Battle of Snail Lip Treatments

Okay, I totally lied with the title. It's not really a battle of the snail lip treatments. I already know which won. Well actually, my skin told me which one is the winner. 

The battle is between Pure Smile Snail Lip Treatment in Milk and Pureplus+ Honey Bee Lip Treatment. I received the Pureplus+ item from the Dry & Sensitive box from Memebox, when they used to do international shipping. I ordered the Pure Smile from BonjourHK in September. 

I don't break out often. Pretty much only hormonal breakouts or whenever I don't take care of my body or cleanse properly. Though the breakouts go away as soon as I correct the problem. Occasionally, I do react to products but very rarely. Unfortunately I reacted to the Pureplus Lip Treatment. I didn't want to believe it. How could a lip balm cause me to break out? So I tried and tried but every time I break out on my upper lip, so it looked like I have cold sores.

I seen people rave about how great the Pure Smile's lip treatment is. I think that Pureplus copied Pure Smile as the packaging looked very similar. I wanted to give Pure Smile a try as I like their hand cream a lot. But due to the reaction with Pureplus, I was understandably hesitant. But for some reason last month, I suddenly decided I HAVE to have it after seeing another review on the lip treatment.

I chose the lip treatment in milk flavour as I loved the milk flavour hand cream from the same line but despised the honey flavour. I found the honey flavour to have a very soapy smell. Pureplus+ honey has the same soapy smell. Yuck. I have tried it on a few times, as a thick overnight treatment and a thin lip gloss for the day. I haven't broken out AT ALL from it! It tingles when I first apply it so I had feared it will cause me to break out but nope. My lips are fine. So now I wonder.. What's the difference between these two that would have caused my skin to react so badly to it.

Okay, let's just talk about performance for a minute here. I looked through my notes for the Pureplus+ and I wrote I liked its effect besides the breakouts. The lip treatment stung a little but it stays on through the night. Though when I washed it off in the morning, it feels like I was washing off petroleum jelly off my lips. It got rid of all of the dry skin on my lips. Left my lips soft and moisturized.

As for Pure Smile, it also stayed on through the night. But when I washed it off, it had a less petroleum jelly feeling but that may be because I didn't apply as thick of a layer. It didn't take off much of the dry skin on my lips but I didn't have much. It made my lips feel so smooth and soft.

I would say performance wise both did well. But Pure Smile is a bit more accessible as you can find it on eBay, TesterKorea and other e-retailers. Whereas Pureplus+ is so hard to find, I can only find a Q0010 listing.

Now back to the ingredients. 

I already threw out my packaging for Pureplus+ when I opened the packaging as I didn't think it would cause irritation so I looked on the interweb. Thankfully Veritazy posted a picture of the back of her packaging so I was able to grab the ingredients. Unfortunately, her version is milk whereas mine was honey. But the basic ingredients should be similar. 

Of course I didn't think much when I got my Pure Smile and threw out the packaging as well. So I got the ingredients for the honey version that Fanserviced graciously put into CosDNA. **Actually I double checked and it seems like I didn't throw out the package yet. Though BonjourHK sends them with original Japanese packaging so I have even less resources to translate that. So we are sticking with the ingredient list inputted by Fanserviced.**

Funny how I got the ingredients list for Pureplu+ in milk and Pure Smile in honey, when in reality, my products were Pureplus+ in honey and Pure Smile in milk. I am really hoping the basic ingredients are similar, just the fragrance that makes it different. 

I translated the list by using Google Translate and the Lioele dictionary. I think that is the correct translation of the Pureplu+ ingredients, but if you see any errors, please leave a message and let me know!

Image source: https://veritazy.files.wordpress.com/2014/12/image81.jpg

폴리부텐 (Polybutene), 플리이소부텐 (Polyisobutene), 카프릴릭/ 카프릭트리글리세라이드 (Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride), 미네랄오일 (mineral Oil), 풀리글리세릴-2트리ol소스테아레이트 (Polyglyceryl-2 triisostearate), 옥틸도데칸을 (Octyldodecanol), 스쿠알란 (Squalane), 디이소스테아릴말레이트(Di-isostearyl malate), 포도씨오일(Grapeseed oil), 쉐어버터(Shea Butter), 마카다미아씨오일 (Macadamia Seed Oil), 페닐트리메치콘(Phenyl Trimethicone), 실리카디메칠실릴레이트(Silica Dimethyl Silylate), 페트롤라풀(Petrolatum), 라놀린(Lanolin), 소르비탄세스퀴올리에이트(Sorbitan Sesquioleate), 마이카(Mica/Sericite), 디메치콘(Dimethicone), 향료 (Fragrance), 싫리카(Silica), 부틸파라벤(Butylparaben), 알란토인(Allantoin), 토코페릴아세테이트(Tocopheryl Acetate), 석시노일아텔로클라겐(Succinoyl Atelocollagen), 소듐하이알루로네이트(Sodium Hyaluronate), 우유단백질추출물(Milk Protein Extract), 하이드롤라이즈드콜라겐(Hydrolyzed Collagen), 달팽이점액여과물(Snail Secretion Filtrate)

