Apparently, facial sheet masks have become the new alternative to in-salon facials. And though so many brands have their own sheet mask, I don’t think I ever tried one until of recent. As beauty brands always seem to be one-upping or bopping off one another, it’s hard to decide whether to go with a) the brand from Korea that has been doing this for years, but since you can’t read the script, you have no idea what the ingredients are, b) the brand you know but don’t think they are really qualified enough to take such a leap in manufacturing, or c) the least expensive option. Why shell out so much, if you don’t even know how well these masks work?
I recently took it upon myself to rummage through the masks purchased on a sale binge, or ones gifted at events or by brands, and try them! It’s taken nearly two months because I wanted to give my skin time to breath in-between. Plus each trial was to be as exact as possible; no altering variables.
Each trial was started by 10AM, from the moment I got out of bed. Using devices, talking to anyone on the phone or in-person, eating anything, lolling around were immediate disqualifiers of using a mask that day. The instruction on the back of each sheet was followed which included application on to a cleansed face. [For this, I stuck with my Decléor Gelée Fraîche Purifiante cleanser].
BOSCIA Wakame Firming Hydrogel Mask – $8 at Sephora (Apply to cleansed face and leave on for 20 minutes.)
The only thing I own from Boscia is the oil-blotters that have been in my handbag way to long. They were an impulse purchase waiting in line at Sephora. I always forget I have them, but when I finally do remember it’s too late. The hidden butter mill located on face is so hard at work only water and my cleanser can sop that mess up.
It comes in two sheets – for the top and bottom half of your face. At first I whined about it being an inconvenience, but once in position, I totally saw the genius behind it. This allowed me to really adjust it for the most ideal fit. EVERY inch of my face was covered… even the main problem eye areas missed in other masks.
Not sure why I have crazy eyes in every shot, but I do remember being so tired when I woke up that day and forcing myself to “look normal” for the camera. There was no tingling, but as the mask was so thin, I thought it was melting into my face as the serum dried up (which actually would have been cool).
SULWHASOO Snowise EX Brightening Mask – $130 for 10 at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom
This mask tingled a lot, all over, and during all 30 minutes of it being on my face. It also needed the least amount of adjusting once placed on. It was super thin, almost skin like, and it fit my face like a glove. Once it was removed the tingling did stop.
Personally, I think I noticed the biggest difference with this mask. There seemed to be a bit of sagging near the cheek area and a bag developing on the right eye. Once removed, my cheeks were plumper and that bag definitely went down a bit; by early afternoon it was gone.
LEADERS COSMETICS Brightening Recovery Mask – $10 for 1/ $68 for 10 on Leaders site (Apply to a freshly cleansed face. Leave the mask on for 20-40 minutes before removing. Gently massage the excess serum into face and neck until fully absorbed.)
So Leaders Cosmetics was one of my binge purchases. There PR offered me product but they didn’t have the ones I wanted, so I went to their site and overdid it. I bought almost 20 masks – all for different regions i.e. feet, neck, face – and paid half of what they cost originally. They also mistakenly sent me a few more that I didn’t pay for, so when I informed them of their mistake, they said, “Thank you for you honesty…Please keep it as our gift to you!” It was love at first order.
Now the mask is large and covers lots of area, but it was so hard to place and have it stay on (as you can see). There was some tingling around the lip area; a sensation that actually continued until around 2PM. I should have been more concerned that it was an allergic reaction, but chose to take one for the team. It was also one of the only masks to keep my face pseudo-matte with a healthy glow longer than a few hours.
[P.S. I realized I was snapping photos with my bra on so put on a shirt once the mask was off.]
FANGO ESSENZIALI Energize Sheet Mask – $24 for 4 only at Macy’s
Now Fango is owned by Borghese, which is a brand I used religiously for half a year, but stopped, as it was too costly to maintain. [I had just moved to NYC and was tutoring, so shouldn’t have been living fancy on a broke budget. My skin did look fabulous though!]
Now, Fango slipped off many times during the 15-minute period. As you can see in the photo, one of the eye sockets looks like a Panda in comparison to the other. It also tingled a bit, and not in one isolated area. It varied from place to place but mainly around my mouth region. The tingling nearly had me take it off prematurely, but again, took one for the team. My skin did look more alive, and it brought many black heads to the surface of my nose. [Black and white heads that I also spent the next 20 minutes removing with an extractor.] The immediate glow afterwards didn’t last long (maybe two hours) before my skins oily self took over.
PATCHOLOGY Illuminate FlashMasque – $30 for 4 at Ulta Beauty or Dermstore (Apply to clean, dry skin. Leave on for 5 minutes, or longer if desired).
Ok, Patchology, first of all, had AMAZING coverage. With how it hugged my face leaving only the main places open, the fit was almost perfect – especially for being only one sheet. The cloth feeling, similar to Leaders Cosmetics, was very cooling when first applied, and not once did it slide out of place. The slippage was one of my biggest concerns due to the excess amount of serum dripping from the mask when removed for the sachet, and the excess amount left over in the sachet. You could actually put that extra in a little jar and use for later. [I did not as this idea has JUST come to mind.]
There wasn’t any tingling but my skin did suck up most of serum on the mask.
*These instructions are taken from the site as the packages were already tossed. No coinciding instructions means nothing was online. Also, all the masks were along the line of brightening to keep it consistent.