt very moisturized afterwards. By my feet, of course I mean the areas that were covered by the patches. 😝 As you can see from the above pictures, my feet went from dry patches of skin to well moisturized with no visible skin flakes. (Is that how you describe those chunks that is very present in the before shot of my right foot?) Even after 2 weeks of using this, my feet are still feeling pretty smooth. A tad dry because I always forget to moisturize them but they sure are smooth~
Overall, I would say these patches are worth the time, despite being a 2 day program. I like the fact that these goes on and you can basically forget about them. I like that day 1 helps remove all the dead skin off your feet, similar to a foot peel, but less shedding and grossness. I also like that day 2 moisturizes the freshly exposed area.
The only downside is that these makes me wish there are bigger patches that would cover the whole foot. If I want to do both the heel and the ball of my foot, I would need two packs of the patches. I rather just do a whole mask so I don't miss any areas of my foot.
Chulala Deep Cleansing Mask
I didn't receive any information regarding this deep cleansing mask with the package and there was only Japanese on the back so I couldn't understand what it is and how I am supposed to use it. Thankfully for good ol' Google! I managed to find an English products
pamphlet on the company's website that contains a little blurb about this product.
This is a clay mask that is made with Okinawa's kucha, marine silt, and is supposed to absorb the old keratin and dirt from your pores. It also has moisturizing ingredients to prevent it from drying out your skin.
That's great to know about the product but I STILL don't know how long I am supposed to leave it on for etc etc. But luckily Google delivered, and I used Google Translate on the
Rakuten listing. It shows a different packaging in the thumbnail but the translations indicated it is the same product. The translation indicated that you are supposed to take two tablespoons of the mask and spread it all over your cleansed face while gently massage the areas that has enlarged or clogged pores. Leave it on for 3 minutes before rinsing it off with water. The recommended usage is twice a week.
Ingredients: I can't understand Japanese. The Rakuten listing does list out the ingredients. With Google Translate, some of the notable and recognizable ingredients are:
Water, Kaolin, Glycerin, Bentonite, Ethanol, Sea Silt, Aloe Vera Leaf Extract, Loofah Extract, Cellulose Gum, Orange Oil, Eucalyptus Oil, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate
In order to prep my skin for this mask. I first washed my face, then used a peeling gel to get rid of any dead skin that may be on top and blocking the mask from cleaning the pores.
This deep cleansing mask comes in a tube (obviously) and it reminds me of a toothpaste tube. However, instead of toothpaste, a gray clay mask comes out. It smells slightly minty, which could be the eucalyptus oil. I think the oil is also why the mask feels very cool when applied on the skin and why the instructions said don't go near your eyes.
The instructions says two tablespoons/spoonful should be sufficient for your face but I feel like I needed way more than that. Once I am done with the application, I feel like 1/3 of the tube is empty. Yet it doesn't look like I used that much product in the photos.. =__=
Following the instructions, I first massaged the nose area and then let it sit for about 3 minutes before washing it off. At this point, the mask has started to dry out a little bit. Which you can see in the above photo. However it didn't feel like it was drying out or stretching out my skin.
The mask requires a lot of water, or a towel to help wash it all off. I first tried to wash it with just water and it took a lot just to remove a small chunk off my cheek. When I switched to a towel, it removed the mask with just a few swipes.
After the mask was washed off, my skin didn't feel dried out, which could be due to the moisturizing ingredients such as aloe vera leaf extract. However, I did feel a little bit of tightness on my skin, so maybe it is a tad dry for my dry skin? However, my skin felt smoother and softer after using the mask.
I tried the mask again after a week to ensure the first time wasn't a fluke. I only applied it on the nose area as that is where my noticeably large pores are. Once again, my skin didn't feel very dried out by the mask but it did feel a little tightness afterwards. I feel like the nose area did get a little cleaner looking, but it's hard to tell with the lighting difference in the two pictures.
I think will continue to use this product on a weekly basis as it is a nice mud mask that doesn't feel overly drying on my skin. However, I doubt I will repurchase it as Google has not come up with any results for retailers outside of Japan and it is not so spectacular I am willing to deal with Rakuten to purchase it.
Overall Thoughts
Out of these three items I have received from Amabie, I would repurchase the foot patches as it definitely works. However, I do wish it is bigger in size so it covers the entire foot.
I would not repurchase the deep cleansing mask despite it being a not overly drying mask. It works but the effort in trying to locate an online shop that carries it outweighs the benefits from the mask.
I would not repurchase or go near those v-up patches ever again. It was very painful for me and it did not yield any noticeable results for the amount of pain I went through.
Today's post is the Lovemore Bitter Gourd Purifying Mask Sheet. It is to revitalize the skin with selected bitter gourd extract. It also contain deep sea water that is moisturizing and will improve any skin imbalances. It is purported to help produce a more even skin tone. 
I walked in to Winners the other day and found it is STOCKED with lots of masks from Leaders and other Asian brands. Unfortunately the Leaders masks were expiring either by the end of 2017 or January 2018 so I had to look for other options. There was a shelf full of Cosmetea masks and cleansers and my lack of success with the other masks got me to take a look at this brand and I am happy I did!