Okay, down to the comparison. 

Pureplus+ Milk Bebe Lip Treatment

Pure Smile Snail Lip Treatment in Honey

Polybutene Polyisobutene Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Mineral oil Polyglyceryl-2 triisostearate Octyldodecanol Squalane Di-isostearyl malate Grapeseed oil Shea butter Macadamia seed oil Phenyl Trimethicone Silica Dimethyl Silylate Petrolatum Lanolin Sorbitan Sesquioleate Mica Dimethicone Fragrance Silica Butylparaben Allantoin Tocopheryl Acetate Succinoyl Atelocollagen Sodium Hyaluronate Milk Protein Extract Hydrolyzed Collagen Snail Secretion Filtrate

Polybutene Polyisobutene Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride Mineral Oil Polyglyceryl-2 triisosterate Octyldodecanol Squalene Diisostearyl malate Vitis Vinifera seed oil/Grapeseed oil Shea butter Macadamia ternifolia seed oil Snail secretion filtrate Honey Anemarrhena Asphodeloides Root Extract Succinoyl Atelocollagen Allantoin Lanolin Tocopheryl acetate Sodium Hyaluronate Sorbitan sesquioleate Silica Dimethyl Silylate Petrolatum Mica Dimethicone Silica Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 Phenyl trimethicone Butylparaben Fragrances

**The CosDNA for Pure Smile Snail Lip Treatment in Honey is in thanks to Fanserviced** 

Hmm, the ingredient list between the two products are almost the same. The only differences are the milk protein extract, hydrolyzed collagen, honey, Anemarrhena Asphodeloides Root Extract, and Acetyl Hexapeptide-3. 

The milk protein extract and honey are obviously due to their different flavours so those can be ignored. 

CosDNA listed the Hydrolyzed Collagen as antistatic, moisturizer, and emollient. So it's just should only have moisturizing properties. Same goes to Acetyl Hexapeptide-3. It is listed as a moisturizer. So the two have the same function and shouldn't have caused the breakouts. 

CosDNA simply listed Anemarrhena Asphodeloides Root Extract as plant extract. But good ole' Wikipedia has listed that the plant has anti-inflammatory properties among others, so this may be what prevented breakouts. 

After comparing the ingredient list, I have three theories. 

1) Anemarrhena Asphodeloides root extract in the Pure Smile lip treatment has anti-inflammatory properties and could have prevented the breakouts. 

2) The order of ingredients are the same until Macadamia See Oil. The different order of ingredients may indicate different concentration of the ingredients. Squalane and Dimethicone both has a 1 for acne triggers. Squalane sits at the same spot for both product, but Dimethicone is much higher on the Pureplus+ ingredient list than Pure Smile. So perhaps Pureplus+ used a lot more Dimethicone in their lip treatment and that's why I break out from it. 

3) I am extremely unlucky and got a contaminated product. 

I am not sure what caused Pureplus+ to break out on my upper lip area, but it does. I'll stick with my Pure Smile and be happy that I learned how to look up ingredients in Korean. ^_^ 

Double Zero Pizza

My friends and I decided to visit the Double Zero Pizza located in downtown Cow town. I wasn't too impressed with the food and the poor service we received made me not want to go back again.

We ordered the fried purple potatoes, calamari and mushroom pizza.

I believe the purple potatoes are pan fried. Not the kind of fried I was thinking of but I guess that's what we get for assuming fried means deep fried. The potato itself was okay, there wasn't much flavour to it. Most of the flavour came from the orange sauce. Let me tell you, it looks like there was lots of sauce, but there really wasn't. The potatoes actually lead to my first problem with our waitress, which I'll go into detail below.

