Etude House sheet masks

This is going to be an ongoing blog post that will be updated as I try different “flavoured” facial masks from the Etude House brand.

I picked up 40 (count them, 40!) different types of facial sheet masks from the Etude House shop when I was in Mongkok in my visit to Hong Kong this year.  They had a special promotion of 30 masks for 300 HKD.  There were at least 30 different types of masks on the shelves including Manuka Honey, Aloe, Lemon, Snail, Tea Tree, and more.  I decided to try this Korean brand by taking on the promotion (they also had a promotion of 10 sheet masks for 80 HKD but the 30 masks option was definitely better in value).  Because we were spending close to 500 HKD, we also got another special and I picked another 10 masks.  I’m super excited to try this brand out!

The masks I got (in no particular order) were:

1. Pearl
2. White Flowers
3. Cherry Blossom
4. Green Tea
5. Olive
6. Manuka Honey
7. Hyaluronic Acid
8. Snail
9. Collagen
10. Damask Rose
11. Camellia
12. Aloe
13. Artemisia
14. Madecassoside
15. Tea Tree
16. Lemon

1)  First off, I tried the Hyaluronic Acid sheet mask.  The saleslady said this one of the customer favourites.  Hyaluronic acid serums are known to boost healthier supple skin as it has excellent moisture-retaining functional entities.  Lots of creams and serum on the market has this ingredient in their products.

The sheet mask was in a paper-like pouch (which I love for the environmental-friendly properties) and had 20 mL volume of essence in it.  Since 20 mL is not a lot (I’ve seen other sheet masks with 27 mL, for example), I didn’t expect a lot from the mask.  However, when I opened the pouch and put the paper-thin mask on my face (it was a little hard to unfold because of its thinness), there was so much essence left over inside the pouch for me to use over my face, neck, and arms.  There was a “clean” scent but not a heavy fragrance at all.

The best part was how thin the sheet mask was.  It was a “breathable 0.2 mm low-irritant air sheet”.   This allowed it to adhere super well and smoothly to my face without air bubbles.  It was cut well to fit my face.

The mask called for it to be left on the face for 10 to 20 minutes.  During this time, it felt very cooling and supple on my skin.

When I pulled off the mask after about an hour (I leave it on for longer than the suggested time), my face felt very damp and supple.  The mask itself was still very damp with essence, so I rubbed it all over my legs for extra moisture and hydration.  My winter legs get some of the good stuff too!

I enjoyed this mask so far.  I think I’ll really enjoy the rest of the other “flavours” too.

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2)   The Snail mask from Etude House.  This one also had a 0.2 mm air sheet with the snail essence (2,500 ppm).

To my surprise, when I opened up the pouch, the essence was milky white!  This was the first sheet mask essence in which the essence was white like this.  It seemed like it was very condensed — 2,500 ppm of snail essence is actually quite a good amount for a mask.  The essence was dense and not watery.  There was ample amount to lather on my neck, arms, and a bit on my legs after applying the sheet mask on my face.

The thin sheet mask fit snugly on my face and adhered well.  Snail essence is meant for smoothing and firming qualities.

The readable ingredients in the sheet mask includes: snail secret on filtrate, japonica root extract, ginger root extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, licorice root extract, eucalyptus globulus leaf oil, mandarin orange oil, lavender oil, and citrus limon fruit extract.  The sheet mask was to be left on the face for 10 to 20 minutes.

Due to the milky essence, I felt like this sheet mask “hardened” up more than the other ones since it wasn’t as watery.  I really am starting to like these Etude House sheet masks!

3)  I tried the Tea Tree facial sheet mask next since I uncharacteristically had so many breakouts on my face all of a sudden overnight. 😦   I’m hoping that this tea tree mask will help soothe my face since I have heard that tea tree oil is great for minimizing oil on the face which causes pimples.

I like how the sheet masks from Etude House are so thin (the 0.2 mm mask really is true).  There wasn’t much fragrance in this sheet.  The ingredients contained within the essence include:  Tea tree leaf extract (2, 500 ppm) — which is the main ingredient –, licorice root extract, japonica root extract, ginger root extract, camellia sinensis leaf extract, lavender oil, eucalyptus globullus leaf royal, mandarin orange oil, and citrus lemon fruit extract.  These ingredients are the ones that I can read anyway.  There are some other chemicals too (like in most other sheet masks).  Indeed, the essence was really soothing and clear in its appearance.

4) Pearl: I picked up more than one of the Pearl bright complexion mask.  The package claims it contains luminous pearl and niacinamide, a skin whitening agent which makes skin look bright and radiant.

When I opened the package, it instantly smelled sweet like cotton candy and reminded me right away of the Happy mask whitening mask.

That one was so sweet-smelling too. Again, I liked the leftover essence which I slathered over my face and extremities. I liked the thinness of the 0.2 mm mask as well.

5)  Collagen:  When I ripped open the pouch, I noticed that there was an extra lining in the plastic compared to the other flavours.

The mask itself was thin, the 0.2 mm as stated.  The essence in this pouch was also milky white like the one in the Snail facial mask!  I didn’t detect any stong fragrances for this one.

The recognizable ingredients for this sheet mask included: hydrolyzed collagen (2,500 ppm), japonica root extract, ginger root extract, licorice root extract, tea tree leaf oil, grapefruit peal oil, rosemary leaf oil, and lemon fruit extract.

After applying the mask to my face, there was a lot of essence left over for me to drench my face and the rest of my body.  I’d like to think that it’s a good moisturizer for my body too. 🙂