Monday, July 21, 2014

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?

7 comments:

  1. Haven't tried Etude House masks yet, but I tried some from SkinFood! I think it is such a shame that good Asian brands are scented, esp on the masks. I much rather have masks unscented & put on some soothing scented candle/EO to relax with. I also agree about the alcohol content, I must be more diligent reading ingredients (although I can't read Korean.. hmm maybe I should find out how Korean character for alcohol looks like :-D). Thanks for this review, Monika! Do you have more mask review coming up?

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    1. I definitely agree on the scents in these masks! These were forunately not too bad, but I tried a My Beauty Diary Mixed Berry one and the scent on that one was super strong. Re: alcohol, luckily all of the Korean masks I have in my stash have the ingredients in English as well, so it's easy to track down. And I have a lot more sheet masks reviews coming up - The Face Shop, Nature Republic, and quite a few from My Beauty Diary.

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  2. There's a wide variety of Korean and Japanese sheet masks here, and while they're so accessible, I've never really tried them! *gasp* I read some really good things about The Face Shop masks, but every time I walk past, the hawk eyed SAs just scare me. LOL!

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    1. Hahah, Lily - I would be all over ALL the masks if they were easier to find here! Yeah, the SAs at The Face Shop here don't seem to be terribly friendly or helpful - but I went with a friend, so they left us alone :)

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  3. The White Pearl looks niiiiice! I just bought 3 from The Face Shop but have yet to try. I'll probably start this weekend. :)

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    1. I have a gel type one from The Face Shop that I haven't busted out yet - and also one for my hands?! I thought it'd be cool to try, since my hands are always extra dry. I can't wait to hear your thoughts about the ones you got!

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  4. Sounds interesting. I have heard of these sheet masks but did not have the chance to try it out. I think now is the time.... more curious about it.

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