The calamari was good when piping hot but once it's cooled down, it's hard to ignore how salty the coating was. That being said. The calamari itself was soft and tender. Not chewy at all. The tomato sauce that came with it was really light but you can really taste the fresh tomatoes in it. My favourite dish out of all three dishes. 

The pizza was good and bad. It was good as it was quite yummy. It made me forget I was eating a vegetarian pizza.  The thick cut mushrooms on top really made me think I was eating a tender meaty pizza. The bad is that the crust was so dry! There was so much of it too! It made me have a humongous craving for a big bowl of marinara sauce to dip into. Some people, like my friend, likes it this way but it was just too dry for me. So you been warned. If you love crunchy crust that takes a bit of a chew, this is the pizza for you. 

Now my problems with the waitress and why I refuse to go back again.

1) I poured quite a bit of the chili oil on top of the potato and was joking with Mogie about how it looks like a rock and a butt from certain angles. That  is when the waitress, who was cleaning the next table, turned around and told me "the chili oil is for the pizza". She realized her mistake a minute later and said "well it can go on top of anything I guess" or something to that affect. 

Yes.. I really drowned the poor potato in chili oil. 

Yes the chili oil is intended for the pizza but there was no written rule saying it's strictly for the pizza. As a customer I feel like I should be able to decide what I want to put it on. I just happen to really like spicy food. Sigh. 

2) Double Zero serve their water in large swing top glass water bottles, which is then poured into individual cups at the table. Due to the crust being so dry, we went through the water half way through the pizza. The empty bottle was then placed on the corner of the table, where the waitress can see when she walks by. Unfortunately she failed to see it until everything has been cleared from our table. That's fine, she probably just didn't notice. My problem was what she did with refilling our glasses. 

Two of our glasses were empty, and the third glass was half empty. Instead of giving us a fresh bottle, she gave us water from a bottle leftover from another table. The water was not even enough for all of us. Instead, the two empty glasses were filled halfway and that was it for us. I get it, it's not good to waste resources, even water. But it's just not a good feeling when I can tell it's leftover from another table and I can't even get a full glass to ease my thirst. 

3) My biggest issue with our waitress is with how she dealt with the cash. Our total came to $34.65 and we gave her $50 and asked for the change. We were given $15 and our waitress walked away. I was annoyed and told my friend she didn't give us the full change.  I thought it was $1.35 change but it's really $0.35. Yah I know, great at subtraction there. My friend spoke with the waitress and she showed us it's only $0.35 and said "I didn't have change so I just gave back the $15. Do you need the $0.35 back?" 

By her tone, I can tell she was thinking we were picky, difficult beyotches for such a nominal amount. But it's the principal of it. She should have come over and said "hey guys, I don't have change for the $0.35, would you mind if I just gave you the $15 back?" Had she let us know instead of just dropping off the $15 and walked off, I wouldn't have been as upset. 

I have worked in the front of a restaurant for years. I always made sure I give the customer the exact change. It's not up to me to decide if I deserve that $0.35. If they decide they don't want to give me anything, it's their decision. The only time I would have kept the $0.35 is if the customer told me to just give back $15. We didn't. We said the change. Change means everything left over, not just what you have on hand. If you have no change, go break some of your $5 at the bar. Don't assume the change is yours just because you don't want to break your bills. 

The waitress did ask us if we are okay with everything as we are leaving. But the damage has been done. Just her way of handling everything ruined the whole experience for me. The food was not good enough to me to put up with bad customer service. 

Masks #8 - Hydrogels

So I had a small stash of hydrogel masks that I just haven't tried at all. I decided to try them after I fell in love with my SNP hydrogel eye patches. Boyyyy did that lead to some crazy hydrogel shopping spree.. Hehe...

Memebox Mememask

I got the Mememask in one of my boxes, back when they still shipped internationally, as an apology gift for delaying shipping or something. Anyways, if you are in the States, Korea or China you will be able to get one from the respective Memebox website. Unfortunately for us internationals, I have no idea where to get them. Maybe request them from TesterKorea?

Anyways, I held off on using the Mememask as Memebox and I did not part ways on a friendly note. But once I started on hydrogels I had to give it a go.

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Niacinamide, Cprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan), Polyacrylate-13, Polyisobutene, Polysorbate 20, Phenyl Trimethicone, Cellulose Gum, Phenoxyethnaol, PEG-60 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Ethylhexylglycerin, Sodium Polyacrylate, Adenosine, Disodium EDTA, Fragrance, Polglutamic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Chamomilia Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Water, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil, Adanosonia Digitata Seed Extract, Potassium Hydroxide. 

