Korean Sheet Masks: Etude House Collagen Essence & White Pearl

Just a quickie today; as you may know from a previous post, I'd recently become a very happy hoarder of various Asian sheet masks *gives the squishy packets a quick hug*. However, I realize that just hoarding isn't very helpful for you guys, so I've decided to start using them, and give you a quick rundown of my thoughts, organized per brand. First off: Etude House.

The Collagen Essence Mask (under $2 per mask, 0.67 fl. oz/20 ml of essence, on eBay or Amazon + shipping) is a firming mask, and the ingredients include glycerin, hydrolyzed collagen, rosemary leaf extract, hyaluronic acid, soothing betaine and antioxidant arginine.Unfortunately, this mask also contains alcohol - and if your skin is sensitive, you can definitely feel some stinging after application. It has a pleasant, slightly sharp floral scent, and enough essence in the pouch to last two applications. Both of the Etude House masks are made of quite thin but resistant paper and come without the plastic backing, but are easy to smooth over the face - I just find that the shape of the nose area definitely does not fit my rather pronounced nose :)

Anyway, the Collagen Essence Mask was not my favorite: it didn't seem all that moisturizing, felt a bit uncomfortable on because of the stinging, and my skin felt incredibly sticky after I removed it, and the stickiness would not go away; so much so that I ended up washing it off after about an hour. Interestingly enough, Etude House makes two more Collagen sheet masks: one in the Moistfull (sic!) range, and one in the Alphabet range, which the White Pearl mask is also a part of.

The White Pearl Sheet Mask from the I Need You!/ Alphabet range (under $2 per mask, usually sold in three packs on eBay) is brightening, and contains pearl extract, arginine, glycerin and natural extracts of Indian lotus and Chinese plum. This mask had a fresh soapy scent to it, and it was satured enough for me to able to use it twice - although the second time it started drying out a bit as I was wearing it. Now, I definitely noticed some results after using the White Pearl mask: my face felt cool, soothed and hydrated, and it calmed down redness and irritation, making my skin look more even. For the price, I give it a big thumbs up - and now I really want to try other masks in the Alphabet line, because really - how cute! Elder Flower, Fig and Mango sound especially appealing :)

Have you tried any sheet masks from Etude House? What are your favorites, and where do you usually order yours from?