This post is a project done in collaboration with Skinsider.co.uk. Products featured have been sent for purpose of first impressions and to partake in this project.
If you're new here to the blog, you may not be aware of my major love for sheet masks, I've been using them for the last 8 years in some shape or form and have tried a variety from Korea, Japan and Taiwan. They are something I usually use as a weekly treat for my skin to give it a little boost where it's needed. With there being such a wide variety of sheet masks to suit difference skin issues, you're spoiled for choice to decide which ones to add into your own regular routine. Sheet masks have been highly popularised along with the ever so viral 10 Step Korean Beauty Routine. Not everyone will follow this routine religiously if at all, but there are a number of people that do choose to use sheet masks on a daily basis or at least several times a week.Whether this is at night to give them that relaxing down time or in the morning to make the application of make up smoother or to look a bit fresher.
Personally, I think the highest amount of sheet masks I have used in a week was three, it was a week of particularly dry skin in the winter and I felt like I constantly needed a little boost every few days to make sure my skin felt closer to it's regular texture. So to use one everyday is going to be a whole new experience for me. So for a week (it's actually 8 days as I realised there was an extra sheet mask given to me) I will be wearing a sheet mask at some point in the day and giving a little first impression on what the mask did for me.
B E F O R E W E S T A R T
I'm not going to detail the instructions for each of these masks. The general method when it comes to sheet masks is to use them after you have cleansed (regardless of whether you do single or double cleansing) and toned the skin, this is when you would apply the sheet mask. They are usually left on for 15-20 minutes with the occaisional mask (not within this post) are worn for a maximum of about 30-45 minutes. I've made the mistake the in the past of wearing the sheet masks for as long as possible to try and get the most out of it, but I learnt in the last few months that that is actually a very counter productive thing. As the mask can begin to absorb the essence back into it and leave your skin feeling drier than it should be. So make sure you don't leave your mask on for longer than intended. Of course, you may sometimes lose track of time or even fall asleep from time to time when wearing one, but try to refrain as much as you can.
If there is a mask you are interested in, be sure to check the link provided for each one and you will find a purchase page at skinsider which includes a full list of ingredients so you can watch out for anything that may negatively affect your skin.
M Y S K I N
My skin is "impure" which is relatively normal at the same time. I suffer from redness in the nose area, rather large open pores. I also have a lot of acne scars on my forehead, jaw and cheeks as a result of cystic acne as a teen. Having grown up and been treated for it, I still however get hormonal breakouts around my lower chin. I find my skin manages to be quite resilient to most ingredients in skincare and don't tend to have any adverse reactions, however, I need to use products targeted for sensitive skin around my time of the month as my skin can become hypersensitive.
M O N D A Y
Dr. G Whitening Vita Mask
To start my week off, I found I wasn't necessarily needing any kind of treatment in particular but I noticed a little redness around my nose. So I chose the whitening mask in hopes that it would help reduce that.
Scent // The scent is so gentle and refreshing, a sweet combination of a floral and herbal scent.
Fit // Fits well aside from around the nose. Some of the material raises at the nose. It's not uncomfortable however.
Material // It's a nice thick sheet. Comfortable against the skin.
Essence // There is just enough essence for the mask to keep it all together and deliver it effectively to the skin. As mentioned, it smells so light and the essence is cool, making it feel refreshing on the face. Perfect for the hotter weather we have been having lately.
Result // Upon removal the essence lingered for a long time but maintained that refreshing feel to it. It was nice and cooling and I could feel my skin being soothed as it soaked in. The redness around my nose had eased a lot and my skin felt plump and refreshed.
T U E S D A Y
Real Barrier Aqua Soothing Ampoule Mask
I actually almost forgot to sheet mask this night! I was busy getting some housework done and sorting out stuff for my daughters birthday next month when at half 10 I was like OH I GOTTA MASK.
Scent // This sheet mask had a very strong scent of lavender to it. Not overbearing but very noticable.
Fit // The mask fit perfectly! The etches to make it fit on the bridge of the nose helped make it really fit to my face and the mouth-nose gap was perfectly fine too.
Material // The material is on the thin-medium thickness for a sheet mask. It's a very smooth material and it adhered to the skin well. I was kinda shocked when I took it out of the white and pale blue packaging for it to actually be a sheet mask made out of a black material. First non-clear coloured sheet mask I have used in all honesty!
Essence // Ampoule masks can sometimes have a slightly thicker consistency when it comes to the fluid but it was actually still quite close to your regular essence if only a little thicker. There was quite a lot of essence and it ended up dripping everywhere as I tried to unravel the mask.