As soon as I opened the package, I get a big punch of ginger and then a light floral smell. Thankfully it wasn't too bothersome and I can continue to use it. 

This mask, like most hydrogels, comes in two parts. Each piece is sandwiched between two sheets of pearl paper to prevent it from sticking together and making it easier for the user to remove and apply the mask. Though I think it just causes so much excess garbage and is ineffective. My mask slipped in the packaging so when I took it out, it was already half way out. I ended up just taking off both backings and applied it using a mirror. 

The mask felt thin and wet to the touch but it wasn't dripping in essence. There wasn't much left in the package once I took out the mask. 

There was no clear instruction as to which side of the mask I am supposed to apply against my skin. Though I can tel there was a smooth side and a mesh side. So I just put the smooth side side against my face, since it's most likely where all the essence is. 

The mask fits my face well, there was slight overlapping around the cheek area and there could be more for the jawline. But once I smoothed it out, the mask stayed put. It didn't budge at all. That I am impressed with. 

After about 20 minutes, the mask felt thinner to the touch. I took it off after 45 minutes as it started to feel dry in the upper lip and jawline area. I can tell it was time to take it off by the touch of the mask. It is no longer wet and soft to touch, but rather plasticky. Once I took it off, there wasn't much extra essence on my face except for the forehead. Guess that area needs more time to absorb it all in. My face doesn't feel sticky to the touch which is a plus. My face felt tighter and my skin tone looked brighter. 

I liked how the Mememask stayed on my face and it does make my skin feel moisturized. But it takes too much effort to buy one unless you are in China, Korea or United States. So I probably won't buy this in the future. 


Sally's Box Delight Ceramide Hydrogel Mask 

I believe I got this hydrogel mask in a pack of 3 from one of the Thanksgiving boxes from Memebox. It includes Ceramide, Panthenol and Collagen. I have linked it to SokoGlam! above as TK has it listed as $6 for a single mask, whereas its official website only has it listed as $3.50. Yikes, that mark up.. I wonder if it's a $2.50 domestic shipping fee that they included in the price. *This is where I have a problem with TK, they often include domestic shipping fee in the list price. So if you were to buy enough products from the same brand to get free domestic shipping, TK would still charge you that domestic shipping fee on each product.. Those shipping fee on each item are then pure profit to them... That's why it may be better in those instances to go with a buying service instead. *

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Chondrus crispus (Carrageenan), Cellulose Gum, Sodium Polyacrylate, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Polysorbate 20, Mannan, Octyldodecanol, Trideceth-6, Portulaca Grandiflora Extract, Rosemarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Lavendula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Metricaria) FLower Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Jasminum Officinate (Jasmine) Extract, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Allantoin, Ceramide 3 (1.25mg), Sodium Hyaluronate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, CI 19140, CL 15985

Um dos the last two ingredients mean they are colours???????

My skin was feeling crappy that day and I didn't want to use something hydrating but rather something to calm it down. Since this one is supposed to turn my exhausted skin into healthy skin, I thought I would give it a try. 

First impression was HOLY COW THIS THING STINKS! It's a very chemical smell that penetrated my nose as soon as I opened it. It is less strong after you take it out but it lingers. In fact, it lingered on my skin after I took it off. I would say it smells like cheap perfume that uses a lot of alcohol, like this Playboy perfume my friend got from Walmart. Just yuck. 

The mask comes in two pieces, similar to the Mememask, it has two plastic backings. I followed the instruction, removed the thicker plastic first. Placed the mask on my face using the thinner piece as a guidance on where the mask is sitting. Though, that's dependent on if your mask slipped out of its backings. I would just remove them both and use a mirror. So much easier. Especially when dealing with hydrogels with a mesh to hold its shape. 

The mask didn't fit my face properly. I moved it a few times but it just won't sit properly. I tried to move the jaw area as far down as I can but then the chin area pops up. The mask didn't reach my forehead, leaving about a finger's width of skin exposed. As well as my jawline, there was about two fingers' width of exposed skin. BUT.. there was SO much on the nose.. It seriously folded over and covered my nose so I couldn't even breathe without the flap covering my nostrils.  It looked like I had snots coming out of my nose. Yuck. I had to flip it up just so I can breathe. 

Excuse the close up of my face, but this is how ridiculously long the nose piece was. 

I took it off after 45 minutes. I just couldn't handle it anymore. The essence sunk is slowly, taking about another 30 minutes to fully sink in and stop feeling sticky. That smell was STILL on my skin. Yuck. 


My skin was noticeably bouncier after everything sunk in. The next morning, my skin looked plumper, pores looked smaller and my skin appeared to be more even. I was impressed with the results! However, due to its smell, CRAZY long nose piece, and the fact that it's hard to find, I will not be repurchase it. 

Innisfree Berry Hydro Gel Mask 

 So I got this mask during my whole "I NEED more hydrogels in my life!" purchase from TK. I decided to try it the night I got it home from the post office as Innisfree was having a half off shipping event that week. I wanted to see if I liked it enough to warrant a haul from Innisfree. *spoiler alert* I didn't.

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Fruit Extract, Ceratonia Siliqua Gum, Chondrus crispus (Carrageenan), Cellulose Gum, Sodium Polyacrylate, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Polysorbate 20, Mannan, Octyldodecanol, Trideceth-6, Portulaca Grandiflora Extract, Rosemarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Lavendula Angustifolia (Lavender) Extract, Chamomilla Recutita (Metricaria) FLower Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Paeonia Albiflora Root Extract, Jasminum Officinate (Jasmine) Extract, Mentha Viridis (Spearmint) Extract, Scutellaria Baicalensis Root Extract, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Allantoin, Ceramide 3 (1.25mg), Sodium Hyaluronate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Disodium EDTA, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance, CI 19140, CL 15985

The mask has a very light floral smell, kind of a generic skincare smell. I don't know how to describe it besides generic. It was not dripping in essence or anything but enough to keep the mask moist. 

I found the mask to be kind of stiff, it doesn't hug my face as well as the others. I think that was the general consensus online as well regarding how stiff it was. The fit wasn't the best, my jawline was pretty exposed. 

I had this big angry bump on my face and the essence actually stung it when I put it on. It took a few minutes before it stopped stinging. I can't remember exactly how long I had it on because it was kind of late and I just wanted to sleep. But I know it was over 30 minutes. I took it off after the edges started to dry and I can feel the mesh on the surface. There was no excess essence on my skin but my skin feels a little sticky. 

As for results, I honestly cannot remember. It moisturized my skin as any masks will do. But I most likely didn't see any results or else I would have written it down or it's stuck in my mind. All that I can remember is that it didn't impress me at all and put me off from buying any hydrogels during Innisfree's sale.

Skinfood Marine Food Gel Mask in Oyster 

I got these from TK but I think it's cheaper if you get it from Jolse as you only pay $1.40 more for shipping. They just released this line of hydrogel masks a few months ago, and there are few flavours in this line. However, there is no discernible difference between each flavour's purpose. All of them has the same blurb on the back. I know, I compared all five flavours together. 

Ingredients: Unfortunately it's all in Korean and Google Translate didn't help :( 

When I opened the package, no smell wafted out of it. I stuck my nose right in there and took a big whiff. It has a faint perfume smell that I would say it's something I smelled quite often in skincare. But since it was light it wasn't too bothersome. 

This mask came with a stiff pearl paper and a thinner softer pearl paper. So it's a similar deal withe the other hydrogels and Lovemore silk masks. Just take off the stiffer one and use the softer one as a guide to where the hydrogel is sitting on your face. Or if you are like me, it's may be easier to just remove all the backings and use a mirror to put it on. These are mesh too so they won't tear that easily if you move them around on your face.

The fit was...... I honestly think my face isn't suited for hydrogel masks. It's pretty good with sheet masks, but with hydrogels I keep on having problems. The upper portion's fit was okay but it didn't reach all the way to my hairline. So a part of my forehead was exposed. The lower portion... I have so much problem with lower portion of hydrogels. It barely reached my jawline. I tried to move it around and push it down so it would cover it, but that just caused it to tent up. The upper lip area also falls off nonstop. I ended up busting out the silicone mask cover from Daiso in an attempt to help keep it in. That didn't help at all, the upper area kept on falling out of the mask cover and just want to part ways with my face. 

Because I had the silicone mask cover on, I had the mask on for a REALLY long time. I had it on for an hour with the silicone cover. The mask was still super moist despite being on the thin side. So I left it on for another hour without cover and it was still super moist to the touch! Wow.. But by that time it was almost 2AM and I had to sleep. So I took it off and just went to bed with a sticky face. 