Result // The mask worked fantastically. My skin had the ever famed glass skin effect to it and I just wanted it to stay there! My skin was nourished and looked so vibrant!
W E D N E S D A Y (well...Thursday Morning)
Dr. G Lock and More Nourishing Sheet Mask
So, I actually did skip the evening because my child didn't fall asleep until really late and I can't wear sheet masks when she's up and about because she will just pull it off my face. So I opted to do it first thing the next morning instead. I got a little bit of sunburn, not so much on my face but my face was a little dry from being out in the sun without sunscreen. I felt I needed to help it gain some of it's moisture back.
Scent // The scent of this mask was a lightly medical cosmetic kind of scent.
Fit // Like the other Dr. G mask, this one fit well. I had the same previous issue with there being a slightly raised piece of material over the bridge of the nose.
Material // The material was again, a nice thick mask. Not too heavy as to cause it to slide off the face but it felt soft and comfortable.
Essence // This one actually had a milky type essence to it and there was the perfect amount in the packet for the mask only. It actually absorbed into the skin from the mask in good time as well, leaving the mask not dripping still by the time I was done.
Result // This was actually my first time doing a morning mask and the experience would leave me doing it again. It really brightened up my complexion and my skin just looked like it was moisturised and healthy. It felt smooth and plump and I found make up to apply easier after use.
Bonus // This is a vegan sheet mask!
T H U R S D A Y (Night)
Abib Gummy Sheet Mask Heartleaf Sticker
Yay! My second sheet mask of the day, something I wouldn't ever normally do but I had to make sure I didn't fall behind. It was a good thing too, I had spent a lot of time cleaning and being around a lot of chemicals today so I needed something to prevent myself waking up with completely dried out skin. As I could feel it was already getting towards that stage. This mask aims to calm and deeply moisturise the skin and targets troubled skin. I've heard of others having this mask as their go to in skin emergencies so lets see how this one treats me!
Scent // I really loved the scent of this mask, there was the scent of witch hazel combined with a lovely light citrus scent coming from the bergamont extract.
Fit // What is quite unique about this mask is the fact that it can actually be stretched in order to fit to your face. So after placing it on the skin, you can gently pull at it to make sure it fits your face well. This is such a great feature as some masks can be a little ill fitting. However, I didn't actually need to try this little feature out because it actually fit to the shape of my face perfectly as it is.
Material // The material was quite similar to standard sheet masks however, as the name may suggest, it's more "gummy" in it's form. This leads to it fitting to the face so well and adhereing to the skin strongly. I had a wee dance about to see how well it would stay on, and it did! Most masks would slight in some way, this one didn't. It aims to act like a second layer of skin and does a fab job of that.
Essence // There was actually a lot of essence in the packet, there was enough for me to use as a little extra in my morning skincare routine but it wasn't so much that it would cause the mask to drip all over me when taking it out.
Result // Following using this mask, the redness and dryness that was there went away completely and my skin just looked really healthy. It was well moisturised and felt like velvet to touch. Based on my experience with it on mostly untroubled skin I would really love to see how it would react to my skin if I had a breakout or the like. A mask I would consider buying in a set to make sure I always had some on hand if I really needed it.
F R I D A Y
Dr. G Wrinkle Snail Mask
This was a mask I ended up using very very late at night. Wrinkles aren't something I worry to much about (yet anyway) and I'm hoping since my mum is in her 40s and doesn't seem to have much issue with wrinkles, that the good genes will pass on. But I know the main premise of the mask is to add nourishment and aid elasticity of the skin. It's actually be about 5 years since I've used anything with snail extract on my skin as I feel it's not necessarily an ingredient that's needed for my own skin type currently.
Scent // I found the scent of this one to be quite similar to the nourishing mask mentioned above.
I don't feel like I need to mention the fit and the material of this mask as I have described it before with the other Dr.G masks in the range.
Essence // Essence was that of your typical sheet mask again, with the perfect amount to be absorbed by the mask and delivered to the skin.
Result // My skin actually felt quite soft and bouncy after using this mask and the essence absorbed into the skin quicker than the other masks I've used during this experiment. I didn't notice a lot of difference in appearance but rather in how the skin actually felt.
S A T U R D A Y
Atoclassic Real Tonic Perfect Treatment Mask
This was one mask I was leaving for towards the end, I was intrguied as to how this would perform as the black and rose gold packaging gave an impression of something of high quality so I was super, super excited to use this one.
Scent // As the brands focus is on herbal study, it's not surprise that this mask has a lovely herbal scent to it along with having a medicinal hint to it.
Fit // The fit of the mask was moderately okay. I had a bit of a problem with the strip between the nose and mouth as it kept slipping. I don't know if this was just due to my lip shape and outward thickness.