By next morning and I was pleasantly surprised when I looked in my mirror. My skin was bright and I had nice even skin tone. The little breakouts on my forehead was much calmer. My skin felt super bouncy to the touch. I couldn't stop playing with my cheeks. 

I don't like the fit of these masks but I quite like the result! I will have to save these for when I have 3 to 4 hours to spare so all of the essence can sink into my skin. Or when my skin is just really need that extra punch of moisture. Will definitely repurchase these. 

*side note* Using the silicone cover made me wonder how much of the essence on masks does our skin really absorb and how much is be evaporated??? 

Tonymoly Intense Care Fugu Collagen Hydro Gel Mask 

So I got this from a H Mart in Vancouver when I was there on vacation. I just really wanted a hydrogel mask so my lovely friend took me to H Mart and waited patiently while I picked out a mask. I was deciding between the Aquaporin which cost about $4 or the Fugu Collagen one. But I knew I had the Aquaporin one coming from TK so I decided to go with the more expensive Fugu Collagen one. It was hella expensive!! $9 after GST + PST. Just wow.. Thankfully RRS has it cheaper but once you factor in shipping and currency exchange it is not much difference. 

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan), Ceratonia, Siliqua Gum, Disodium EDTA, Betaine, Cellulose Gum, Polysorbate 20, Polyacrylate-14, Olive Oil Glycereth-8 Esters, Mineral Oil, Dimethicone, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Paeonia Suffruticosa Root Extract, Methylparaben, Hydrolyzed Collagen, Soluble Collagen (100ppm), Sodium Polyacrylate, Pearl Extract, Laminara Japonica Extract, Laminarla Digitata Extract, Sea Water, Squalene, Fragrance, Cl 42090

Uh oh, it's got mineral oil in the ingredient list. It's halfway down the list but if your skin doesn't like having mineral oil I would probably avoid this mask. :( I like that it's got two types of collagen and three types of seaweed in there.. But my main question is.. WHERE IS THE FUGU?! I can't see it in the ingredient list. The ones with scientific names that look like it may be fugu turns out to be seaweed.... T__T **I know it's fugu collagen and there are two kinds of collagen in the ingredient list. But that doesn't tell me specifically it came from fugu you know.. :(**

The mask is a two piece gel mask that is sitting in a really thick essence and has no discernible smell to it. Yay for no smell. But I think because of the thick essence, it kept on slipping off my face so I couldn't do much besides laying down.

The mask has two different textures/sides. One side is slightly rough and you can see the grid pattern while the other side is soft and squishy. I assumed the rough side is the outside and placed the squishy side to my face.

Excuse the quality. I had to take it on my friend's bathroom counter. :P 

The mask was really short around my chin and jawline. After 30 minutes or so as it was starting to dry out above the lips. But there was still quite a bit of essence on my cheeks and the mask itself. So I just took off the bottom part and left the top mask on for another 30 minutes. Even then there was still a lot of essence on the mask itself so I just put it on my decolletage

The mask left my face feeling super sticky that wouldn't go away for a while. Though my face does look brighter and my pores appear to be smaller. The next day my face felt like there was a layer of moisture sitting on top of it. Such that when I try to pinch my skin, I can feel that layer of moister/something against my fingertips instead of my skin. It was weird but nice.

I wouldn't buy this mask again. Not at $9CAD and gotta admit, I am kind of sad it doesn't have any fugu extracts in there... :(

That's all the hydrogels I have tried in the last couple of months. I got quite a few more to try so I will post them sporadically. :P 

Masks #7 - Lovemore silk masks

Soooo.. I saw lots of peeps posting selfies of themselves with Lovemore's silk masks on /r/AsianBeauty and I just couldn't resist. I did a big haul from BGO and has heard it is so popular on there that they only allow one box of each kind per order now. If you are in any Canadian cities that has a T&T, you can also find Lovemore masks there! Though there is quite a mark up there.

I guess the company is trying to be proactive about counterfeiters so they have placed a hologram sticker on the boxes to let consumers know which ones are the real Lovemore masks. Of course, that is only on the box not the individual masks. 

Lovemore Loofah & Aloe Vera Hydrating Mask Sheet

So I decided to try this during one of the hottest days of summer. I had walked my dog in the sun without a hat so my skin felt like it needs something to help cool down.

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Butylene Glycol, Glycerine, Sea Water, Xanthan Gum, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Methylisothiazolinone, Glycosyl, Trehalose, Trehalose, Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate, Luffa Cylindrica Fruit/Leaf/Steam Extract, Soluble Collage, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice Powder, Hyaluronic Acid Oligomer, Fragrance, Water

Well it doesn't have alcohol so that's good, And it has H-acid!! Yay! But sooo many ingredients I haven't seen in masks before. And the English ingredients were soooo tiny.. Ridiculously tiny, like you need a magnifying glass to read them without squinting. 

So because this is a silk mask it is more delicate and skin hugging than other masks. The manufacturer decided to put two different "pearl paper" on it so you know which side to put on. According to the instructions, you are suppose to remove the stiff white pearl paper first.

Once you take off the white pearl paper, you put on the freshly exposed side onto your face while using the blue pearl paper (it doesn't really have that stiffness or shine of a pearl paper but it serves the same purpose so I will be calling it pearl paper) as a guide. Yup, they put on a blue pearl paper so you can see where the mask is sitting on your face. It's very considerate but I gotta say, it doesn't work every time. For me it worked well the first time. Then the second time I had no such luck. The mask shifted from the blue pearl paper so when I put it on my face it was not sitting properly. So I ended up ripping off the blue pearl paper and put on the mask using the mirror.

This mask was DRIPPING in essence, but I found that this is a common theme among Taiwanese masks. I had to keep one hand below the mask as I am taking it out so it wouldn't drip onto the ground. The essence has a very light smell, like loofah and cucumber. Though it is light, it doesn't go away. I could still smell it as I had the mask on.

They weren't kidding about how it hugs your skin! It was so close I can't even tell I have a mask on up close. Only complaint is that there was a little bit of extra flap around the top of my head and around the chin.

You can't even tell I have a mask on if the folds around the jawline isn't there. I got some stray hair that got trapped under the mask XD  

The instruction said to only have it on for 10-20 minutes due to how thin it is. I actually left it on for 30 minutes because I want it on there for as long as I can. But after 30 minutes the side of my face facing the fan was dry while the other side is starting to dry out. Which I now think is kind of dumb since the mask probably started reverse osmosis on my skin. So yes, for this mask, please do follow their instructions. Or use a mask cover so the essence doesn't evaporate as quickly.

The results was pretty good. My face felt supple and it looked brighter. Any redness from the sun exposure all went away! Best of all, I don't have those annoying fold lines on my face that I sometimes get from the masks itself.

Lovemore Rose Hybrida Whitening Mask Sheet 

After the success of the loofah & aloe vera flavour, I decided to try the rose one as I love roses. The whitening I can do with or without. :P

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Sea Water, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Rosa Centifloia Flower Water, Sodium Methylparaben, Rosa Rugosa Flower Extract, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Fragrance, Tranexamic Acid, Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid, Algae Extract, Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, Ascorbyl Tetransopalmtate, Decaglyeryl Monolaurate, Glycerin 

Um... Why is Glycerin in there twice?? As the third and last ingredients?? I love how under English instructions, they have to put in bright green letters "Do not reuse mask sheets". That just reminds me of a recent thread on r/AsianBeauty where people reported others who would reuse the mask sheets to be thrifty. Honestly, that is a BAD idea. I love to be thrifty but when the mask is exposed to the air it will pick up pollutants and germs in the air. Just because you put it in a baggy and in the fridge doesn't mean those germs aren't there. By putting it on your face again just means putting more germs on your face and increase the likelihood of breaking out. If you really don't want to waste the excess essence, just rub it on the rest of your body once you took off the mask. The rest of your body can do with a little TLC too.

Anyways, I didn't take much pictures for this since it's same as above (loofah & aloe vera).

The mask has a very light rose smell followed by a smell that I can only describe as tea. This is where I had trouble with putting on the mask. The mask pulled away and shifted between the pearl papers so nothing is aligned. I just put it on using my mirror. Still works.

For this one I learned my lesson and took it off after 15 minutes because my cheeks were starting to feel dry to the touch. Don't want that reverse osmosis!

As for results, honestly I didn't see much difference. The only thing I noticed was that my cheeks are less flushed than before but honestly that could be done with any masks.

The disappointment with this mask actually made me kind of sad. That I spent all those money getting all these masks and they barely had enough results to warrant its cost. It's about $1.60CAD /mask from BGO if you buy enough for free shipping, or about $2.80/mask from T&T. But I made that decision to buy it all without trying them first so I won't pout too much. Will continue to try all the ones I got but probably won't repurchase them again, unless I find one that has great results of course!