Material // The mask was thinner than some of the other ones I have used this week, but felt incredibly robust in how it was made.
Essence // The essence was so soothing and cooling on the face. There was a good amount and it was a clear consistency.
Result // As I had mentioned, part of me was using this mask to try and reduce a couple of random red marks on my skin (I actually don't know where exactly they came from but they were just there) and this managed to make them less visible. I've noticed as the week has gone on my skin just continues to glow, look healthy and have that ever so sought after ~glass skin~ effect without much more effort!
S U N D A Y
Dr. G Lock & More A-Clear Mask
This is the final mask of the 7 days of the week (however, as you'll see below I've inlcuded an extra little day!). I found for this mask, the sheet mask fit and material along with the scent was the same if not very similar to the other Dr.G masks mentioned in this post.
Result // I really feel like, as with the heartleaf mask that I need to actually have a breakout in order to see the benefit of this fully. However, my skin felt fantastic afterwards and my skin looked completely bright and vibrant! As this is also supposed to target large pores I didn't notice an initial difference but I feel possibly with several uses there might be a minimal change.
For my vegan gals and guys, this is going to possibly be the sheet mask you wanna grab when your skin is breaking out!
B O N U S D A Y ( M O N D A Y )
Blossom Jeju Pink Camellia Soombi Marine Collagen Mask
I actually left this one until the very end as it was the one I was more excited to try. I've been so intrigued by Blossom Jeju for the longest time, but the brand being completely out of my usual price range, I've not been able to get around to purchasing their products. However, this is the second time I've been able to test one of their products thanks to Skinsider. This mask actually comes in two steps, first you apply pure camellia oil to the skin and follow up with applying the mask straight after.
Scent // The initial oil that you apply smells...well like oil. A slightly floral but very neutral smelling oil. The sheet mask has a much stronger scent of flowers to it. Floral masks come next in line to fruity scented ones to me, so this was an overall pleasantly scented mask to me.
Fit // This had to be one of the better fitting masks I've used in my time. The eye socket holes were a decent size, meaning that there was no overlap and I didn't have a problem with the nose area as I do with some others.
Material // The mask is a nice thin and slightly see through sheet. Comfortable for wearing and not too heavy as to cause it to drop down on the face.
Essence // The essence was light and smelt absolutely gorgeous. It felt like it really absorbed into the skin with the aid of the oil applied previously.
Result // I finally see why this mask is so widely raved about on instagram, and not just for how photogenic it is. After removing the mask and letting the essence absorb, I was so amazed by how my skin looked and felt! Was definitely a nice way to round off my week of masks with one of the best for last. I looked so vibrant and felt like if I did this one in the morning I would be able to out without make up and not worry!
(psst, it's another vegan mask!)
T H E A F T E R M A T H
After a whole 8 days of sheetmasking, I found my skin to look the best it has in a long time. It looked bright and glowy, like I genuinely had glass skin! My skin felt incredibly supple to touch and just generally gave the impression of being all round healthy. I really wish I had taken before and after photos in order to see the difference that it made to my skin for you guys to see. But I know myself the change has been major!
I think my favourite sheet masks from the selection I was given were the Abib Gummy Sheet Mask and the Blossom Jeju one. These seemed to have had the biggest effect on my skin for the time and I would like to add them into my regular pile of masks to use. Along with those two, I'm intrigued to give the other variations of both brands' masks a try out and see if they work just as well.
A G A I N ?
If you were to ask me if I was going to switch up my routine and do a sheet mask every single day, my honest answer would be a straightforward no. As much as I loved how my skin looked and felt during this week, the upkeep of this step in a routine would not only be costly for myself but also it doesn't fit so easily into my own lifestyle. Having a child leads to unpredictable nights and often being too exhausted to wait an extra 20 or so minutes before I can actually sleep. This is a dedication to skincare that is rather time consuming. However, if I was to do this again, I would only do it during my time of the month, during the winter or if I happen to have an event of some form that I am going to.
However, that is just my own view of it, I do encourage you to give this a go if you feel you are able to. Your skin will love you for it and you may find that this is a step that you can dedicate yourself to in the long run. Just try for a few days and see how your skin reacts to it. I would also recommend you guys try any of the masks mentioned in this post, all of them worked well and while I couldn't see the effect of some of them due to lack of appointed trouble, I still really enjoyed using the masks and seeing the results from them.
Thank you again to Skinsider for offering me the chance to take part in this. It's helped me learn if I really want to help my skin out in times of need, daily sheet masks can help aid that.
How often do you use a sheet mask? Which ones are your favourites?
Follow me on: youtube | twitter | instagram | facebook | bloglovin'