Bonus review: 
Kindle Love

So this was given to me by Mogie because her aunt brought back boxes from Hong Kong and said these are expensive and are really nice. Since she knows I love to mask she gave me a box. XD Yay!

Doesn't the package makes you think this is a box of condoms, not masks??? Even their little label on the bottom left of the packaging says "ignite love". Oh I guess that's why it's called Kindle Love. It's another word for ignite.. XD Haha it's not that much better. XD Sorry I got a dirty mind :P

 Ingredients: As per the package. 

Water, Glycol, Glycerin Polyether-26, Lipolic Acid, Ginkgo Biloba Extract, Phenylethyl Resorcinol, Licorice Dipotassium, Carbomer, Sodium Hyaluronate, Triethanolamine, Acrylamide/acryloyl Dimethyl Taurate Copolymers, 1,2-Pentanediol, Kanzou Ekisu, Horse Fat

Oh god. I put on something that has horse fat in it.. NOO  I didn't know that when I put it on.. Frick.. I have no problem with putting on horse fat when it comes from reputable brands.. But when it's a brand I can barely find any information on, I am nervous.

Like I mentioned above, this is an unknown brand. Mogie's aunt bought these in Hong Kong, so she probably thought this was a Hong Kong brand. But no.... This is a mainland China brand. If you read my post about regarding problems with Oh Sheet Masks sending out primarily masks from China, you will know why I am pretty nervous about masks coming from China. I tried to look up this brand both in English and Chinese. and I can barely find any information on it. So I am pretty nervous about this mask. But after considering the fact that Mogie's aunt lugged it all the way from HK to Canada and that I should be more adventurous, I decided to do it for science.. XD *So dramatic*

So the mask is protected by a single sheet of pearl paper. Supposedly you are to put on the mask + pearl paper on your face and adjust before taking off the pearl paper. But that pearl paper is plasticky and hard to adjust. I tried the recommended method but found that I cannot see where the mask is sitting on my face and when I tried to peel off the pearl paper, the mask came along for a ride too. I ended up just taking it off and applying it like any normal sheet mask.

The mask is sitting in a clear watery essence, smelling kind of chemical and slightly salty like salt water. I don't particularly like the smell but found it tolerable.

Can you see all the little white fibres sticking up?

The mask fit well with my round face. There wasn't too much extra flaps and just minor adjustments needed. However, I can see little fibres sticking up from the edges and I can pull them out with my fingers. I don't know if they are the silk fibres but not too impressed with how they are put together.

Can you see the brown tinge?  *poop!!*

One disgusting fact. The mask itself turned brown after I took it off and let it air dry for a day. I took it off and just scrunched it up and tossed into the trash. The next day I see this brown crumpled ball of something and was like what the heck I don't remember throwing out brown coloured items. So I smoothed it out to see it was the mask... Ewwww why did it turn brown like that? Did it oxidize or something? None of my masks has turned that colour before.

I took it off after 17 minutes and the mask was still pretty moist. But I just didn't want it on my face anymore. My face felt no more moisturized than before. Honestly it felt like I just put some water soaked mask on my face and nothing happened. I gave some to my mom and she said it did nothing to her. Mogie had extras and tried it and said she saw nothing as well.

So this just kind of strengthens my refusal to use skincare products from China. I don't mind spending money to try out new things, even if it doesn't do much to my skin. That is part of testing and trying out what works for your skin. But I am only willing to risk it with reputable brands, brands others has tried before, that I can easily find reviews for instead of just websites that try to suck you in and plant trojans on your computer.  I would never spend any money on buying products from a brand where I cannot find any information on, and their masks does nothing and changes colour after exposure to the air. I am glad that this mask did nothing to my face but I don't think I'll risk it next time. Because who knows where they got those ingredients.. Especially the horse fat.....

Mask #6

Okay, so I have been trying to use masks and then wait until I have enough for one specific benefit before doing a post. But that just takes forever since I use masks depending on what I am feeling like. It sometimes ends up being months later, I can't really remember much and my notes doesn't help. So I am just going to post them as I use them.

Oh, just a clarification! I usually post links to where I bought my items from, unless they are no longer stocked there. Then I may or may not post links to other places, but if I do, I make note of it. I would suggest looking into different website and compare prices if you are interested in a product. I tend to do large hauls so TK is usually my go to place. :)